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 |
6 Hours |
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Logical and Quantitative Reasoning One from the following list: MATH 1089, MATH 1101, 1221, or 2221 |
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 |
| Diverse Cultures, Human Behavior, and Human Relationships
ECON 2200 |
3 Hours |
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Modern Languages The successful completion of one of the following courses: |
3 Hours |
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Laboratory Science and the Natural World BIOL 1101, 1102 and 1102L, 1107 and 1107L, 1108 and 1108L, 2148 and 2148L, 2149 and 2149L |
7 Hours |
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World Civilization and Humanities ARTD 1109, 1110, 1111 |
6 Hours |
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Artistic Expression ARTD 1151, 1152, 1153, 1155, 2223, 2227, 2229,2272, 2273 |
3 Hours |
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Quantitative Exploration |
3 Hours |
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PROGRAMMATIC GOAL THREE: GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP |
6 Hours |
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Values |
3 Hours |
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Faith Traditions PHIL 2430RLGN 1102, 1103, 1104, 1105, 1106, 1107, 2320 |
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)
- Both first-year experience courses, ETHS 1101 and ETHS 1102, 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).
- Diverse Cultures (3 hours).
- World Civilizations and Humanities (3 hours).
- Artistic Production and 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.
