About Us

Dear Friend of the College of Arts and Sciences,

Learning is a deeply personal activity to which every student brings a unique set of abilities, needs, and expectations. Likewise, those mental processes that characterize learning—the categorization and classification of data, the recognition of patterns, the linking of concepts through synthesis, analysis, and interpretation—occur at different rates and in different ways in each individual. Yet learning is not, of course, an exclusively solitary process. Students learn through social interaction, in environments that facilitate collaboration, and when challenged and supported by other learners. The quality of learning is enhanced when students experience a cycle of exploration and reflection composed of many transitions between internal mental processing and external social interactions.

When achieved at the highest levels, learning exhibits three key characteristics: it is retained long after it is received, transforms the learner, and illuminates connections and opens new paths of intellectual exploration by linking disparate domains of knowledge. Likewise, three requirements must be met to achieve of high-order learning. First, learning requires significant exertions by the learner, other participants in the community of learners, and those charged with guiding and informing the learning process. That is to say, lasting, impactful, and integrative learning is an arduous process for all involved. Second, learning requires significant lengths of time. Time must be committed not only to the initial act of instruction but also to the periods of reflection and collaboration necessary to achieve the levels of synthesis and integration characteristic of higher-order learning. Third, learning environments require resources that that initiate and sustain higher-order learning: physical facilities, access to and application of technology, and—most importantly—human resources.

In COAS, our goal is to produce learning that goes beyond the superficial, and we understand that the process will be difficult, time-consuming, and require the commitment of resources. Learning is, by any measure, an inherently inefficient process, but I can say with considerable pride that COAS provides impactful and high quality learning experiences to our students with a level of academic efficiency that maximizes IPFW’s limited resources.

The 21st-century US higher education system cannot afford an individualized learning style characterized by contemplative perambulations around the grounds of the Lyceum with the Peripatetics. Our modern students do not have the time or patience necessary for learning through deliberate dialectical debates like the Scholastics. The great challenge of modern education is teaching large numbers of students using pedagogical approaches that support—rather than undermine—those processes of deep learning we know are effective. Faced with the need to balance the inherent inefficiency of learning with the economic reality of ever increasing costs of instruction, COAS will undertake a two-year comprehensive self-study of its organization, efficiency, requirements, and outcomes.

Over the past half-century, our higher education system has evolved and grown to meet the needs of a broad array of learners. National employment trends indicate a baccalaureate degree will continue to be the most critical credential for entry into the workforce. Here in the heartland, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development has identified the “Hot 50 Jobs” for Hoosiers. When ranked by annual salary, most of the top dozen jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree. The burden falls naturally and appropriately to those institutions that were established for this purpose—the regional public comprehensive universities of which IPFW is an outstanding example. While the challenges we face are clear, potential solutions are anything but obvious.

Lingering economic instability, shortfalls in state revenue, and mounting public and political resistance to tuition increases have combined with spiraling growth in unavoidable costs to create a national crisis in higher-education. In an era euphemistically described as the “New Normal,” universities must find ways to reduce cost while increasing revenue in hopes of maintaining current budgets or at least mitigating the magnitude of required cuts. Any effort to create new or expand existing academic programs might only be achieved only through the painful and contentious process of resource reallocation. The need to improve the efficiency of higher education has evolved from a subject of political rhetoric to a painful economic reality.

COAS faculty and administration have joined colleagues from across IPFW to discuss the future of higher education. In turn, IPFW has taken a national leadership role in the Red Balloon Project, sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. During the 2011–12 academic year, and beyond, the college will explore ways to improve the quality of student learning, strive to increase the number of students completing our programs, and maximize the efficiency of our instructional practices.

In order to make significant and lasting improvements in the efficiency of higher education we must first recognize that the challenges as well as any potential solutions are highly dependent upon where within the academic organization those efforts are directed. Efficiencies can be achieved at every level. However most, if not all, economically motivated efforts to improve academic efficiency must be balanced against their real or potential impacts on student learning. As our modes and mechanisms of instruction encompass ever more non-traditional approaches to teaching and learning, we are committed to providing outstanding educational experiences through which our students can fully achieve the goals of the IPFW Baccalaureate Framework.

As we move throughout the 2011-2012 academic year I look forward to working with all the stakeholders of COAS—students, alumni, faculty, community members, business leaders—to launch a process of self-evaluation that I anticipate will be both informative and transformational. I wish you all the best for a successful and productive year.

Carl N. Drummond
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Overview

The College of Arts and Sciences offers programs and courses in the traditional liberal arts disciplines. In addition to providing students with opportunities to develop skills required for the workplace or for advanced study, it seeks to foster well-rounded development of the individual. The school recognizes the role of nontraditional students at IPFW and makes special efforts to meet their needs.

Graduates of the school's baccalaureate programs should have knowledge and awareness enabling them to be effective citizens and lifelong learners. They are expected to have a working understanding of the knowledge and methodology appropriate for their discipline and should be aware of the major issues in their field and able to communicate field content effectively.

The service and research missions of the school are those appropriate to a comprehensive regional university. The school is responsible for basic-skills courses in mathematics and oral and written communication, as well as the majority of the courses fulfilling school and IPFW general-education requirements. Faculty engage in research or creative endeavor linked to their teaching as well as IPFW's role as the regional center for higher education. Through research, faculty maintain their qualifications as teachers and, in their contribution to knowledge in their disciplines, enhance the reputation of the campus. Through research and service, the school seeks to make itself a vital resource for business, industry, public and private education, the arts, and government in northeastern Indiana.

Mission

The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to offering its students a rich and diverse liberal education. The largest academic unit of the university, the college provides students with a breadth of knowledge about the global environment and fosters an appreciation and respect for diversity. The College of Arts and Sciences equips students to think critically, communicate effectively, and develop creative solutions to future challenges. The college cultivates the intellectual growth of its faculty, who dedicate themselves through excellence in teaching, research and creative endeavor, and service to the university and to the larger communities of which they are a part.

Our Faculty

The following are IPFW College of Arts and Sciences departments and programs to which the faculty are affiliated. Information about COAS faculty can be found via the links below.

• Anthropology
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Communication
• Communication Sciences and Disorders
• English and Linguistics
• Geosciences
• Gerontology
• History
• International Language & Culture Studies
• Mathematical Sciences
• Peace and Conflict Studies
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Women’s Studies

Jobs

A complete listing of all current College of Arts and Sciences job openings are available on the Jobs at IPFW website.