Mar 29, 2024  
2014-2015 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2014-2015 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG - Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year]

Mission Statement


 

Utica College educates students for rewarding careers, responsible citizenship, enlightened leadership, and fulfilling lives by integrating liberal and professional study, by creating a community of learners with diverse experiences and perspectives, by balancing a commitment to its local heritage with a global outreach, by encouraging lifelong learning, and by promoting scholarship in the belief that the discovery and application of knowledge enrich teaching, learning, and society.

Values

The Utica College community values:

  • individual attention for our students
  • lifelong learning
  • pragmatic approaches to teaching and learning
  • continual improvement in our educational and operational quality
  • diversity of perspective, background, and experience in an increasingly global society
  • community and professional service
  • ethical behavior and integrity in all that we do
  • freedom of expression and the open sharing of ideas and creativity
  • open, honest, and collegial communication
  • the well being of others

Undergraduate Education at UC

At the undergraduate level Utica College offers a wide range of programs leading to either the bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree in a broad variety of majors in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studies. The College also offers numerous graduate programs in professional fields and in liberal studies. Please see the graduate catalog for a full range of graduate offerings. The College offers programs in a traditional on-ground format as well as in online and blended formats. Consistent with the College’s mission, academic programs offer a sound liberal arts base combined with professional opportunities. The core curriculum provides students with a breadth of understanding in a range of disciplines and training in essential intellectual skills.

UC’s majors include programs for which the bachelor’s degree is sufficient for a professional career, and programs that lead to graduate and professional study. Two important factors that give Utica College its distinctive academic quality are the integration of liberal arts and professional studies and the diversity of major programs usually found only in large universities. The College offers students many opportunities for experience learning, research, independent study, and study abroad.

One of the College’s greatest assets is its energetic and accomplished faculty. Most hold advanced degrees from prestigious American or international graduate schools. Of UC’s full-time faculty, 85 percent have earned the terminal degree appropriate to their fields. Although many faculty members are engaged in research, their primary concern is high-quality undergraduate instruction. Utica College students have direct contact with their instructors because the typical class at Utica College consists of 16 students. All instructors personally advise students regarding academic programs, and all faculty members are available to consult personally with individual students who are enrolled in their classes. In addition to faculty services and counseling, Utica College also offers professional academic and career planning, advising, and personal counseling to all students

Utica College has three schools that provide students with a wide choice of majors.

The College has articulation agreements with area community colleges to afford graduates of those colleges a smooth transition into baccalaureate programs and completion in two years of additional study.

In addition, Utica College has partnered with neighboring academic institutions to form the Mohawk Valley College Consortium. Utica College and member institutions Hamilton College, SUNY Institute of Technology, Herkimer County Community College, Mohawk Valley Community College, SUNY Morrisville, and SUNY Empire State College have signed a cross-registration agreement that allows full-time students and employees at each of the institutions to take one course per semester at any of the other area schools. Students should check with the Office of the Registrar for specific requirements.

The College provides opportunities for financially and academically disadvantaged students to obtain higher education by participation in the New York State Higher Education Opportunity Program. HEOP offers students personal counseling and academic advising, financial assistance, special tutoring, and remedial education programs.

The Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) provides academic support for underrepresented minority and/or economically disadvantaged students who have an interest in careers in scientific, technical, and health-related fields.

Utica College’s programs are designed to give all students a sound basis in liberal arts and sciences. Students may choose a specific major at the time of entry or remain undecided for two years while they explore a variety of majors. Once a major is chosen, students may change majors if interests change after entering college. Changing majors, however, may necessitate additional time to complete the degree, depending upon requirements of the new major.

Students will complete courses in three basic areas that apply to all programs: (1) general education; (2) major and major-related program requirements; and (3) electives. These three basic areas are explained in more detail on the following pages. Students must fulfill all requirements of each of these areas to be eligible for graduation.

Our Academic Promise

The foundation for Utica College’s entire undergraduate academic program is a commitment to liberal education integrated with professional study.

A liberal education is designed to help you develop the intellectual skills you need to succeed, not only in your career but throughout your life as a flourishing individual and responsible citizen.

Utica College’s commitment to liberal education dovetails with its historical mission of educating students for rewarding careers. Whether you are in a professionally focused major such as physical therapy, computer science, or economic crime investigation or in a more traditional liberal arts major such as biology, history, or philosophy, you will develop the intellectual skills that define a liberal education, while you also gain practical, career-focused experiences.

In 2013, Utica College’s faculty adopted five intellectual skills which they consider critical to a liberal education. These skills are infused throughout all aspects of the College’s undergraduate programs:

Communication - The ability to communicate information and attitudes clearly and precisely.

Critical Analysis and Reasoning - The ability to seek out relevant evidence, evaluate it, and draw justified conclusions.

Synthesis - The ability to draw fruitful connections between topics and ideas and to create new understanding.

Social Awareness - An understanding of the nature and origins of the social world and an ability to operate within it.

Quantitative Literacy - The ability to interpret quantitative information and to present information in quantitative forms.

These skills are assessed at the Institutional level. More information about this assessment process may be found at the Assessment web page.