Catalog
The Academic Program
The college's emphasis on the liberal arts and sciences is grounded both in sound educational principles and by the test of long experience. The broad knowledge achieved in a liberal education gives women and men a realistic understanding of the complexity of their world and prepares them for lives satisfying to themselves and useful to others.
The Liberal Arts and Sciences
Liberal learning is fundamentally concerned with personal growth in its intellectual and moral dimensions. Educated persons welcome the hard academic work that is the price of discovery; they are stimulated by ideas, artistic expression, good talk, and great books; and they avow a continuing commitment to the search for truth in the methods of the sciences, the patterns of logic and language, and the beauties of art. The first obligation of a student is to cultivate her or his own habits of mind; the first duty of a liberal arts college is to develop, encourage, and direct that process.
With intellectual development should come a deepening moral awareness. A college student should have the ability to lead as well as a willingness to cooperate. Comprehension of life's complexities should lead to a sympathetic understanding of others and a generosity in response to them. The student should develop a sense of social and civic responsibility, and integrity should guide every action.
The curriculum establishes the expectations for learning that form the foundation of the college's commitment to the liberal arts and sciences. Committees of faculty members and students review the educational policies and the specific curricular offerings of the college. New fields of scholarship are introduced by the faculty, and the most recent advances in technology are incorporated into the various disciplines. The college promotes the development of critical-thinking and writing skills through all its curricular offerings, from the first-year seminar to the senior thesis. The college encourages students to pursue their own original research as an extension of their regular course work and offers opportunities and financial support to facilitate such research during the academic year and the summer months. Recognizing the fundamental role the liberal arts play in the development of social responsibility and good citizenship, the college encourages students to integrate social service into their academic work and provides opportunities for community-based research.
The Academic Calendar
The calendar calls for two semesters and a Short Term. The first semester ends in mid-December and the second ends in mid-April. A five-week Short Term usually concludes at the end of May. First-year and all other new students must be present for their matriculation at new-student orientation at the beginning of September. Although new students register for courses prior to their arrival, they may adjust their registrations during the orientation period. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors register during designated periods in each prior semester.
Short Term. The Short Term provides an unusual opportunity for a variety of educational programs, frequently off campus, that cannot be offered in the regular semesters. These include marine biological studies at stations on the coast of Maine; geology fieldwork in the American Southwest; and art, theater, and music studies in New York City. The Short Term allows time for archaeological investigations by students in history and anthropology; field projects for students in economics, environmental studies, and sociology; social-service internships associated with academic departments and programs; and immersion in studio art practice, dance, and laboratory science. The term also allows for faculty-directed study in foreign countries. Recent off-campus Short Term courses have focused on landscape painting and art history in Italy; anthropology in Jamaica; environmental conservation in Russia; art, economics, and environmental studies in China; art and culture in Vietnam; literature and culture in Cuba; culture in Romania; and production of plays by Bates students at a professional English-language theater in Hungary.
Students may register for only one course per Short Term, and must be enrolled at Bates in either the preceding fall or winter semester in order to enroll in a Short Term course in that academic year. Students must successfully complete two Short Term courses in order to fulfill the degree requirements. A third Short Term course is optional. Students wishing to register for a third Short Term course receive a lower registration priority than students registering for their first or second course. An exception to this ranking is made for students participating in the three-year program (see below), who are required to complete three Short Term courses. The ranking does not apply to courses requiring permission of the instructor to register. Short Term grades count in are calculated in the cumulative GPA.
Three-Year Program Option. The three-year option is designed for the especially qualified student who may benefit from an accelerated undergraduate program that allows for earlier admission to graduate school or for career placement. The accelerating student completes five courses each semester and attends every Short Term, completing the degree requirement of thirty-three courses (including three Short Term courses) and sixty-six quality points in three consecutive years. Students must apply for entry into the three-year program through the Office of the Dean of Students early in their Bates career.
Academic Advising
Each Bates student has one or more academic advisors during the college years who provide advice in planning a curriculum to meet the student's particular needs. New students are assigned academic advisors from among members of the faculty, usually the student's first-year seminar instructor. The advisor holds individual conferences with a student during his or her first week on campus and continues to counsel the student until he or she declares a major. The major department or program assumes the advising responsibility once a student has declared a major — no later than 1 March of the second year. The student and the advisor meet during registration periods and on an informal basis whenever the student seeks advice about the curriculum, course selection, General Education, the major program, the thesis or senior project, progress toward the degree, graduate school, or other academic concerns. While faculty members provide academic advice, final responsibility for course selection and the completion of degree requirements rests with the student. The Office of the Registrar provides students and advisors an online audit to evaluate student progress toward the degree and is available for General Education and degree requirement advising. The deans of students can also provide advice on General Education and academic matters.
In addition to the academic advisor, faculty committees and the Bates Career Development Center can provide guidance on graduate and professional schools. The Committee on Graduate Fellowships provides general information and supervises the selection process for various graduate fellowships and grants. Students planning professional careers in medical fields are aided by the Committee on Medical Studies. Students interested in graduate or professional schools are encouraged to contact these committees and the Career Development Center's counseling staff early in their college careers so that a curriculum and a series of related internships and work experiences can be planned to meet their professional goals.
The First-Year Seminar Program
First-year students are strongly encouraged to take a first-year seminar, a limited-enrollment course specifically designed for first-year students. Topics vary from year to year, but they always represent a broad range of interdisciplinary issues and questions addressed within the tradition of the liberal arts. First-year seminars enable entering students to work with faculty and other students in a small class; they provide closely supervised training in techniques of reasoning, writing, and research; and they foster an attitude of active participation in the educational process. First-year seminars carry full course credit toward the baccalaureate degree and are offered in the fall semester. All first-year seminars fulfill the first-level writing requirement [W1], and may fulfill other General Education, major, or minor requirements. Usually a student's first-year seminar instructor is his or her academic advisor. Descriptions of first-year seminars are found in the Courses of Instruction section of this catalog.
General Education
Throughout the College's history, its faculty has expected all students to pursue certain common patterns of study in the liberal arts as well as complete a major, a concentrated focus of study. The faculty believes that there are areas of knowledge and understanding, modes of appreciation, and kinds of skills that are of general and lasting significance to the life of the mind. General Education provides a critical perspective on the ideas, values, expressions, and experiences that constitute our culture. General Education also encourages respect for the integrity of thought, judgment, creativity, and tradition beyond the culture of contemporary America. In addition, the faculty encourages each student to pursue some study in a foreign language.
The General Education requirements honor the tradition of breadth and depth of intellectual experience while placing emphasis on cross-disciplinary collaboration and exploration. The requirements are an integral and focal component of a Bates education, which also features study in a major and optional minor, and a senior thesis or other capstone experience.
General Education Requirements:
1. Two Concentrations. In addition to their major, students successfully complete two General Education concentrations, declared at the same time as the major. A concentration consists of four courses chosen from a faculty-designed menu that is structured around a clearly articulated organizing principle. Some concentrations also include relevant co-curricular experiences such as significant community service, musical ensembles, summer research, or volunteer work that may be used in lieu of a course toward fulfillment of the concentration. Most co-curricular experiences, though counting toward a concentration, may not be counted toward the total credits needed for graduation. Some concentrations allow the use of one or two non-Bates courses if they are preapproved by the concentration coordinator as comparable to the Bates courses in the concentration.
Concentrations are of two basic types: 1) concentrations focusing on a particular issue or topic or area of inquiry identified by self-constituted groups of faculty in different disciplines; 2) concentrations within a single discipline. Students may only "double-dip" — satisfy two requirements with one course or co-curricular experience — once between their two concentrations (i.e., only one course, or co-curricular experience may count toward both concentrations). Alternatively, students may only double-dip once between their concentrations and their major (i.e., only one of the eight courses, or co-curricular experiences they choose to fulfill their two concentrations may also be counted toward their major). The two concentrations together must thus have a minimum of seven distinct courses or co-curricular experiences. When appropriate, concentration courses (but not co-curricular experiences) may be counted toward any other degree requirements (writing, scientific reasoning, laboratory experience, or quantitative literacy).
Each concentration requirement also may be fulfilled by completing a second major or a minor. Students' concentrations appear on their transcripts and are a permanent part of their academic records.
2. Three Writing-Attentive Courses. Students successfully complete three writing-attentive courses, one in their first-year [W1], one taken in the sophomore or junior year at the second level [W2], and one in their senior year at the third level [W3]. First-level courses [W1] are typically first-year seminars. The third-level writing-attentive requirement [W3] is usually fulfilled by completing a senior thesis. When appropriate, writing-attentive courses may also be used to fulfill any other degree requirements at Bates (major, minor, concentrations, scientific reasoning, laboratory experience, or quantitative literacy). All three writing-attentive courses must be taken at Bates.
3. Scientific Reasoning, Laboratory Experience, and Quantitative Literacy. Students successfully complete three distinct courses: 1) one course that requires scientific reasoning [S], which may or may not have a laboratory component; 2) one course that includes a regularly scheduled laboratory component in the laboratory or in the field [L]; 3) one course in quantitative literacy [Q].
No double-dipping is allowed among S, L, and Q courses; these requirements must be met by three distinct courses. However, when appropriate, S, L, and Q courses may be used to fulfill other degree requirements (major, minor, concentrations, and writing). A non-Bates course may be applied toward these requirements with prior approval of the appropriate department/program chair and the chair of the committee that oversees these requirements.
4. Pass/Fail and General Education. Courses taken pass/fail do not count toward General Education requirements.
Major Fields of Study
While the faculty believes that each student should be essentially familiar with many fields of liberal learning, it also believes that a student must choose a field of special concentration — a major — to gain the advantages that come from studying one academic subject more extensively. This major field occupies a quarter to a third of the student's college work and may be related to an intended career following graduation.
Students may declare one or more majors. Completion of more than one major requires fulfillment of all major requirements, including the thesis, senior project, and/or the comprehensive examination, in each academic department or program.
Departmental Majors. Majors may be taken in fields established within the academic departments. There are twenty-three such majors: anthropology, art and visual culture, biology, chemistry, dance, economics, English, French and Francophone studies, geology, German, history, mathematics, music, philosophy, physics, politics, psychology, religious studies, rhetoric, Russian (for the classes of 2013, 2014, 2015 only), sociology, Spanish, and theater. The specific requirements for each major are explained in the introduction to the department's courses of instruction in the Catalog.
Interdisciplinary Program Majors. The faculty has established interdisciplinary programs in which students may major: African American studies; American cultural studies; Asian studies, including majors in East Asian studies, Chinese, and Japanese; biological chemistry; classical and medieval studies; environmental studies; neuroscience; and women and gender studies. The programs are administered by committees of faculty members from the programs and from different departments. Major requirements for these programs are explained in the introduction to each program's courses of instruction in the Catalog. Beginning in 2013-2014, the college will offer a major in European studies.
Individual Interdisciplinary Majors. In addition to established departmental and program majors, a student may propose an individual interdisciplinary major, should that student discover a well-defined intellectual interest that crosses one or more boundaries of the established fields of concentration. An interdisciplinary major involves a detailed program of study with courses drawn from at least two departments or programs but only one senior thesis and/or comprehensive examination.
Detailed guidelines and an application for the individual interdisciplinary major are available from the registrar. Proposals for interdisciplinary majors must be submitted to the registrar for approval by the Committee on Curriculum and Calendar by 1 March in the sophomore year. Proposals must include a faculty advisory board of at least three faculty members who have agreed collectively to act as major advisor. One of these faculty members also serves as thesis advisor unless the student's program includes a comprehensive examination instead of a thesis. The student provides a list of appropriate courses to be included in the major. The student with an individual interdisciplinary major graduates with a degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Engineering Major. Students interested in aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical, environmental, mechanical, mineral, or nuclear engineering may participate in the college's Liberal Arts-Engineering Dual Degree Program, in which three or four years at Bates are typically followed by two years at an affiliated engineering school. Recommended course
sequences vary according to each student's particular engineering interests; curricular guidelines are available from the Dual Degree Program faculty advisor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Dual Degree Program majors complete all General Education requirements except the third-level writing requirement [W3].
Upon completion of the five-year Dual Degree Program, students receive an undergraduate degree from Bates in engineering and a bachelor of science degree in engineering from the engineering-school affiliate.
The Senior Thesis
One of the most distinctive features of the Bates curriculum is the senior thesis, which is offered in all departments and programs and required by most. The faculty believes that a Bates senior is well-educated and well-prepared to undertake a significant research, performance, or studio project in the final year of study in the major. The traditional senior thesis involves one or two semesters of original research and writing, culminating in a substantial paper on a research topic of the student's design. Such an effort requires that the student possess an excellent understanding of the subject area, its theoretical underpinnings, and its research methodology. The student must also be able to think critically and comprehensively about the topic, and must be able to advance a well-formulated argument. Conducting a senior thesis draws on a student's past academic experience and requires considerable independent thinking and creativity, self-discipline, and effective time management.
The student is guided in this process by the thesis advisor. Many departments and programs bring thesis students together in seminar courses or colloquia in which they meet regularly to discuss current literature, research methodologies, and their own progress. Many departments and programs require students to deliver formal presentations of their thesis work.
Some departments and programs offer or require thesis work that includes theatrical or musical performance, film and video production, curriculum development, community-based research, or studio art work and exhibition. Rarely, qualified students undertake a joint thesis in which two students collaborate on one project.
In some departments a senior may culminate his or her career at Bates with an alternative senior project. Portfolios, comprehensive examinations, or advanced research seminars are available as thesis alternatives in several major fields. Specific information on the work required of seniors in the major fields is detailed in the introductions to the courses of instruction for each department and program in the Catalog.
The Honors Program
The college's Honors Program promotes, develops, and recognizes work of higher quality than ordinarily required for the baccalaureate degree. The program encourages students to achieve mastery of a specific topic within the context of a major through extensive independent study and research. Honors study proceeds throughout fall and winter semesters of the senior year under the guidance of a faculty advisor; some students begin honors research in the summer preceding the senior year.
The Honors Program consists of a substantial written thesis and an oral examination on the thesis. In an alternative offered by some departments, eligible students elect a program consisting of a performance or a project in the creative arts, a written statement based on the project, and an oral examination on the project. Oral-examination committees include the thesis advisor, members of the major department or program, at least one faculty member from a different department or program, and an examiner who specializes in the field of study and is from another institution.
Honors theses become a part of the archives of the college, held on SCARAB, Bates' online repository for publications. More information on the Honors Program is available on the program's website (www.bates.edu/honors).
Minors
In addition to completing a major, a student may elect to complete a minor in a number of disciplines. Minor requirements vary and are detailed in the introductions to the courses of instruction of the relevant departments or programs in this catalog. Minors are offered in African American studies, anthropology, Asian studies, chemistry, Chinese, dance, educational studies, French and Francophone studies, German, Greek, geology, history, Japanese, Latin, mathematics, music, philosophy, physics, religious studies, rhetoric, Russian, Spanish, teacher education, theater, and women and gender studies.
Independent Study
Independent study courses allow students to pursue individually a course of study or research not offered in the Bates curriculum during the semester (courses designated 360) or during the Short Term (s50). The student designs and plans the independent study in consultation with a faculty member. The work must be approved by a Bates department or program, supervised by a Bates faculty member who is responsible for evaluation of the work and submission of a grade, and completed during the semester or Short Term for which the student has registered for the course. Faculty members advise independent studies voluntarily and may decline to advise an independent study course.
Independent study course work is undertaken during the academic year, and it may reflect upon summer activities. Credit, however, is awarded for work done during the academic year and the student must register for a fall independent study during the spring before the activity takes place when a summer learning experience is a substantial component of the independent study. The student must be in residence and may not complete an independent study away from campus. Students may not receive credit for employment unless there is a clearly defined academic component to the work. Academic credit is not granted for work completed under Bates summer research grant programs. Students may register for no more than one independent study course during any given semester. A student may complete a total of only one Short Term independent study course. For more information, students may consult the Independent Study Registration Form, available from the registrar.
Learning Associates
Central to the strength of a Bates education are the intense and deep relationships formed between faculty and students, and the quality of learning that results from sustained contact between teacher and learner. To complement the focus and depth of intellectual exploration among students and faculty, the college engages "learning associates," experts in many fields who hail from around Maine and around the world. Learning associates help students and faculty by bringing new meanings and perspectives to a subject. Learning associates may be on campus for a day, a week, several weeks, or may have a "virtual residence," working with students via e-mail, critiquing research methodology or results, or reading emerging senior theses. These experts expand the knowledge base available to students and faculty, challenge the neatness of discipline-based academic thinking, and provide rich contexts for translating ideas into action in the real world. Each year a variety of learning associates work with students in a range of disciplines. Recent learning associates have included a renowned blues musician; a specialist in Chinese medicine; a scholar of Arab and Iranian film; and several Indonesian gamelan masters who helped students and faculty better understand this unique instrumental ensemble.
Requirements for the Baccalaureate Degree
The Course Credit System. A student's progress toward the baccalaureate degree is measured by course credits. All courses offered in the fall and winter semesters and the Short Term carry one course credit, with the exception of studio dance, musical ensembles, theater production, and applied music, which earn one half-credit per course. Each candidate for the baccalaureate degree must complete thirty-four credits, of which two must be Short Term course credits. No more than two Short Term credits may be applied toward the thirty-four required credits. Students who participate in the three-year degree program are required to complete thirty-three credits, three of which must be Short Term credits.
Grades.The faculty of the college assesses student academic performance by assigning the following grades: A, B, C, D, and plus and minus for each; and F. Quality-point equivalents for these grades are described below. A temporary grade of DEF indicates that a student has secured, through a faculty member and a dean of students, a formal deferral for incomplete course work. Incomplete work for which deferred grades are given must be completed in a specific period of time as determined on the deferral form. The deferred grade becomes an F# grade if the work is not completed on time or when a faculty member does not submit a grade. The F# grade is administrative and is computed in the GPA as zero quality points. The final grade, if previously deferred, includes an asterisk (*) when posted on the transcript. In cases in which the due date for course work is extended beyond the end of the semester as part of a pre-approved accommodation for a documented disability or learning difference, the final grade is not differentiated on the transcript from the grades for courses completed in the normal time frame. A grade of W indicates that a student withdrew from the course after the official drop date. The deans of students or the Committee on Academic Standing may grant such withdrawals. Faculty members may choose to use Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) grades to assess the work of all of their students in any given Short Term course.
Repeating Courses. Students may repeat a course only if they have received a grade of F for the course or have withdrawn and received a grade of W. The F grade remains in the student's grade point average, however, even if the course is repeated.
Pass/Fail Option. Students may elect to take a total of two Bates courses in the fall or winter semester on a pass/fail basis, with a maximum of one per semester. Students may not elect to take a Short Term course pass/fail. The following conditions apply:
1. Students may declare or change a pass/fail option until the final day to add a course.
2. Students taking a course pass/fail are not identified as such on class rosters. Faculty members submit a regular letter grade (A, B, C, D, F) to the registrar, who converts the letter grade to a pass or a fail. A grade of D-minus or above is considered a passing grade. Unless the student chooses to inform the instructor, only the student, the student's advisor, and the registrar know the grading mode for the course.
3. Departments and programs decide whether courses taken pass/fail can be used to satisfy major and minor requirements. This information appears in the paragraphs introducing the courses of instruction for each department and program in this catalog.
4. Courses taken pass/fail are not computed in the student's grade point average, and do not count toward General Education requirements. A pass is equivalent to two quality points.
Grade Reports. At the end of each semester and Short Term, grade reports are available for viewing on the Bates Garnet Gateway, the secure online records system (www.bates.edu/garnet-gateway/). Paper copies of grade reports may be sent to students upon request to the registrar. Faculty policies governing academic standing are outlined on page 25.
Course Evaluations. At the end of each semester and Short Term students are required to complete an evaluation of each course taken. Students have a limited amount of time in which to complete a Web-based course evaluation, available on the Garnet Gateway. Students' grade reports are not immediately released if this requirement has not been fulfilled.
Dean's List. Based on semester grade point averages, at the conclusion of each fall and winter semester approximately the top 25 percent of students are named to the Dean's List. To be eligible, students must have completed all course work by the end of the semester and received letter grades in at least three Bates courses. At the start of each academic year, an appropriate GPA threshold is determined for placing students on the Dean's List for the ensuing year. This GPA level is computed as the minimum of the top 25 percent of the semester GPAs of all full-time students during the preceding three years. In 2012–2013 a student must earn a GPA of 3.70 or higher to be named to the Dean's List.
Degree Requirements
Students may pursue courses leading to the degree of either bachelor of arts or bachelor of science. When determining graduation eligibility, students are held to the curriculum and degree requirements listed in the catalog for the year in which they matriculated at Bates. If officially withdrawn and readmitted, students are held to the curriculum and degree requirements listed in the catalog in the year in which they are readmitted, or as determined by the Committee on Academic Standing upon readmission. Each student is solely responsible for completing all of these requirements.
Each candidate for graduation must complete the following requirements:
1. Either (a) thirty-four course credits, two of which must be Short Term course credits, and sixty-eight quality points. No more than two Short Term courses may be applied toward the thirty-four course credit requirements; or, (b) thirty-three course credits, three of which must be Short Term courses, and sixty-six quality points. No more than three Short Term courses may be applied toward the thirty-three course credit requirement. Option (b) is available only to students who graduate in the three-year program. The following values are used in the computation of quality points:
GPA Table |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A+ = 4.0 | B+ = 3.3 | C+ = 2.3 | D+ = 1.3 | F = 0 | ON = 0 |
A = 4.0 | B = 3.0 | C = 2.0 | D = 1.0 | F# = 0 | W = 0 |
A- = 3.7 | B- = 2.7 | C- = 1.7 | D- = 0.7 | DEF = 0 | P = 2 |
2. A major field of study. Students successfully complete all prescribed work in a major, including a senior thesis or, as determined by the major department or program.
3.Registration in each regular semester for no fewer than 3.0 or no more than 5.5 academic credits.
4. Enrollment in courses at Bates for the final semester of the senior year. Senior work in the major field must be completed in residence.
5. Physical education activity credits. The physical education requirement may be satisfied by completing two ten-week physical education activity courses. Students may also meet the requirement through department-approved participation in intercollegiate athletics, club sports, and activity courses, or any combination. This requirement should be completed by the end of the first year in residence.
6. General Education requirements. See page 19 for a full desciption of the General Education requirements.
7. Bachelor of science requirements. In addition, candidates for the bachelor of science degree must complete CHEM 107A, CH/ES 107B, or FYS 398; CHEM 108A or CH/ES 108B; MATH 105 and 106; PHYS 107 or FYS 314; and PHYS 108 or FYS 274. Students with Advanced Placement credit, International Baccalaureate credit, A-Level credit, or approved transfer credit may fulfill the requirement for one or more of these courses. Students must declare their intention to earn the B.S. degree no later than the end of the first semester of their senior year. For students entering in Fall 2012, pass/fail may not apply to courses for the B.S. requirements.
8. Liberal Arts-Engineering Dual Degree Plan. After three or four years (depending on the engineering program) of full-time study at Bates, qualified students may enroll in a two-year engineering program at Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Case Western Reserve University, or Washington University in St. Louis. Dual Degree Program majors complete all General Education requirements except the third-level writing requirement [W3]. Upon completion of this five- or six-year program, students receive both an undergraduate degree from Bates College and a bachelor of science from the engineering school affiliate. Students who wish to pursue this line of study should consult with the faculty advisor for the Dual Degree Plan within the first two weeks of their undergraduate careers.
9. Academic honors. The College recognizes academic achievement though three kinds of honors: general honors, major-field honors (see page 21), and Dean's List (see page 24).
There are three levels of general honors, based upon cumulative grade point average: cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude.
General honors are calculated as follows: By the start of each academic year, the registrar computes the minimum cumulative grade point average necessary to rank students in the top 2 percent, 8 percent, and 15 percent of the combined last three graduating classes. In 2012–2013, students with GPAs of 3.94 or higher earn the distinction of summa cum laude; GPAs of 3.84 to 3.93, magna cum laude; and GPAs of 3.75 to 3.83, cum laude.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Federal law requires the college to establish standards of satisfactory progress toward the degree and to monitor each recipient of federal aid to insure that he or she is making satisfactory progress according to those standards. The concept of satisfactory progress mandates the monitoring of both grade point average (GPA) — qualitative progress — and the number of credits completed — quantitative progress. The Committee on Academic Standing is responsible for evaluation of the student's progress, reviews the student's academic standing each semester, and evaluates petitions for exceptions to these standards. In addition, the deans of students may authorize exceptions for serious illnesses or personal emergencies. The college has established these standards:
Qualitative Standards. Student academic standing is based on the schedule below. All Bates course grades are included in a student's GPA; however, for the purposes of determining academic standing (good standing, probation, dismissal), first-year grades may be omitted from the computation if that omission benefits the student.
The Office of the Dean of Students informs students of changes in their academic standing according to the following schedule:
- First-year students
- First semester
- If the GPA is less than 0.75: dismissal
- If the GPA is greater than or equal to 0.75 but less than 1.5: probation
- If the GPA is greater than or equal to 1.5: good academic standing
- Second semester, for students in good academic standing
- If the semester GPA is less than 0.75: dismissal
- If the semester GPA is greater than or equal to 0.75 but less than 1.5: probation
- If the cumulative GPA is greater than or equal to 1.5: good academic standing
- Second semester, for students on academic probation
- If the semester GPA is less than 1.5: dismissal
- If the cumulative GPA is less than 1.75 but the semester GPA is greater than or equal to 1.5: probation
- If the cumulative GPA is greater than or equal to 1.75: good academic standing
- First semester
- Sophomores, juniors, first-semester seniors
- For purposes of determining academic standing internally only, the computation of the cumulative GPA for upperclass students omits first-year grades if, and only if, this is advantageous to the student.
- For students in good academic standing
- If the semester GPA is less than 1.0: dismissal
- If the cumulative GPA is less than 2.0: probation
- If the cumulative GPA is equal to or greater than 2.0: good academic standing
- For students on academic probation
- If the cumulative and semester GPA are less than 2.0: dismissal
- If the cumulative GPA is less than 2.0 but the semester GPA is greater than or equal to 2.0: probation
- If the cumulative GPA is greater than or equal to 2.0: good academic standing
- Second-semester seniors
Students graduate if the normal degree requirements, including courses, Short Term courses, and total grade point averages, are met. This applies to students on academic probation from the prior semester, even if they do not fulfill the normal probationary requirements for good academic standing in the second senior semester.
Changes in academic standing are reported to students and academic advisors. Parents are informed when students are on probation or are dismissed. Students may appeal changes in academic standing to the Academic Standing Committee after consulting with the dean of students.
Quantitative Standards. A student's progress toward the baccalaureate degree is measured by course credits. Students usually follow a four-year track; however, some students complete the academic program in three years (see page 18).
Normally, students in the four-year program successfully complete eight courses by the end of their first year, sixteen courses by the end of their second year, twenty-four courses and one Short Term course by the end of their third year, and thirty-two courses and two Short Term courses by the end of their fourth year.
To comply with the satisfactory-progress policy, each candidate in the four-year program must successfully complete the following minimum numbers of course and Short Term course credits: no fewer than six courses by the end of the first year; no fewer than twelve courses by the end of the second year; no fewer than twenty courses and one Short Term course by the end of the third year; and thirty-two courses and two Short Term courses by the end of the fourth year.
Normally, students in the three-year program successfully complete ten courses and one Short Term course by the end of the first year, twenty courses and two Short Term courses by the end of the second year, and thirty courses and three Short Term courses by the end of the third year.
To comply with the satisfactory-progress policy, each candidate in the three-year program must successfully complete the following minimum numbers of course credits: no fewer than eight courses and one Short Term course by the end of the first year; no fewer than eighteen courses and two Short Term courses by the end of the second year; and no fewer than thirty courses and three Short Term courses by the end of the third year.
Maximum Time Frame. All students are expected to complete the degree in eight semesters; students are eligible to continue enrollment and receive financial aid for eight full-time semesters. Any student not meeting the standards of satisfactory progress is ineligible to return to Bates or receive federal student aid. The registrar notifies students if they have not met the quantitative standards. Students are considered withdrawn until satisfactory progress is reestablished.
Reestablishing Eligibility. Written notice is given to students whose status makes them ineligible to return for the next semester, or whose financial aid eligibility is rescinded for lack of academic progress. If denied aid or permission to return because of failure to meet the satisfactory-progress policy standards, students may reestablish eligibility for federal aid by subsequently meeting the standards. The Committee on Academic Standing may also readmit to the college students who petition the committee for readmission when there are exceptional or extenuating circumstances. A student who has reestablished eligibility may be considered for aid for upcoming periods but not for periods during which standards were not met. The Office of the Dean of Students, the academic advisor, and the registrar can consult with students seeking to rectify deficiencies in grades or earned credits.
Appeals for Financial Aid. A student who is ineligible for financial aid due to lack of satisfactory progress or exceeding the eight-semester time limit, and who believes that exceptional or extenuating circumstances caused this ineligibility, may request a review by the director of student financial services and the dean of admission and financial aid.
Additional Information. Students who fail to make satisfactory academic progress do not receive the following types of financial aid: federal Pell Grant; federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant; Federal College Work-Study; federal Perkins Loan; federal Stafford Loan; federal PLUS Loan; or Bates College scholarships, grants, loans, or employment. Students on probationary status are still eligible to receive financial aid; students dismissed are ineligible. Students who reduce their course load are required to repay the appropriate financial assistance. Students participating in the Federal College Work-Study Program are subject to termination of employment. The grades of F and DEF are not considered as successful completion of a course. A student who is suspended for unsatisfactory scholarship, or for disciplinary or financial reasons, is denied permission to continue to attend classes, to enroll in subsequent terms, to reside in college housing, to receive Bates-funded financial aid, and to participate in Bates-sponsored extracurricular activities or use facilities in ways that are not also open to the general public.
Reinstatement after Withdrawal or Dismissal
A student in good academic standing who withdraws from the college may be reinstated at the discretion of the dean of students or an associate dean of students, if the reinstatement is within two years of the withdrawal and there are no outstanding financial obligations to the college. In no cases are students readmitted when they have outstanding financial obligations to the college or are past due in federal student loan repayments. A student in good standing who has withdrawn for more than two years, a student not in good standing, or a student who has been dismissed from the college must apply for readmission to the Committee on Academic Standing through the dean of students. Students not in good standing or dismissed must be separated from the college for at least one full semester, and must provide evidence of serious purpose and of academic or professional involvement. Candidates for readmission for the fall semester must submit their credentials by 1 May. Those seeking readmission for the winter semester must submit their credentials by 15 November.
Off-Campus Study Programs
The college sponsors a vigorous off-campus study program through which about 65 percent of juniors and a smaller number of students in other classes study abroad each year. The programs are administered by the Off-Campus Study Office and overseen by the Committee on Off-Campus Study according to policies set by the committee and the faculty; students earn Bates-approved program credit. These programs can greatly enrich student academic and personal development with expanded opportunities for academic study, exposure to different cultural and educational settings, and, in many cases, immersion language study. Further information on off-campus study opportunities appears on the Off-Campus Study Office website (www.bates.edu/offcampus).
Students interested in studying off campus consult with their faculty advisor, the chair of their major department or program, and advisors in the Off-Campus Study Office. The application process requires completion of both a Bates application and the application of the program or foreign university. The Bates application must be submitted in early February of the year before off-campus study is planned, and must include a statement of academic goals, the desired approved program or university, reasons for the semester selected, and the approval of the student's major department or program. The college requires that the number of applications be balanced between the two semesters at the application deadline in February. If too many students apply to study off campus a given semester, students are selected according to criteria established by the Off-Campus Study Committee, which are explained in detail on the website (www.bates.edu/offcampus/start/first/enrollment-balance).
With the exception of summer courses, matriculated students who wish to receive credit for study outside the United States and for affiliated domestic programs must have the preapproval of the Committee on Off-Campus Study and their major department or program. Students must study in an approved program and complete their studies in accordance with the committee's guidelines. They must have a 2.50 cumulative GPA at the time of application. A student may become ineligible if the GPA drops below 2.50 during the application process or after admission to her or his program. Registration as a four-year student, including residence at Bates during the sophomore year, is required. In addition, the Committee on Off-Campus Study considers the student's personal character and capacity for independent work in determining eligibility.
Students participating in a Bates Fall Semester Abroad program pay the regular comprehensive fee. Participants in other programs pay the Off-Campus Study Registration Fee, which is 7 percent of the on-campus comprehensive fee for each semester of study. For 2012–2013, the Off-Campus Study Registration Fee is $2,000 per semester. All other costs are calculated by the foreign program and are the responsibility of the individual student. However, federal, state, and Bates financial aid is available subject to the student's financial need based on the program expenses and the policies outlined on page 45. Additional information and applications for off-campus study programs are available through the Off-Campus Study Office.
Bates students may enhance their study-abroad experience with grants provided by the Barlow Endowment for Study Abroad. This endowment provides fellowships, grants for enrichment activities during or after the program, and grants for thesis research related to an individual's study-abroad experience. More information on the endowment is available through the Off-Campus Study Office and online (www.bates.edu/offcampus).
The Bates Fall Semester Abroad Program.The college sponsors one or more fall semester abroad programs under the direction of faculty members. In recent years, fall semester abroad programs have taken place in Russia, Germany, Japan, Austria, China, and France. In 2012, a program takes place in Spain, and in 2013, a program is planned for Russia. This program combines academic work with a cross-cultural learning experience and provides students with opportunities for intensive language study. Four course credits are awarded for successful completion of the program, which includes four required courses: two intensive language courses and two seminars in topics relevant to understanding the host country. Grades are included on the Bates transcript and in the student's GPA. The comprehensive fee includes all program costs, including international airfare. This program is open to all students with preference to new matriculants and sophomores. Additional information is available from the offices of Admission and Off-Campus Study.
Junior Year Programs Through the Junior Year Abroad and Junior Semester Abroad programs, students have studied in more than eighty countries. In non-English-speaking countries, students participate in a wide range of American college and university programs selected for their academic quality, emphasis on full immersion, experience in the field, and safety and support services. Students study throughout Europe and Russia; in China, Japan, and other Asian countries; in Israel, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern and African countries; and from Mexico to Chile in the Americas. In English-speaking countries, students generally enroll directly at select host-country universities, experiencing the academic and social life of their students. In recent years, these universities have included Bristol, Edinburgh, the London School of Economics, Kings, Oxford, and University College London in Great Britain; Trinity and the National Universities of Ireland in Cork, Dublin, and Galway; the universities of Adelaide, Melbourne, and New South Wales in Australia; and the universities of Auckland and Otago in New Zealand. Bates is a member of IES Abroad, CIEE, and the Forum on Education Abroad.
Language skills greatly contribute to the academic and social experience in non-English-speaking settings. Therefore, students are required to have completed the equivalent of at least two years of college-level language study prior to study abroad in French-, German-, or Spanish-language settings. In Chinese-, Japanese-, and Russian-language settings, the equivalent of at least one year of college-level study is required. Prior language study is not required elsewhere, but students must include language study, ancient or modern, as part of their course work. When appropriate, a student may petition the Committee on Off-Campus Study for a reduction or exception to these requirements. Admission to a particular university depends entirely upon that institution's decision regarding the individual applicant.
Washington Semester Program. This opportunity administered by American University provides a number of thematic programs coupled with internships. Residence in the District of Columbia for a semester enables students to study and research firsthand the policies and processes of the federal government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector in Washington, D.C.
Maritime Studies. Bates belongs to a group of colleges affiliated with the Williams College-Mystic Seaport Program in American Maritime Studies. In addition to taking courses in American maritime history, marine ecology, maritime literature, marine policy, and oceanography, students are introduced to navigational and shipbuilding skills. During the semester they also spend approximately two weeks at sea, sailing and conducting research.
Morehouse College and Spelman College. Semester exchange programs with Morehouse and Spelman colleges provide Bates students the opportunity to study at a leading historically black men's college or a leading historically black women's college, respectively.
Associated Kyoto Program. Bates is one of sixteen colleges and universities that sponsor a yearlong program in Japan in association with Doshisha University. The program provides intensive Japanese-language and related courses and the opportunity to live with a Japanese family. The program is held in Kyoto, an exceptional cultural setting as the historic capital of Japan as well as a modern city of more than one million inhabitants.
Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome. Bates is a member of ICCS, the leading consortium for classical studies at American and Canadian colleges and universities. ICCS has a center in Rome, where classics majors and other qualified students may study for a semester.
India. Bates belongs to the South India Term Abroad (SITA) Consortium. This program provides an opportunity for students to study an Indian language, history, culture, and related topics in Tamil Nadu. The curriculum, taught by Indian faculty as well as faculty of the consortium colleges, is designed to ensure broad exposure to South Asian life and culture.
Sri Lanka. Bates and other institutions sponsor the Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education (ISLE) Program for study in Sri Lanka. The program gives qualified students the opportunity for immersion in Sri Lankan culture under the guidance of a faculty member appointed by the sponsoring colleges.
Research Semester Programs. The college encourages qualified upperclass students to take part in special semester-long research programs offered off campus by other educational and research institutions. Faculty of the department closely associated with the research area are familiar with these opportunities, and students should apply to these programs through the department chairs. Biological research semester programs are available at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City; and other nationally recognized research laboratories in the natural sciences.
Academic Leave and Transfer Credit for Matriculated Students
Some students expand their Bates experience by attending other U.S. institutions, from which they may receive transfer credit according to college policy (see below). Students who take three or more courses elsewhere in the United States during a semester are considered to be taking an academic leave. These students usually take courses at other universities and colleges, but courses from more specialized programs, such as the Semester in Environmental Sciences at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts and the Urban Education Semester, may also be transferred with prior approval.
Students who wish to take an academic leave must inform the college in early February of the year preceding the leave. The college requires that the number of students who study off campus each semester be balanced at the time of this February deadline. If too many students apply for a given semester, students are granted leaves according to criteria established by the Committee on Off-Campus Study (see www.bates.edu/offcampus/start/first/enrollment-balance). Students on a personal leave and students taking summer courses may take up to two courses without participating in the off-campus study application process. The college guarantees reinstatement to students after their first or second semester of leave. After two semesters, students are officially withdrawn unless they have confirmed their plan to return by registering for courses or have been granted a leave extension by the dean of students or an associate dean of students.
Transfer Credit Policy. Three types of credit can be applied toward a Bates degree: a) Bates credit, earned from courses taught and/or evaluated and graded by Bates faculty; b) approved program credit, earned from courses taken while participating in a Bates-approved program administered by the Committee on Off-Campus Study; and c) non-Bates credit, earned at an institution of higher education other than Bates that meets the established standards for transfer to Bates or credit awarded from the following standardized tests: Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or A-Level examination. Only grades awarded by Bates faculty are computed in the student's grade point average.
Degree candidates matriculating as first-year students, either in the fall or winter semester, must earn at least twenty-four Bates course credits or approved program credits, not including Short Term credits. Transfer students must earn a minimum of sixteen Bates course credits, not including Short Term credits. They may transfer a maximum of two non-Bates course credits earned after matriculating at Bates. A transfer student is defined as any student who has previously matriculated as a degree candidate at another institution and has earned or is earning credit.
The registrar and the department or program chair are responsible for the overall evaluation of non-Bates credit, subject to established guidelines. The Committee on Academic Standing may grant exceptions to the established guidelines. All non-Bates course credits awarded are equivalent to one Bates course credit and two quality points toward the graduation requirements.
Non-Bates credit is evaluated based on specific requirements. Credit must be awarded from an official college or university transcript, from an official Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or A-Level test score report, or from an official document considered equivalent to a transcript by the registrar. Courses must be appropriate to a liberal arts and sciences college, comparable in quality to those offered at Bates, and students must achieve a grade of C or better. Courses taken in a college's or university's continuing-education or extension program must be applicable toward the bachelor of arts or the bachelor of science degree being pursued by full-time undergraduate students at that institution. College courses taken prior to secondary school graduation must have been taught on a college or university campus and graded in competition with college students. Credit must be earned at a four-year, regionally accredited institution; however, courses earned in an accredited community or junior college or any nontraditional setting may be transferable with approval of the department or program and the Committee on Academic Standing; matriculated Bates students must obtain these approvals prior to enrolling in the course(s). Courses must be worth at least three semester hours or five quarter-hours or meet a minimum of thirty-six class-meeting hours to be eligible for transfer. When appropriate, quarter-hours may be added together and multiplied by two-thirds to determine the equivalent total number of semester hours to be used toward unspecified transfer credits. Students may receive credit for a maximum of two courses taken during summer sessions. All credits must be transferred by the beginning of the final semester of the senior year. Credit for Short Term courses may not be transferred from another institution. Students must be enrolled at Bates for the final semester of their senior year.
A student who fails to graduate by the anticipated degree date may transfer credits necessary to graduate for up to two years afterwards. After two years, the student is withdrawn automatically from the college, but may petition the Committee on Academic Standing for readmission and permission to complete the degree.
Transfer Credit and General Education. Transfer credit awarded as equivalent to a specific Bates course may be used to fulfill the same scientific reasoning [S], laboratory experience [L], or quantitative reasoning [Q] requirement that the equivalent Bates course fulfills. Unspecified credit may only count toward the [S], [L], or [Q] requirement with prior approval of the appropriate department/program chair and the chair of the committee overseeing these requirements. To be applied toward a concentration, the non-Bates course must be judged by the concentration's coordinator to be comparable to a Bates course in the concentration. The writing-attentive courses ([W1], [W2], and [W3]) must be taken at Bates.
Personal Leave. In unusual circumstances, students may need to interrupt their study at the college for health or personal reasons. In addition, students may take a personal leave of absence to pursue an internship or other nonacademic experience. Accordingly, the college permits students in good standing to apply to the dean of students or an associate dean of students for a personal leave of absence for one or two semesters. A leave-of-absence form must be completed by the student. Students must also meet with representatives from the offices of the Registrar and of Student Financial Services. Students are advised that some education loan repayments may begin if a student takes a personal leave. Students on a personal leave may take up to two courses elsewhere in the United States for Bates credit, subject to the transfer policies outlined above. The college guarantees reinstatement to students after the first or second semester of leave. After two semesters, students are officially withdrawn unless they have confirmed their plan to return by registering for courses or have been granted a leave extension by the dean of students or an associate dean of students.
Student Research
The Bates faculty is dedicated to helping students develop into scholars; therefore, significant emphasis is placed through the curriculum on individual research, including artistic production. In their first year, students usually participate in a first-year seminar, a small class in which the development of critical thinking, concise writing, and other research skills is emphasized. Methodology courses and advanced seminars offer further research training in a specific discipline. Many students undertake independent study courses in order to explore in depth a subject of particular interest. Qualified students may participate in a semester-long program at a research institution, earning Bates credit (see page 30). Each summer, many students undertake research independently or in collaboration with a Bates faculty member. All of these research and writing experiences prepare students for the senior thesis, required in most departments and programs, and for the Honors Program.
Support for Research during the Academic Year. The college encourages students to pursue research associated with courses, independent studies, and the senior thesis or senior project. Funds are available through competitive grant programs that provide financial assistance for student research, including the acquisition of books, data sets, musical scores, supplies and equipment, and travel to research facilities and scholarly conferences. Information and applications are available in the Office of the Dean of the Faculty or on the student research website (www.bates.edu/academics/student-research).
Summer Research Opportunities. Bates faculty members are active in scholarly research and often offer qualified students the opportunity to work with them as research assistants during the summer. These opportunities offer wages rather than academic credit and are available directly from faculty researchers funded through faculty grants. The Office of the Dean of the Faculty also manages a number of student summer research fellowship programs. Students are encouraged to explore off-campus summer research opportunities as well. Funding is available to conduct off-campus fieldwork and to support the work of a student at another research facility. Information on summer research opportunities is available on the student research website (www.bates.edu/academics/student-research).
Presenting Research and the Mount David Summit. The faculty believes that a Bates student must be able not only to conduct careful, well-documented research that contributes new knowledge; he or she must also be able to effectively communicate that scholarship and defend his or her results. Students are encouraged to present their research at regional, national, and international meetings. They also have many opportunities to present their academic work on campus at events throughout the year. The largest on-campus research forum is the Mount David Summit. Each year near the end of the winter semester, the college community gathers for the Mount David Summit, a campus-wide event honoring academic and artistic achievement. In concurrent sessions through an afternoon and evening, more than 300 students present research posters; short talks on research or community engagement; and artistic work, including poetry and fiction writing, film, theater, performance art, music, and the visual arts. Students from all class levels and all disciplines are encouraged to take part; the audience includes students, faculty, staff, parents, prospective students, alumni, donors, and the general public. More information on the summit is at the website (www.bates.edu/summit).
Civic Engagement and Community-Based Learning
At the core of the college's founding mission is the notion that liberal learning, personal growth, and moral development are inseparable from social responsibility and service to others. Civic engagement and community-based learning not only contribute to a student's academic experience at college, but also enhance community life through the tangible contributions they make to others. Through projects conducted in courses, senior theses, and summer fellowships, students, faculty, and staff enrich academic study by undertaking work in the public sphere in collaboration with community partners. More than half of all students take part in community-engaged learning projects during their college years, and many faculty members link community-based learning in course curricula.
The mission of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships is to advance the college's commitment to cultivating informed civic action through reciprocal and sustained partnerships that connect the college and the community. Established in 2002, the center coordinates the college's myriad programs for civic and community engagement, incorporating community-based learning programs and community volunteer work, as well as the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area. The center builds on a legacy of innovative, rigorous community-based learning at Bates. It serves as a clearinghouse for faculty, staff, and students interested in community-based learning or research projects, and for community organizations, schools, and government agencies that seek to engage the college. It sponsors community projects in areas as diverse as basic social services; education; literacy programs; municipal government; environmental education and advocacy; health and mental health services; public art, music, dance, and other cultural projects; and legal advocacy. The center also coordinates Bates' volunteer opportunities in the Lewiston-Auburn community.
Specific student programs of the Harward Center include the Student Volunteer Fellows Program, the Bonner Leader Program, and the Community-Based Research Fellows Program. The center also oversees a number of grant programs for students, faculty, staff, and community partners, during both the academic year and the summer. More information about those opportunities can be found at www.bates.edu/harward.
Undergraduate Fellowships
The college supports two special undergraduate fellowship programs designed for highly motivated students who wish to synthesize their academic and life experiences in a unique fellowship of their own design. Fellowships usually take place during the summer, though some occur during the Short Term or during a semester's leave. Fellowships may focus on research, service or community-based learning, career exploration, social activism, or some combination; they always involve a dimension of challenge, personal growth, and transformation. Otis Fellowships support students whose interests and projects involve the relationship of individuals and societies to the environment. Otis Fellowships have taken students to indigenous communities in Bolivia, Lesotho, and the Arctic; monasteries and farms in Ireland; and the steppes of Mongolia. Information on Otis Fellowships can be found on the student research website (www.bates.edu/academics/student-research/summer-grants-summary/otis/). Phillips Student Fellowships provide qualified students with an opportunity to conduct a project of their own design in an international or cross-cultural setting. Recent Phillips Fellows have studied traditional dress in Nigeria, folk dance in France, and the relationship of art and politics in Cuba. Information on Phillips Fellowships can be found on the student research website (www.bates.edu/academics/student-research/summer-grants-summary/phillips-student-fellowships/).
Bates Career Development Center
The Bates Career Development Center helps students become aware of their interests, skills, and values, and how these relate to the career possibilities available after graduation. The Bates Career Development Center complements academic advising efforts by providing a wealth of resources including career counseling, computerized career-interest assessments, a library of career information, employment listings, access to thousands of alumni career advisors, and links to job and career information through the Career Development Center website (www.bates.edu/career/). Although the center does not function as a job or internship placement agency, students are encouraged to use the it beginning in their first year at Bates in order to integrate their academic, career, and personal goals into a professional focus.
The Mathematics and Statistics Workshop
Dedicated to encouraging quantitative literacy and reasoning, the Mathematics and Statistics Workshop offers a variety of tutoring and help sessions to students seeking assistance with mathematical reasoning and comprehension. Throughout the fall and winter semesters, drop-in help sessions are offered Monday through Thursday afternoons for students in any introductory-level class with a mathematical component. In addition, two-hour calculus help sessions are conducted by student tutors each weeknight. One-on-one assistance is available for students in any course requiring a command of quantitative or statistical skills, as well as skills with certain mathematical software packages. During Short Term, services are available by appointment. Information on the Math Workshop may be found on the website (www.bates.edu/math-stat-workshop).
The Writing Program
The Writing Program brings together writers and readers by supporting students, faculty, and staff with a number of resources. Writing specialists — one each for the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences — work with students on discipline-based writing, whether for an introductory course or an advanced seminar. During conferences made by appointment, writing specialists consult with students at any stage of the writing process, from brainstorming to revising. They also work long-term with senior thesis writers, both in regularly scheduled individual meetings and in thesis writing groups organized by major. In addition, writing specialists offer several series of workshops on writing-related topics for both students and faculty. Information on current workshops, hours of operation, and scheduling appointments is available on the writing program website (www.bates.edu/learning-commons).
The Peer Writing Center complements the work of the writing specialists. Peer writing assistants are trained to give constructive feedback to fellow students in a comfortable atmosphere. Some writing assistants staff the center in Ladd Library, a drop-in service open afternoons and evenings for one-on-one feedback about writing for any course. Other writing assistants are assigned to first-year seminars and writing-attentive courses and hold conferences focusing on course assignments.
Technical Writing Assistants (TWAs) are trained to work with students who are honing their science writing skills. TWAs hold writing conferences with biology and geology students preparing lab reports, and may also serve as laboratory teaching assistants.
Peer-Assisted Learning in the Sciences
Peer-Assisted Learning in the Sciences (PALS) supports student learning and faculty teaching, and provides leadership and teaching opportunities for students. PALS offers regularly scheduled, out-of-class, peer-facilitated, collaborative study sessions to help students master the material in traditionally challenging science courses. Each PALS session integrates study strategies with course content; students and peer leaders compare notes, discuss course material, and apply what they are learning. Sessions are open to all students in the class. Peer Science Leaders are students who have successfully completed the course and who are interested in helping others become better learners. Courses served include BIO 190 and 242; CHEM 107A, CH/ES 107B, CHEM 108A, CH/ES 108B, CHEM 217 and 218; ENVR 203; and PHYS 107 and 108.
Information and Library Services
Information and Library Services (ILS) supports the mission of Bates College by planning, developing, implementing, and maintaining reliable and responsive information resources, services, and programs to meet the evolving needs of the college community. ILS helps students, faculty, and staff embrace the continuous change that prevails in information use, information access, and communications media and technology. Library services are provided in the George and Helen Ladd Library, which serve the general curricular, reference, and research needs of the college; and in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, which houses the archives, manuscripts, rare books, and other special collections of the college. Curricular and computing staff manage three major computer labs: the Bates College Imaging and Computing Center in Coram Library specializes in the visual representation of data; the Digital Media Center in Pettigrew Hall is the primary location for multimedia and video production and classroom and event support; and the Language Resource Center in Roger Williams Hall supports language and other humanities programs. Systems Development and Integration and Classroom Technology and Event Support staff are principally located in Pettigrew Hall. Network and Infrastructure Services, along with Purchasing, Sales, and Desktop Support are housed at 110 Russell Street. More information on ILS services is available on the website (http://www.bates.edu/ils/).
The Library. The George and Helen Ladd Library is one of the most vital learning resources of the college, housing books, periodicals, government publications, musical scores, maps, microforms, sound and video recordings, access to online databases, material in other electronic formats, and other items essential for students and faculty to carry on their research. The library offers a learning environment conducive to individual and group study and research, and provides easy access to information in a variety of formats. The Library houses more than 840 study spaces, including individual carrels, lounge and table seating, workstations, listening stations, and viewing rooms. The wireless network is available throughout the library, augmented by more than 275 wired network jacks. A networked computer instruction room and an online reference area are located on the main floor. Group study is encouraged on the two lower floors; the upper two floors are reserved for quiet study.
The central portal for information is the Library's website (www.bates.edu/Library/) providing access to the library catalog and all electronic resources. Reference librarians offer instructional and reference services, as well as consultation on an individual basis. The audio and video collections are housed on the ground floor. The microform area provides reader-printers for material in those formats, including newspapers and other periodicals, books, and documents. Current periodicals are available on the main floor. The library functions as the primary point of service for Information and Library Services, with circulation, reference, and Help Desk Services centrally located. In addition to individual consultation, reference librarians and other ILS professionals provide instruction for classes and other groups of students on library use as well as use of computing and other information resources.
In all, the library contains more than 600,000 cataloged volumes in print, 250,000 pieces of microform, and 35,000 recordings. It provides access to thousands of sources of information online, including more than 50,000 periodicals and 125,000 books and 40,000 streamed audio resources. Ladd Library resources are augmented by the collections of Bowdoin and Colby colleges, constituting a combined cataloged collection of more than two million volumes. The three college libraries plan and build these collections in close collaboration and encourage faculty, students, and staff to use the consortium's resources before searching elsewhere. The Bates identification card allows Bates students, faculty, and staff to borrow materials from the Bowdoin and Colby libraries. Through the MaineCat statewide catalog (a service of Maine Info Net), Bates users may initiate loan requests for materials at Bowdoin or Colby, as well as other academic and public libraries throughout the state. Bates is also a member of NExpress, a library consortium that includes Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Wellesley, Middlebury, and Williams colleges, as well as Northeastern University.
Archives and Special Collections. The Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library fosters research and scholarship by encouraging access to Bates College records and other historical materials by students and faculty, as well as scholars from the community at large. These collections enable students from Bates and elsewhere to perform historical research using primary documentary material. The collections have three major divisions.
The Bates College Archives serves as the official repository of records, publications, photographs, honors theses, oral histories, and other materials of permanent administrative, legal, fiscal, and historical value. It documents the history of the college from its founding in 1855 to the present.
The Manuscript Collections include materials related to the history of Bates College. Because of its roots as a Freewill Baptist institution, the library collects pamphlets, letters, diaries, and other materials related to Freewill Baptist organizations, and individuals. Among the latter are the letters of Lydia Coombs, a Freewill Baptist missionary in India, and the papers of J. S. (Josiah Spooner) Swift, a Freewill Baptist minister and publisher in Farmington, Maine. Other notable strengths of the manuscript collections include material related to the life and work of Edmund S. Muskie, for whom the archives is named, and environmentalism. The Edmund S. Muskie Papers include almost all the extant records of the life and work of Edmund S. Muskie (1914–1996), a 1936 Bates graduate who dominated Maine politics from the mid-1950s to 1981 and became a national leader for environmental protection, government reform, and fiscal responsibility. The library also houses the Edmund S. Muskie Oral History Project, including collections of taped interviews with individuals who knew Muskie or who offer insights into the events that shaped his life. The Dorothy Freeman Collection contains a large body of correspondence with the biologist, writer, and conservationist Rachel Carson.
The Rare Book Collection include publications pertaining to the Freewill Baptists in Maine and New England; nineteenth-century French history and literature; fine-press books published in Maine; Judaica; and nineteenth-century books on natural history, particularly ornithology.
Computing and Media Services. ILS provides computers, software, training, and information resources to faculty, students, and staff, and twenty-four-hour access to the campus network and the Internet via both wired and wireless connections.
All members of the college community must comply with the Bates College Computer Use Policy (http://www.bates.edu/ils/policies/access-use/computer-use-policy/). All users connecting personally-owned computers and mobile devices to the campus network are required to have active virus protection software and up-to-date operating system patches installed on their computers. All students are assigned credentials that allow secure access to Bates computers and network services, including the Garnet Gateway, email, network storage, and proxy service for access to on-campus services and numerous library research databases from anywhere in the world.
Computer labs are equipped with more than 175 workstations clustered in Coram Library, Pettigrew Hall, Roger Williams Hall, Pettengill Hall, Dana Chemistry Hall, Carnegie Science Hall, and Ladd Library. All the college's scheduled classrooms and many event and meeting spaces have high-speed network connections, presentation computers, and digital projection. Special facilities include interactive classrooms with large video screens for group instruction, graphics workstations, plotters, color laser printers, scanners, and digital editing machines for producing broadcast-quality video.
Students and faculty use computing extensively in courses. In economics, for example, integration of theoretical and empirical work requires computer use for statistical analysis and modeling. In psychology, data sets are generated to simulate research studies that students then analyze and interpret. Faculty and students in music, dance, and art use technology as a principal tool in the creation of new works. Currently, more than 100 workstations are found in laboratory settings in the biology, chemistry, classics, economics, foreign language, geology, mathematics, music, physics and astronomy, psychology, and sociology departments.
Information and Library Services provides many opportunities for students to enhance computing, people, and general work skills in technology-related jobs in Help Desk Services, Classroom Technology, Ladd Library Circulation, or on faculty projects through Curricular and Research Computing.
The Garnet Gateway. Through the combined efforts of many offices on campus, Bates offers faculty, students, and staff numerous transactional services through the secure online site, the Garnet Gateway. Students use the Garnet Gateway to view their schedule, grades, and transcript; register for courses; view their progress toward completing their degree requirements; view their financial aid award; complete course evaluations; declare their major(s), minor(s) and General Education concentration(s); elect student officers; evaluate study-abroad programs; nominate faculty for teaching awards; obtain enrollment verifications, and request official transcripts.
Faculty members use the Garnet Gateway to report student grades, propose new courses, manage their advising responsibilities, receive student course evaluations, and express preferences for classroom location and equipment. Faculty and staff members, as well as student employees, use the Garnet Gateway to access payroll and other employee information. The Garnet Gateway is accessed through the Bates home page (www.bates.edu).
The Bates College Imaging and Computing Center
The Bates College Imaging and Computing Center, located in Coram Library, houses optical and computer equipment for the capture, interpretation, and analysis of information in visual formats. The center's imaging lab houses optical microscopes, computational workstations, and a photography studio. An adjoining gallery and a computer room provide exhibition space and computer workstations. The imaging and computing center's capabilities have applications across the disciplines, from the visualization of nanostructures to GIS analysis and the production of works of art.
Laboratories
Laboratories and studios for student and faculty use are located throughout the campus. Chemistry and biochemistry laboratories and instruments are situated in Dana Chemistry Hall. Biology, environmental studies, geology, neuroscience, and physics laboratories are housed in Carnegie Science Hall. Astronomy students and faculty use the Stephens Observatory with its 0.32-meter reflecting telescope and the Spitz A-3 planetarium projector, also located in Carnegie. Archeology and psychology laboratories are housed in Pettengill Hall.
The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, the Department of German and Russian Studies, and the Program in East Asian Studies make extensive use of the Language Resource Center in Roger Williams Hall. This facility offers a variety of language-specific software to enhance classroom activities, word processing, and web-based multimedia exploration. Web browsers are available in Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, and Russian. The center is equipped with computers, AV screens and VHS/DVD players, with video projection for classroom instruction.
Resources for the Arts
In Pettigrew Hall, theater, dance, and performance-art students use the proscenium stage of the Miriam Lavinia Schaeffer Theatre, which seats more than 300. The Department of Theater and Dance conducts experimental and studio work in the smaller facilities of the Gannett Theatre and the Black Box Theatre. The Marcy Plavin Dance Studios are located in Merrill Gymnasium.
The Olin Arts Center houses art studios for painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, and ceramics. It provides the Department of Music with music studios and rehearsal rooms for individuals and groups, as well as laboratories for computer-based composition. An acoustically exceptional 300-seat concert hall in the building is the site of performances year-round, ranging from student thesis recitals and weekly Noonday Concerts by Bates musicians to special appearances by internationally known musicians.
The Bates College Museum of Art
The Bates College Museum of Art is an integral part of the intellectual and cultural life of the college and the region. The Museum of Art brings a world of ideas to Bates, Lewiston-Auburn, and Maine through exhibitions featuring work by artists of national and international prominence. Through the permanent collection, programming, supporting publications and education programs, the Museum of Art serves as a laboratory for deep exploration, intellectual study, and creative discovery.
From in-depth solo exhibitions to compelling thematic group shows, temporary exhibitions are integrated into academic disciplines across the liberal arts. The Museum of Art and its exhibitions also provide opportunities for co-curricular engagement and the integration of art into the social life of the college and region. The permanent collection provides students and visiting scholars opportunities for longer term study and close examination of works of art. Each year, a lively programming series including lectures and gallery talks, visiting artists and scholars, and a film series compliments exhibitions. Education and outreach programs connect exhibitions and collections to area school children, developed to support area school curriculum with teaching writing skills and visual literacy.
Exhibition and public programs are free and open to the public. More information can be found on the museum website: (www.bates.edu/museum).
The Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area and the Bates College Coastal Center at Shortridge
The Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area (BMMCA) Corporation owns nearly 600 acres of rare undeveloped Maine coastland, managed by the college for conservation and research. The land lies between two tidal rivers in Phippsburg, and encompasses salt marsh, dune habitat, forested wetlands and uplands, and granite ledge outcrops including a panoramic overlook from the top of Morse Mountain, 180 feet above sea level.
The college conducts educational programs, scientific research, and literary study consistent with conserving the ecological and aesthetic values of the property. The principal researchers are Bates College faculty and students, as well as scientists from other educational and research institutions. Limited public visitation is permitted as long as it is conducted in ways consistent with the area's mission and does not interfere with the area's quiet natural beauty and relative solitude. The area is open year-round during daylight hours, but domestic animals, vehicles, and camping are not permitted in any season.
Near the BMMCA, the Bates College Coastal Center at Shortridge includes seventy-acres of woodland and wetland habitat, a ten-acre freshwater pond, and a research center and
field station.
The Shortridge Center is primarily used for academic purposes, particularly research associated with the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area and the Meetinghouse Pond environs. The facility supports the research activities of Bates faculty and students, and serves as a retreat center for college groups. In addition, Shortridge provides a base for community-based research projects and other partnership activities between Bates and the Phippsburg community. The BMMCA and the Coastal Center at Shortridge are overseen by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships.
Confidentiality of Education Records
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records.
1. FERPA affords the right to inspect and review the student's education records within forty-five days of the day the college receives a request for access. Students should submit to the registrar, dean of students, chair of the academic department or program, or other appropriate official written requests that identify the records they wish to inspect. The college official makes arrangements for access and notifies the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the college official to whom the request is submitted, the official advises the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
2. FERPA affords the right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. A student may ask the college to amend a record that he or she believes is inaccurate or misleading. The student should write the college official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record he or she wants changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the college decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the college notifies the student of the decision and advises the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures is provided when the student is notified of the right of hearing.
3. FERPA affords the right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to college officials, or officials of institutions with which the college has consortial agreements, with legitimate educational interests. A college official is a person employed by Bates in an administrative, supervisory, academic, or support-staff position (including Security and Health Center staff); a person or company with whom the college has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as the Committee on Student Conduct, or assisting another college official in performing his or her tasks. A college official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
4. FERPA affords the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the college to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-5901.
Bates College reserves the right to refuse to permit a student to inspect those records excluded from the FERPA definition of education records and to deny transcripts or copies of records not required to be made available by FERPA if the student has an unpaid financial obligation to the college or if there is an unresolved disciplinary action against him or her. Fees are not assessed for search and retrieval of the records, but there may be a charge for copying and postage.
FERPA Annual Notice to Reflect Possible Federal and State Data Collection and Use. As of 3 January 2012, the U.S. Department of Education's FERPA regulations expand the circumstances under which education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records including Social Security number, grades, or other private information may be accessed without student consent. First, the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities may allow access to records and PII without student consent to any third party designated by a federal or state authority to evaluate a federal- or state-supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is "principally engaged in the provision of education," such as early childhood education and job training, as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution. Second, federal and state authorities may allow access to education records and PII without student consent to researchers performing certain types of studies. Federal and state authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive PII, but the authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities. In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, state authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without student consent PII from education records, and they may track student participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information that they obtain from other federal or state data sources, including workforce development and migrant student record systems.
The Office of the Registrar and Academic Systems makes available copies of the federal regulations and the institutional policy on educational records as well as additional information about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.
Directory Information. At its discretion, Bates College may provide "directory information" in accordance with the provisions of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Directory information is defined as that information which would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Bates identifies the following as directory information: name; Bates identification (ID) number; class; address (campus, home, and e-mail); username; telephone listings; major and minor fields of study; participation in officially recognized sports, extracurricular activities, and off-campus study programs; dates of attendance; degrees, honors, and awards received from the college; and individually identifiable photographs and electronic images of the student solicited or maintained directly by Bates as part of the educational record.
Students wishing to block the disclosure of directory information should contact the Office of the Registrar for additional information.