College of Charleston Statement of Institutional Mission

The College of Charleston is a moderate-sized state supported comprehensive institution providing a high quality education in the arts and sciences, education, and business. Consistent with its heritage since its founding in 1770, the College retains a strong liberal arts undergraduate curriculum. It strives to meet the growing educational demands primarily off the Lowcountry and the state and, secondarily, of the Southeast. A superior quality undergraduate program is central to the mission of the College.
The College of Charleston seeks applicants capable of successfully completing degree requirements and pays particular attention to identifying and admitting students who excel academically. The College of Charleston serves a diverse student body from its geographical area and also attracts students from national and international communities. The College provides students a community in which to engage in original inquiry and creative expression in an atmosphere of intellectual freedom. This community, founded on the principles of the liberal arts tradition, provides students the opportunity to realize their intellectual and personal potential and to become responsible, productive members of society.
In addition to offering a broad range of baccalaureate degree programs, the College currently provides an increasing number of masters degree programs which are compatible with the community and the state. The College also anticipates offering a limited number of doctoral degrees should location and need warrant. As a prominent component of the state s higher education system, the College encourages and supports research. Its faculty are important sources of knowledge and expertise for the community, state, and nation. Additionally, the College provides an extensive continuing education program and cultural activities for residents of the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Approved by the College of Charleston Board of Trustees on February 15, 1994.

College of Charleston Statement of Institutional Goals
The philosophical goals stated below constitute broad guidelines for the design of educational programs, curricula, and supporting services. Each unit of the College will articulate the goals of learning which reflect its unique discipline, field, or area of service. Though strategies of implementation will vary from area to area, the goals address undergraduate and graduate education as well as offices of administrative services, thus providing the basic framework for articulation of goals by academic and administrative units.

Instruction
1. To ensure that students read, write, and speak effectively.
2. To ensure, through a strong core curriculum, that students acquire a basic knowledge in humanities, mathematics, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. 3. To train students in methods of scholarly inquiry, scientific research and problem solving.
4. To encourage students to develop a life-long commitment to learning.
5. To help students identify their goals and develop means of achieving them
. 6. To help students understand and respecpeoplele from diverse backgrounds acultureses and to encourage development of globalal outlook.
7. To encourage students to become conscious of the importance of the political, social, economic, and scientific issues of their tine.
8. To offer students a broad range of educational programs, including those leading to a variety of careers.
9. Tdesignng and conduct graduate programs which meet the needs of the community and are consonant with the academic mission of the College.
10. To help students acquire depth of knowledge and competence in at least one academic discipline, including:
a. the ability to recount and explain the basic facts andpostulates of the discipline and to use these in the solution of problems with which the discipline concerns itself;
b. proficiency in the use of the technique and tools (including the computer) of the discipline;
c. an awareness of the resources of the discipline and the ability to seek out and assimilate knowledge that has not been a part of the classroom experience;
d. the ability to relate knowledge in the discipline to other disciplines.

Faculty, Staff, and Students
1. To recruit and retain a faculty that is well-educated, supportive of the academic missing of the College, sensitive to student and community needs, active and productive as scholars, and enthusiastic and able as teachers.
2. To recruit and retain an effective and well-trained staff, sensitive to the needs of those whom they serve and committed to supporting the academic mission of the College.
3. To identify, recruit, and retain students whose records indicate a good likelihood of success in a college that emphasizes academic excellence.
4. To create a community of scholars in which a sense of mutual trust and respect permeates the interaction among students, faculty, and staff.
5. To encourage and support an active intellectual, cultural, and social life on the campus beyond the classroom.

Administrative Services
1. To ensure for all persons equal opportunity and access to employment, admissions, and programs and services for the College without regard to age, sex, race, national origin, color, religion, or physical handicap.
2. To encourage faculty research and development and provide an environment which enables faculty members to participate in the search for knowledge.
3. To secure and effectively manage funds necessary to maintain the College s academic programs and support services.
4. To provide systems of campus governance which are responsive to the concerns of students, faculty, staff, and trustees.
5. To acquire and maintain facilities an equipment necessary to support the goals of the College.
6. To maintain a library that provides materials which are necessary for a strong, modern program of instruction in all academic departments.

Community Service
1. To serve as a community resource for information and expertise.
2. To design and conduct a continuing education program which meets the needs of the community.
3. To offer cultural events for the community.

Approved by the State College Board of Trustees on March 12, 1986.

Liberal Arts and Sciences General Education Requirements
Students are urged to pay special attention to both the selection of and scholastic emphasis on the courses within the liberal arts and sciences general education degree requirements. These courses, designed to provide the students with a solid foundation for further study, are an essential part of the undergraduate s education.
The College administers placement examinations to determine the level at which entering students are prepared to begin their work in a foreign language and mathematics.
For all undergraduate degrees, the total number of semester hours must include the following:
English: six semester hours: ENGL 101 and 102 (A degree candidate must enroll in ENGL 90, 101 or 102 each semester until the English requirement has been fulfilled.)

History: six semester hours: HIST 101 and 102, which must be taken in sequence.

Natural Science: eight semester hours: an introductory or higher sequence from one of the following: astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, or physics, of which two semester hours must be earned in the accompanying laboratories.

Mathematics or Logic: six semester hours in either mathematics or logic. (This requirement may not be met by a combination of course work in mathematics and logic.)

Foreign Languages, Classical or Modern: 0-12 semester hours: satisfactory completion of course work through the intermediate level or demonstration of proficiency at that level by approved examination.

Social Science: 6 semester hours from one or two of the following: anthropology,economicss, political science, psychology, or sociology.

Humanities: 12 semester hours form the following six areas with no more than six semester hours in any one of thefollowingg areas: 1) British or American literature; 2) any foreign literature; 3) art history, music, and theatre (excluding courses in studio art, and the practice and performance of music and theatre ); 4) history (excluding 101 and 102); 5) philosophy (excluding 215 and 216); and 6) religious studies. Certain interdisciplinary courses in the Honors Program and in American studies and women s studies may also be applied to the humanities requirement. Questions should be addressed to the directors of these programs.