Through the Hamilton Holt School, Rollins College extends quality education to students who prefer the flexibility of part- or full-time study and the convenience of late-afternoon, evening, and weekend classes. The courses and programs of study are designed to meet the interests and needs of professionals and other adult learners.
The Rollins College liberal arts curriculum is designed to develop and refine analytical and critical skills. Small classes permit an active learning experience stressing problem-solving and organizational abilities. Students learn how to express and defend reasoned points of view both orally and in writing.
Students may either study for a bachelor of arts degree or take courses for career development and personal enrichment. Students will be held responsible for requirements that are in effect at the date of entrance into the Holt School. If students do not attend for a period of two years or more, they will be held responsible for the requirements in effect at the time of their reentry.
Master’s degree programs available through the Hamilton Holt School are described in separate graduate publications.
General Education Requirements
Students need both breadth and depth in their learning experience. By majoring in at least one area of knowledge, students gain the depth necessary for disciplinary expertise. The general education curriculum at Rollins College exposes students to varied perspectives and domains of knowledge, fosters critical thinking, and encourages students to consider the ways various areas of knowledge may reinforce and enrich each other.
The Arts and Sciences faculty have identified a set of core competencies within the general education program:
- To obtain knowledge of the distinctive methodologies and subject matter of the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
- Ability to read, think, write, and speak critically and analytically.
- Ability to identify and articulate ethical dimensions of a personal or social issue.
To be eligible for a bachelor of arts degree, students must complete one course from each of the general education areas listed below.
Expressive Arts (A)
Artistic creation is a central and enduring activity in all cultures. The arts attest to the fundamental human need for self-expression and for the transformation of human experience into lasting symbolic form. Furthermore, the great diversity of art forms across cultures is evidence of the degree to which human experience, while shared, is also culturally determined. Expressive arts classes provide students with an appreciation for aesthetic experience by teaching the skills necessary for individual aesthetic expression or by focusing on acquiring a critical vocabulary with which to articulate aesthetic experience, or both, depending on the discipline. The expressive arts thus encompass both primary aspects of artistic creation: its practice and its scholarly study.
Knowledge of Other Cultures (C)
Humans have adapted to a wide range of habitats and developed a variety of ways of interpreting and understanding the world. The diversity of these interpretations is part of what defines our species. By analyzing a non-Western culture, students will better understand what is common to human nature, how societies differ from each other, and how our lives are shaped by our cultural beliefs. They will also understand that culture is not an arbitrary construct, but rather consists of systems of beliefs and institutions that typically serve some purpose. Non-Western cultures are those that are not European derived, or that may be European derived but include a substantial cultural component from African, Native American, Asian, Australian Aboriginal, or Pacific Island sources.
Knowledge of Western Culture (H)
The ideas, arts, and institutions that define Western society and culture have emerged from a rich historical process. In order to understand, appreciate, and critically evaluate any aspect of this culture, one must have an understanding of the context from which it arose. By studying the Western heritage in its historical development, students will be encouraged to see the historical dimensions of the issues they face as engaged citizens today.
Awareness of Literature (L)
The L requirement seeks to develop lifelong readers sensitive to the richness of literary texts and to the pleasure of exploring that richness. In support of this goal, the L requirement develops students’ ability to discover and articulate the ways in which literature imaginatively reflects the human condition.
Oral Communication (T)
Oral Communication is the process of sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal messages to create shared meaning. Students graduating from Rollins College will be able to use oral communication skills to shape public dialogue by offering perspectives, sharing facts, raising questions, and engaging others in discussion. To achieve this goal, students will be able to organize ideas and concepts persuasively, tailor messages to a particular audience, adapt to listener feedback, and-employing appropriate technology-make effective oral presentations.
Scientific Perspective (P)
Humans live in and are part of the natural world. Our survival and success depends on our ability to understand, draw sustenance from, and sustain this world. These courses focus on understanding the nature of science: its discovery process, the scientific method, and the historical sequence leading to major discoveries. Where possible, these courses discuss the social context of the science courses, and give examples of the interplay between science and society. A laboratory experience is required.
Quantitative Thinking (Q)
Quantitative methods have become increasingly important in the natural and social sciences, business, government, and in many other activities that directly affect our lives. Furthermore, with the advent of fast computers with huge storage capabilities, it has become possible to collect, process, and disseminate large amounts of data. Playing an active role in the decision-making that shapes our society requires us to be able to interpret, analyze, and draw sound conclusions from the standard representations of data.
Written Communication (W)
The communication of ideas, information, poetry, stories, intent, and even culture itself has been dependent on the ability of humans to effectively store facts and convert thoughts to written language. The ability to communicate ideas and information in writing is at the core of a liberal arts education and is essential for active citizenship. In covering both academic and (to a lesser degree) familiar writing, the W course focuses on understanding rhetorical strategies. Students will read the texts of others and learn to shape their own meanings by writing and editing a variety of forms.
This requirement may be fulfilled by a score of 500 or more on the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) Achievement Test in English Composition, by scoring 65 or better on the English Composition with essay General Examination of the CEEB’s College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or by completing ENG 140 - Composition: Writing About Selected Topics with a grade of “C” or better.
All students are expected to complete ENG 140 - Composition: Writing About Selected Topics as one of their first four courses at Rollins unless it is transferred from another institution.
Note: Courses designated to meet two general education or institutional requirements may be used to satisfy one or the other, but not both, requirements.
Also included in the Hamilton Holt School requirements are additional institutional requirement listed below.
Introduction to the Liberal Arts (I)
The objective of this requirement is to enable students to develop a heightened appreciation of the human condition through interdisciplinary liberal arts study. The course is designed to introduce new students to the liberal arts and to prepare them to engage fully in the conversation inherent in a liberal arts education. This requirement is fulfilled by completing INT 200 - Introduction to Liberal Studies , which is required during the first six courses at Rollins. Students who hold the associate of arts degree or have completed two or more humanities courses prior to admission to Rollins are exempt from this requirement.
Writing Reinforcement (R)
In a contemporary global society, one must be able to write coherently and thoughtfully in both public and professional spheres. To master the skills and rhetorical practices of writing within a given discipline, students must move beyond basic instruction to the complexities of audience analysis and engagement in the larger queries of an informed citizenry. These courses require students to produce a series of written assignments intended both to extend facility in English composition and to deepen understanding of the writing process. This 300-level advanced writing requirement has a prerequisite of Freshman Composition and must be completed at Rollins College. Students who are exempted by transfer credit from taking ENG 140 - Composition: Writing About Selected Topics must take ENG 300 as one of their first four courses at Rollins College.
Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements
To be eligible for the bachelor of arts degree a student must complete the following requirements:
General Education Requirements
All general education requirements must be fulfilled.
Residence
The last 48 hours (twelve full-credit courses) for the bachelor of arts degree must be taken at Rollins College Hamilton Holt School. At least one-fourth of a student’s major and minor courses must be taken at Rollins.
Credit
Students must complete a minimum of 140 semester hours of academic work, at least 44 of which must be at the upper-division (300-400) level. Lower-level transfer courses may not be substituted for upper-division requirements unless approved by the appropriate academic department. Students may be required to take a number of overall elective courses in order to meet the semester-hour or upper-division requirement. A minimum of 16 semester hours must be from courses not used to meet either a general education or major requirement.
Grade
Students must earn a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 (“C”) for all courses taken at Rollins and achieve a minimum GPA of 2.00 for all courses taken to fulfill major and minor requirements.
Major/Minor
Students must satisfactorily complete the courses required for a major. The number of courses required varies between 10 and 17. Minors, consisting of six (6) to eight (8) courses, are optional. Students must earn a minimum GPA of 2.00 (“C”) in the courses approved for the major and minor as accepted on the senior audit.
Self-Designed Majors
Self-Designed Majors are intended for disciplined and highly motivated students who are clearly focused in their interests. These majors reflect the College’s recognition that not every student’s area of special interest will always fall neatly within the bounds of a single discipline as traditionally defined.
The Self-Designed Major is not intended as a way for a student to avoid the intellectual focus and methodological rigor required in the normal departmental major or to avoid certain difficult courses within majors. It should not be used to concentrate work in a narrowly pre-professional way. On the contrary, by successfully completing the courses and integrative research project that constitute the Self-Designed Major, the student is expected to achieve a depth of focused reflection and understanding at least comparable to that of a traditional major.
Guidelines for Submission of a Self-Designed Major Proposal
- Students proposing a self-designed major must have a grade point average of 3.33 or better.
- The proposal must include the names of three faculty members willing to serve on the senior research project committee. The faculty must represent the three disciplines represented in the major. The student must select a director, from among these three, who works with the student and the other committee members in preparing the proposal. The director also serves as an advocate in the approval process. Once the proposal has been approved, the director serves as the student’s academic advisor, monitors the student’s progress in completing the major, and chairs the committee that reviews the senior research project.
- The proposed major program must have a coherent theme or topic that integrates at least three traditional disciplines. It must be different enough from a regular major that some combination of major and minor would not substantially achieve the same result. The student must include a rationale for choosing a self-designed major rather than a conventional major.
- The proposal must include a list of courses, all related to and converging on the theme of the proposed major, from at least three disciplines.
- The major must include a two-term, eight-semester-hour independent research project, (or combination of a four-semester-hour upper-level seminar and a one-term, four-semester-hour research project) integrating the major, to be completed in the senior year.
- The program must be at least 64 semester hours (including the senior project) in length, of which 32 semester hours must be at the 300 level or above.
The proposal must be submitted to the Director of Student Services at the Hamilton Holt School for approval by September 1, for fall consideration, or by February 1, for spring consideration. (Proposals received during the summer term will be held for fall consideration.) The director then submits the proposal to the Academic Affairs Committee for final approval. An Amendment Form must be submitted to approve any changes from the original proposal.
Declaring a Major
Selection of a major does not imply a career choice. Concentration in a major field of study is designed to give a student command of the content and methods of one discipline or field, acquaintance with recognized authorities in the field, and general competence in dealing with sources of research or analysis. A decision as to a declaration of major is strongly encouraged by the second term of the sophomore year.
Students who withdraw from Rollins and return after two or more years may be required to follow any curricular policies in effect at the time of their return.
Double Counting of Classes for Majors and Minors
If students are enrolled in more than one major or minor, they may double count no more than half the number of courses in the smaller program. If the smaller program requires an odd number of courses, the student may round up. No course may be counted for more than two programs.
Responsibility for Requirements
A student is responsible for becoming familiar with and meeting all graduation requirements listed in the Holt School academic catalog. Academic advisors assist in this process, but it is ultimately the student’s responsibility to ensure that all necessary requirements have been met. Questions concerning the requirements should be addressed to an academic advisor.
Special Curricular Opportunities
Independent Study
Independent studies, classified as either research or internship, offer students an opportunity for specialized study meant to encourage intellectual curiosity, initiative, and sustained effort. An independent study cannot normally duplicate a course that is regularly offered. Students are not eligible to participate in independent study until they have successfully completed the academic review process that follows admission to the program.
Students may apply no more than three independent study (research and/or internship) courses to the bachelor’s degree, of which no more than two may be internships. No more than two independent studies may be within one’s major or minor area of study. Independent studies may not be used to fulfill major/minor core or general education requirements.
Research
To qualify, students already must have acquired the knowledge and skills necessary to do the research. This implies that the research is in the major (or in a closely allied field) and that students have achieved junior or senior status. Such projects usually involve original research with primary materials or original work in the laboratory or studio.
The purpose of the approval process is to ensure that independent studies are compatible with the philosophy and overall nature of the entire curriculum and to give the student adequate time to formulate a well-defined study before the beginning of the term in which the study will be conducted.
The deadline dates are published in each term schedule of courses and are strictly enforced. Students are responsible for completing the project proposal form, signing the form, obtaining the signatures of the faculty sponsor and the academic department chair, and returning the final, completed proposal form to the Holt School prior to the deadline. The Holt School will not accept incomplete forms. An authorized original copy of the independent study form is required prior to registration.
Please note that some academic departments have departmental expectations relevant to independent studies and internships that may include earlier submission or approval deadlines. Students will be held responsible for these expectations.
Internship
In order to be eligible for the Academic Internship Program (AIP), a student must have earned a minimum of 30 (thirty) semester hours of credit and successfully completed one (1) semester in the Hamilton Holt School. In addition, students may not be on academic or judicial probation during the semester in which they are enrolled for the internship. Students may enroll in one (1) academic internship per semester, and a maximum of four (4) semester hours of credit may be earned for any internship in a single semester. A student who completes the same internship multiple terms may only receive academic credit for that internship during one (1) term. A maximum of 8 (eight) semester hours of internship credit may be applied towards graduation. Appeals to these academic policies should be submitted in writing to the Holt Student Appeals Committee.
Students may register to earn 2, 3 or 4 semester hours of credit for an internship, which will require at least 80, 120 or 160 work hours respectively at the internship site. Each credit hour requires a minimum of 40 hours of work at the internship site within the dates of the semester. Academic credit cannot be granted retroactively for an internship that has already been started or completed.
Fall and spring internships for credit must be completed within the dates of the semester as listed on the Rollins academic calendar. Summer internships for credit must be completed within a 9-week semester (dates to be determined by internship instructor).
For additional information and registration instructions students may contact the Office of Career Services, 407-646-2195, careercenter@rollins.edu or visit the Web site: http://www.rollins.edu/career-life-planning/index.html
Second Bachelor’s Degree
The admission requirements for students seeking a second bachelor’s degree differ from first degree requirements in that they are based upon selective rather than performance criteria.
Candidates for a second bachelor’s degree must have the approval of their academic advisor and the Director of Student Services. Approval of a second degree will be based on the following criteria:
- A student should have obtained a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in his or her first bachelor’s degree.
- The intended major of the second degree should be clearly different and distinct from the major of the first degree.
Students must be approved for a second degree prior to completion of their second term of attendance. All students are reviewed after their first semester in the Hamilton Holt School. Students with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) below 2.0 will be placed on academic warning and dismissed after two semesters if the GPA remains below 2.0.
Graduation requirements to receive a second bachelor’s degree from Rollins College include the following: completion of a major course of study that differs from that of the first degree, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0, no less than forty-eight (48) semesters hours of Rollins credit, and verification through a degree audit of the satisfaction of all general education requirements via courses undertaken at other regionally accredited institutions of higher education or at Rollins College.
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