Ethos
- Introduction
- Ethos Courses
- General Education for Associate Degrees
- Assessment of the General Education
- Time Restrictions
Introduction
In Ancient Greek, “ethos” was the word for an informed citizen’s character. The ideal was to become an individual of courageous aspiration and sound moral judgment. Much later, ethos referred to a speaker’s authority, trustworthiness, and capacity for civic excellence. And today, one of the great aims of a comprehensive liberal education might be said to be the development of student ethos, the disposition and habits of mind essential to living a meaningful life. LaGrange College’s Ethos program endeavors to be the foundation in every student’s search for that meaningful life. Students will refine their intellectual skills, explore multiple modes of inquiry, and interrogate the values of thoughtful global citizenship. Dedicated to LaGrange College’s roots in the Wesleyan tradition and implemented across every year of an undergraduate degree program, the Ethos curriculum values high-impact learning practices and culminates with integrated, project-based senior capstone experiences unique to each student’s major area of study. The Ethos program is the soul of LaGrange College's commitment to the liberal arts tradition. It is our promise to prepare students to be curious and creative global citizens.
Ethos Courses
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PROGRAMMATIC GOAL ONE: INTELLECTUAL SKILLS |
9 Hours |
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Writing and Information Literacy ENGL 1101 - Rhetoric and Composition I ENGL 1102 - Rhetoric and Composition II |
6 Hours |
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Logical and Quantitative Reasoning One from the following list: MATH 1089 - Math for Liberal Arts MATH 1101 - College Algebra MATH 1221 - Precalculus MATH 2221 - Calculus I |
3 Hours |
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PROGRAMMATIC GOAL TWO: MODES OF INQUIRY Students may count no more than seven credit hours of coursework bearing the same four-character course designation to fulfill the requirements of Programmatic Goal Two. |
25 Hours |
| Human Behavior and Relationships
ECON 2200 - Principles of Economics EXCS 2331 - Healthy LC POLS 1101 - United States Government in Global Perspective POLS 1102 - Introduction to Political Science POLS 1113 - Introduction to Law POLS 2220 - International Politics PSYC 1101 - Introduction to Psychology SOCI 1000 - Introduction to Sociology |
3 Hours |
|
Modern Languages The successful completion of one of the following courses: FREN 1102 - Beginning French II SPAN 1102 - Elementary Spanish II SPAN 1102M -Elementary Spanish for Healthcare Professionals SPAN 2103 - Intermediate Spanish I SPAN 2105 - Intermediate Spanish II |
3 Hours |
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Laboratory Science and the Natural World BIOL 1101 - General Biology I BIOL 1102 and 1102L - General Biology II and Lab BIOL 1107 and 1107L - Principles of Biology I and Lab BIOL 1108 and 1108L - Principles of Biology II and Lab BIOL 2148 and 2148L - Human Anatomy & Physiology I and Lab BIOL 2149 and 2149L - - Human Anatomy & Physiology II and Lab CHEM 1101 and 1101L - General Chemistry I and Lab CHEM 1102 and 1102L - General Chemistry II and Lab PHYS 1101 and 1101L - Introductory Physics I and Lab PHYS 1102 and 1102L - Introductory Physics II and Lab |
7 Hours |
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World Civilization and Humanities ARTD 1109 - Art History Survey I ARTD 1110 - Art History Survey II ARTD 1111 - Modern and Contemporary Art History ENGL 2204 - British Literature I ENGL 2205 - British Literature II ENGL 2206 - American Literature I ENGL 2207 - American Literature II FILM 1008 - Cinema Survey HIST 1101 - World Civilization I HIST 1102 - World Civilization II HIST 1111 - History of the US to 1865 HIST 1112 - History of the US: 1865 - Present MATH 1130 - History of Mathematics for Liberal Arts MUSI 1110 - American Music PHIL 1410 - Introduction to Philosophy POLS 2210 - Comparative Politics in Global Perspective THEA 1101 - Drama Survey I THEA 1102 - Drama Survey II |
6 Hours |
|
Artistic Expression ARTD 1151 - Drawing I ARTD 1152 - 2-D Design ARTD 1153 - 3-D Design ARTD 1155 - Watercolor ARTD 2223 - Basic Photography ARTD 2227 - Ceramics - Methods and Materials ARTD 2229 - Ceramics - Wheelthrowing ARTD 2272 - Sculpture I ARTD 2273 - Printmaking I ENGL 2500 - Introduction to Creative Writing FILM 2001 - Introduction to Film & Video Production FILM 2012 - Digital Storytelling MUSI 1101 - Music Production and Theory I MUSI 1107 - Ensemble MUSI 1108 - Ensemble MUSI 1112 - Music Survey THEA 1180 - Stagecraft THEA 1184 - Acting I THEA 1205 - Movement and Conditioning |
3 Hours |
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Quantitative Exploration BIOL 2200 - Biological Research & Analysis EDST 1101 - Quantitative Methods for Undergraduate Research MATH 1114 - Introduction to Statistics MATH 1115 - Finite Mathematics MATH 1120 - Problem Solving MATH 2222 - Analytic Geometry & Calculus II PSYC 2298 - Behavioral Statistics |
3 Hours |
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PROGRAMMATIC GOAL THREE: GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP |
6 Hours |
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Values ETHS 1101 - Ethos Seminar |
3 Hours |
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Faith Traditions PHIL 2430 - Bioethics RLGN 1102 - Jewish Origins in Context RLGN 1103 - New Testament Writings in Context RLGN 1104 - Dialogue with World Faith Traditions RLGN 1105 - Christian Ethics & Contemporary Social Issues RLGN 1106 - American Christianity RLGN 1107 - Religious Faith in a Scientific Age RLGN 2320 - Conflict and Peacemaking |
3 Hours |
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TOTAL REQUIRED ETHOS HOURS |
40 Hours |
General Education for Associate-level Degrees
Parallel in structure to the Ethos general education curriculum for bachelor’s degrees, the following curriculum represents the requirements of a general education for all LaGrange College associate degrees.
Part I (6 Hours)
Students are required to enroll in six (6) credit hours of the following courses.
- One course from the PG1: Writing and Information Literacy Category. (3 hours)
- The First-year experience course, ETHS 1101 from PG3: Global Citizenship. (3 hours)
Part II (18 Hours)
Students must enroll in courses from six of the remaining seven categories that align with the three programmatic goals of Ethos.
- Programmatic Goal 1: Intellectual Skills
- Logical and quantitative reasoning (3 hours).
- Programmatic Goal 2: Modes of Inquiry
- Lab Sciences and the Natural World (3 hours).
- Human Behavior and Relationships (3 hours).
- World Civilizations and Humanities (3 hours).
- Artistic Expression (3 hours).
- Modern Languages (3 hours). Courses at the 1101-level will satisfy this requirement.
- Programmatic Goal 3: Global Citizenship
- Faith Traditions (3 hours).
Students are not expected to complete a course from PG2: Quantitative Exploration.
Part III: Capstone (3 Hours)
Students must enroll in one course from among a set of approved courses that serves as a culminating experience in the liberal arts.
Total: 27 hours
Assessment of the General Education Curriculum
During the first semester and again prior to graduation, students take the college’s assessment exam, designed to determine the extent to which students have achieved the objectives of the general education urriculum. Participation in this testing program is a requirement for graduation with a baccalaureate degree.
Certain Ethos courses will include authentic assessments that are designed and administered by the courses’ instructors. For the most part, these assessments will be written artifacts, but multimedia artifacts including recorded presentations and/or performances, photography, and sound files may also be appropriate.
While often adequate for assessing student learning within certain courses, student results on standardized and/or computer scored midterm and final exams are not recommended as authentic assessments. Rather, students are encouraged to design signature assignments that may function as transactional discourse outside of the classroom.
Artifacts must demonstrate gains made within each of the student learning outcomes: creativity, critical thinking, communication, and connection.
The Ethos Council will annually conduct assessment of artifacts associated with a limited number of learning outcomes. This cyclic, systematic process will focus on distinct sets of learning outcomes in succeeding assessment periods until all learning outcomes are evaluated. With some exception, many of these assessments are already being administered across LaGrange College’s curriculum.
In the following table, students may see which courses produce the artifacts that are tied to a cycle of improvement in the general education.
Signature Assessments by Category and Course
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Artifact |
Courses |
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First Year Writing |
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Logical/Quantitative Reasoning |
CHEM 1102/1102L |
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Performance or Written Artifact from Outside the Student’s Major |
ARTD 1109, ARTD 1110, ARTD 1111 |
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Language Competency |
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Fine Arts |
ARTD 1151, ARTD 1152, ARTD 1153, ARTD 1155, ARTD 2227, ARTD 2229, ARTD 2272, ARTD 2273 |
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Spoken Communication |
ENGL 2204, ENGL 2205, ENGL 2206, ENGL 2207 |
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Faith Identity |
PHIL 1410, PHIL 2430 |
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Values |
Ethos Curriculum: Time Restrictions
There is no time limit on the credit or validity of coursework in the Ethos Curriculum. It should be noted, however, that students who have not been enrolled at LaGrange College for four (4) years, or who transferred from LaGrange College and subsequently return, enter the college under the Bulletin in force at the time of re-entry.
