L&AD: Academics

Goal

F&M will engage students of great achievement and potential in a distinctive education true to the values of the liberal arts. That education will enable them to seize transformative opportunities in life, career, and responsible citizenship. We will revitalize our curriculum to better respond to, and guide, students’ evolving needs, goals, and interests, with a focus on more inclusive teaching and learning and a commitment to scientific and humanistic inquiry.

Objectives

  1. Support every student’s intellectual exploration and academic success by continuing to develop accessible and inclusive ways of teaching; enhancing and personalizing methods of advising and academic support; and creating more flexible, navigable, and individualized educational pathways throughout the curriculum.

  2. Cultivate a holistic and accessible curriculum grounded in the liberal arts that is responsive to students’ academic interests and post-graduate intentions and provides innovative opportunities for integrating knowledge and creativity across all three divisions of the college.

  3. Bolster and spotlight academic programs that are in high demand from students that are likely to attract prospective students, and that respond to societal needs by addressing the world’s most pressing social, environmental, and political issues. 

  4. Build on existing strengths in student-faculty collaborative undergraduate research by giving every student the opportunity to participate in at least one collaborative and inclusive experiential learning opportunity every year during their time at F&M. Such opportunities include service learning, leadership development, student-faculty collaborative scholarship, creative projects, humanities laboratories, study abroad, travel courses, internships and community engagement projects.

  5. Expand opportunities, remove barriers, and increase support for research, scholarship, and creative activity for students and faculty.