Division I

If you were a Division I student entering in F10 or earlier, please refer to: Fall 2004 - Spring 2011 Division I

Division I is the first stage of the Hampshire education. Most entering first-year students (Transfer or otherwise) begin in Division I. The intent of the Div I program is to introduce students to Hampshire, to provide a wide breadth of education and ways of knowing, and to start to build the skills that will be useful in Division II and Division III (and beyond!). The current Division I program took effect in Fall 2011. '''This page is unfinished. '''

= Rationale =

The new Division I was created in order to address certain concerns about the First-Year curriculum and the academic program as a whole. The intent of this new program is to:

• Increase flexibility and ownership in the first year program • Increase student engagement in the Hampshire community • Improve continuity from Division I to II and strengthen the advisor-advisee relationship • Strengthen opportunities for faculty and advisors to reflect on, and engage students with, developing writing and research skills. Additionally, to provide structure for examining and strengthening the ability to undertake independent work in the first year. Developing this skills will help Division I students begin developing towards a position that will allow them to create a strong Division III project that will rely on these skills. • Provide an opportunity for students to gain exposure to a broad distribution of courses in the first year, developing a strong liberal arts base while assisting smaller schools by better distributing courses across the curriculum (Division I proposal to the Faculty, April 2010)

= Requirements =

Division I has two main requirements: the 7+1 and the Distribution Areas. Evidence of these requirements, as well as everything else that goes into your first-year program, is shown in the Portfolio.

Number of Courses ("The 7+1")
In order to pass Division I, a student must have successfully completed (received in evaluation in) at least 7 courses or course equivalents and at least 1 Campus Engaged Learning activity.

Distribution of Courses
Of the 7 required courses in Division I, 4 of those courses must fulfill Distribution Areas. These Areas are:


 * Physical and Biological Sciences (PBS)
 * Arts, Design and Media (ADM)
 * Culture, Humanities and Languages (CHL)
 * Power, Community and Social Justice (PCSJ)
 * Mind, Brain and Information (MBI)

Students must take a course in 4 out of these 5 Areas. You may take more than one course in an area, but only one of them counts towards distribution (e.g. if you have taken 1 course in PBS and ADM and 2 in CHL, you still need to take 1 course in either PCSJ or MBI).

Courses are designated as belonging to 1 (or ocassionally 2) of these areas by the professor(s) offering them, and what distribution area a course fulfills should be clearly listed in its course description.

= The Portfolio =

Passing Division I is contingent on the advisor's approval of the portfolio. The portfolio must document all of the above requirements (the 7+1 and distribution areas) as well as showing engagement and progress with the Cumulative Skills. The portfolio should also include a written reflection on a student's experience in Division I. This portfolio is a chance to show all of the work one has done throughout the Div, and to reflect on challenges and how one might improve. It is also a good tool to focus one's interests in preparation for Division II. This portfolio is submitted to the Division I advisor, who reviews it and gives both verbal and written feedback. Specific advisors may have other guidelines for what the portfolio and written reflection look like, and it is best to talk to your advisor ahead of time about what exactly they would like to see.

'''Important: Save all of your work! '''Your portfolio will be put together using materials from all of your classes, so save everything! It's best if you can include professor's comments on papers or assignments, so save and even photocopy examples of good feedback.

= Timeline for Division I to Division II Transition =

Students have two possible opportunities for passing Division I after the first year. All students will meet with their advisors at the end of the second semester to discuss their progress on Division I and to determine if they will pass Division I at the beginning of the third or fourth semester.

The current timeline for Division I is:

= History of Division I =

In recent years, the school has taken several steps in an effort to expand the school and attract more academically conventional students. The most significant change was a revision of the Division I program for first year students. Before the fall of 2002, Division I traditionally consisted of four major exams, one in each of the academic departments and/or quantitative analysis. These exams took one of three forms: a "two-course option", where a student could take two sequential courses; a "one-plus-one", where a Hampshire course supplements an outside course (AP score of a four or five, or a summer college class); or a project, which usually consists of a primary or significant secondary research paper, or an art production (a short film, a sculpture, etc.), and which stems from previous coursework. Students were required to complete at least two project-based exams, while transfer students were usually waived one project requirement.

Futhermore, Division I did not need to be completed in the first year, and in fact represented the core the of the liberal arts education. Division I was completed over the first 3 years and was designed to complent Division II studies with added breadth. Thus Division I gave students intellectual breadth which stemmed from their own growing interests over the course of 2 and half years.

In fall of 2002, the new first-year program was started in response to high numbers of second and third year students who had not completed Division I. The new program mandates eight courses in the first year, at least one in each of the five schools. This reduces the required work for passing Division I significantly, as up to 10 courses could be required under the older system. This program was again revised in 2004, when the last system was put into place. This system is described in greater detail here: Fall 2004 - Spring 2011 Division I

In Spring 2010, the Faculty Meeting voted to change Division I. The proposal and motions they voted on can be found on the Educational Policy Committee's page. The new Division I went into place in Fall 2011.