The Parent Handbook
is published by the Office of Academic Information and Publications,
University of Michigan, G411 Mason Hall, 764-6810; Ann Arbor,
Michigan 48109-1027. The Parent Handbook is intended
as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the Bulletin
of the College.
Welcome to LS&A: A letter
from the Assistant Dean
What is a liberal arts education:
An Overview
LS&A Degree Requirements
Concentration Programs
How can I help support my son/daughter?
(Frequently Asked Questions)
How to Use an Academic Advisor,
or Popular Myths About Advising
Resource Directory
Undergraduate Transfer
to Other UM Schools and Colleges
Suggested Readings
LS&A Calendar, 1997-98
For more information on the College of Literature, Science, and
the Arts, please look at the following publications
First Year Handbook
Transfer Student Handbook
College Catalog (Bulletin)
A letter from the Assistant
Dean, LS&A Student Academic Affairs
Welcome to LS&A
Dear Parent:
The college years: Exciting. Challenging. Stressful. College
is a time for exploration. As your son or daughter embarks on
a college education, you might encounter changes in his or her
thought processes, behavior, maturity, and decision-making skills.
Some students have more difficulty than others adjusting to the
transition from high school to college; therefore, it might be
helpful to talk with your son or daughter about what it takes
to be successful at the University of Michigan. Some basics to
consider for academic success:
- First and foremost, go to class! The significance of attendance
cannot be emphasized enough. It is difficult, if not impossible,
to master the material if your son or daughter is not in class.
- Avoid procrastination. Waiting until the last day or hour
to complete an assignment may have worked in high school, but
procrastination can have serious consequences for college-level
work. Remind your son or daughter that his or her college classmates
all got A's and B's in high school but that not everyone at Michigan
will receive A's and B's. Everyone at the University is bright
and has the potential to be successful here. To ensure success,
your son or daughter should employ consistent study habits rather
than wait for last-minute inspiration. For every credit he or
she takes, your child should be prepared to spend three hours
outside class in preparation. For example, if your child takes
15 credits at Michigan, he or she should count on spending approximately
45 hours per week doing work related to those classes.
- Your child must be willing to set goals and be realistic
enough to evaluate those goals over time to make sure that they
remain compatible with his or her interests and intellectual
strengths. We hope that students will explore many areas of interest
and receive the broadest possible liberal arts education, but
setting goals for performance and selecting courses that match
their curiosity and interests are strategies that will increase
the likelihood of a successful academic experience. It is central
to Academic Advising's mission to help students make important
decisions about exciting opportunities, from choosing a concentration
or finding a wonderful internship through deciding what medical
school or law school best suits their needs. We encourage students
to stay in touch with their academic advisor.
- If your son or daughter experiences any problem in a class,
he or she should meet with the instructor immediately. Seeking
assistance is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of active intellectual
engagement, and UM faculty are more than willing to help a student
better understand the material. If your child needs help resolving
a problem in or out of class, he or she should contact the LS&A
Academic Advising Center at (734) 764-0332 and make an appointment
with his or her academic advisor.
Your son or daughter should know that our college expects students
to take full responsibility for his or her actions both in and
out of the classroom; that we will treat them as adults (even
as we recognize that they are still maturing); and that we will
expect them to take the initiative in making their college education
a successful, productive and positive experience.
To help you support your son or daughter make the transition
from high school to college, we have put together this Parent
Handbook. If you have questions that are not answered by
this handbook, please contact the LS&A Academic Advising
Center:
phone: (734) 764-0332
e-mail: ask.lsa.advising@umich.edu
Esrold A. Nurse, Ph.D.,
Assistant Dean
LS&A Student Academic Affairs
What is a liberal arts education?
Overview
The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University
of Michigan is a liberal arts college. Since 1841 the College
has educated students in courses of study leading to the bachelor's
degree. A faculty of two instructed six freshmen and one sophomore
that first year in rhetoric, grammar, Latin and Greek literature
and antiquities, algebra, geometry, surveying, natural science,
ancient history, and Greek philosophy. A College faculty of more
than 800 offers more than 3,100 courses to its 14,972 undergraduates
(Fall Term, 1996 enrollment), nearly two-thirds the total undergraduate
enrollment on the Ann Arbor campus. The emphasis on breadth of
learning, evidenced by the variety of courses in natural sciences,
social sciences, and the humanities required of students more
than a century and a half ago, remains a hallmark of the liberal
arts education.
However, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at
the University of Michigan is more than a traditional liberal
arts college since it interacts with eighteen other schools and
colleges of a large university. For example, in addition to the
undergraduate curricula, graduate programs lead to the master's
and doctoral degrees. These graduate programs offer more than
opportunities for advanced study; they enhance the intellectual
and academic atmosphere of the College. Professors teach both
undergraduates and graduates. Research projects and some classes
involve both undergraduates and graduates. The College provides
an enriched education by way of these opportunities for undergraduates
to associate with graduate students and a research faculty.
Students in the College do not simply elect a variety of courses
from the multitude available to them in the University. They
relate courses to one another in a way that enables each student
to achieve breadth of understanding in several fields of study
and depth in one or two. Students must not only perform satisfactorily
in their courses; they must also plan programs of study which
support broadly defined principles of distribution and concentration.
Academic advisors assist students in designing such programs
suited to their particular needs and interests.
The College sees its primary responsibility, then, as providing
an excellent opportunity for students to achieve a liberal education.
Not all educators agree on what constitutes a liberal education,
but they do agree that it is neither too narrowly focused nor
too diffuse. Students are therefore required to elect courses
from a variety of departments and disciplines to ensure exposure
to different ideas and ways of thinking. An English Composition
requirement is common to all degrees, since educated men and
women should be able to express themselves clearly in speech
and writing in their own language.
Increased skill in the use of language may lead students to the
study of literature, which reveals the avenues of thought and
feeling that language can open. Some students will want to be
able to understand, speak, read, and write a language other than
their own, and be acquainted with the literature of that language.
Mastery of a language increases subtlety of mind and sharpens
sensitivity to the use and meaning of words in one's own language.
Many students will also seek some historical perspective on their
own times by studying the art, artifacts, and ideas of the civilizations
from which their own have developed.
Because mathematics underlies many fields of study in the natural
and social sciences and is increasingly useful to some humanists,
most students will find further understanding of mathematics
essential to their education. And just as they may couple language
study with literature, they may couple mathematics with study
in at least one of the natural or physical sciences whose creative
efforts so dominate modern culture. It is in these areas, in
fact, where human reason and imagination have made their most
dramatic progress since the seventeenth century, but especially
in the twentieth.
Finally, in order to understand the duties and problems facing
them as members of a complex society, most students will want
to investigate at least one of the social sciences. A variety
of courses offering instruction in comparative social systems,
governments, economies, histories, and cultures meets this end.
In designing their academic programs, liberal arts students plan
for depth of study as well as breadth of scope. To study a subject
in depth can be the most rewarding and liberating experience
students can have, and one that may occupy them throughout their
lives. Although students should not specialize to the neglect
of distribution, knowledge advances by specialization, and students
can gain some of the excitement of discovery by pressing toward
the outer limits of human knowledge in some field. Close study
of a seemingly narrow area of investigation will often disclose
ramifications and connections that will alter perspectives on
many other subjects. Such study also refines judgments and introduces
students to processes for discovering new truths.
By graduating students with a liberal education, the College
of Literature, Science, and the Arts continues its long tradition
of public responsibility. Established skills and knowledge are
transmitted to these men and women throughout their undergraduate
careers. They also develop their ability to think, to respond
to ideas, and to test hypotheses. Individuals educated in this
way will be able to live successfully in a rapidly changing world
and to give it necessary leadership and vision.
College of Literature, Science,
and the Arts
Degree Requirements
The College awards three basic degrees, the Bachelor of Arts
(AB), the Bachelor of Science (BS), and the Bachelor in General
Studies (BGS).
The Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees require
competent use of the modes of thought which characterize each
major area of knowledge, and a deep understanding of at least
one subject area. Each student is required also to achieve competency
in the use of the English language, to acquire second-year college-level
proficiency in a language other than English, must receive credit
for an approved course addressing questions on race and ethnicity,
and must fulfill the quantitative reasoning requirement. Beyond
these general requirements, which serve not to limit but rather
to enhance the value of the educational experience, students
are free to choose elective courses to complete a minimum of
120 credits. The difference between the AB and BS degree is that
the BS degree requires 60 credits of approved courses in the
physical and natural sciences and/or mathematics.
The Bachelor in General Studies degree encourages students to
take responsibility for structuring their own multidisciplinary
academic program within guidelines emphasizing upper-level courses
elected in three or more departments. This degree also requires
a minimum of 120 credits, and includes the College English Composition
requirement, the Race & Ethnicity requirement, and the Quantitative
Reasoning requirement.
Common Requirements for the AB, BS, and BGS Degrees
Credits and Grade Point Average
A student must complete a minimum 120 credits with a cumulative
grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 (C) or better.
English Composition Requirements
Part I. Introductory Composition. The introductory
composition course or sequence of courses is most often taken
during the first year. Entering students will submit a writing
portfolio to be evaluated by the English Composition Board. Based
on that evaluation, students will be placed in the appropriate
composition course.
Part II. The Junior/Senior Writing Requirement. All
LS&A students must complete an approved writing course during
their junior or senior year. These are courses offered within
the various fields and disciplines of the College. Students often
choose to meet this requirement within their chosen field of
concentration.
Race & Ethnicity Requirement
Students choose one course from a list of approved courses that
cover issues relating to race and ethnicity, racial and ethnic
intolerance and inequality. The goal is to prepare students to
live and work in a multi-ethnic, multi-racial environment.
Quantitative Reasoning Requirement
Students are required to take one or two courses from an approved
list which focus on the methodology of quantitative analysis.
The goal is to ensure that students achieve a level of proficiency
in using and analyzing quantitative information.
Requirements Particular to the AB and BS Degrees
The Language Requirement
Students are required to complete fourth-term proficiency in
a language other than English, most often by earning credit for
the fourth term of a University of Michigan language course.
The goal is to offer a means of access to the cultural and intellectual
heritage of the world's non-English speaking majority as well
as to provide reflective understanding of the structure and complexity
of English itself.
Area Distribution
Students must complete 30 credits outside of their field of concentration
distributed over the following five categories: Natural Sciences,
Social Sciences, Humanities, Mathematical and Symbolic Analysis,
and Creative Expression. Through this requirement the student
gains an understanding and appreciation of the major areas of
learning and a coherent view of essential concepts, structures,
and intellectual methods which typify these disciplines.
Concentration
The concentration requirement provides the opportunity for a
student to pursue a thorough investigation of a particular subject
or discipline. Course requirements of concentrations offered
vary from 24 to 48 credits. In addition to the concentration
plans offered, a student has the option to develop his or her
own Individual Concentration Plan (ICP).
Requirements Particular to the BGS Degree
General LS&A Requirements
The BGS degree requires a minimum of 120 credits; the College
English Composition courses; a Race & Ethnicity course; and
a Quantitative Reasoning course or courses.
Upper-Level Coursework Requirement
A minimum number of 60 credits numbered 300 or above must be
completed, with no more than 20 credits in any one department.
Non-LS&A Coursework
To qualify for a degree a student must complete a program of
study which includes primarily coursework from the College of
Literature, Science, and the Arts or equivalent LS&A transfer
credit.
Candidates for the AB or BS degree must complete a minimum of
108 credits of LS&A courses, thus allowing 12 credits of
non LS&A coursework in the 120 required for the degree.
Candidates for a BGS degree must complete a minimum of 100 credits
of LS&A courses, thus allowing 20 credits of non-LS&A
coursework in the 120 required for the degree.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How can I help support my son/daughter?
In what school or college is my child enrolled?
Your child is enrolled in the College of Literature, Science,
and the Arts (LS&A). LS&A is the largest of the University
of Michigan's schools and colleges with over 14,972 undergraduates
(Fall 1996 enrollment). The other schools, colleges, and academic
units with undergraduate programs here on the Ann Arbor campus
are Architecture and Urban Planning, Art and Design, Business,
Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Kinesiology (Division of),
Music, Natural Resources and Environment, Nursing, and Pharmacy.
What is a credit?
Each course in the College of LS&A is assigned one or more
credits which roughly approximate the number of hours which the
class meets each week in discussion, recitation, or lecture.
Students need 120 credits to graduate.
How many credits does it take to be full-time?
For the fall term and winter term, a student must be enrolled
for at least twelve (12) credits to be a full-time student. (Up
to 18 credits may be elected without special permission; most
students take between 14 and 16 credits per term.) For the spring
and summer half-terms, students must be enrolled for six (6)
credits to be full-time. You may want to double-check with your
child about term credit loads if this is important for your insurance
coverage or financial aid.
How much time will my child spend studying and going
to class each week?
Each student is different, but our experience and data indicate
that for students to do well at Michigan, they should plan on
devoting three hours outside of class for every hour spent in
class each week. For a full-time student, the time commitment
may range from 48 hours to 60 or more hours per week.
Will my daughter/son always see the same academic advisor?
Students are encouraged to continue to meet with the academic
advisor with whom they met during Orientation. They may, however,
request to meet with any academic advisor they choose.
How can my child get an advising appointment?
There are a number of ways for your child to get in touch with
her/his academic advisor. Students may call 764-0332 (persistently)
to make an advising appointment, or they may e-mail their academic
advisor. During certain periods of the term our office has walk-in
times available and extended evening hours. Those times are posted.
How can my daughter/son get a quick question answered
from an advisor?
During peak periods of the term, the LS&A Advising Center
has advisors available to answer quick questions for students.
If the "Quick Question" advisor thinks that the student
needs a longer appointment, the student can proceed to the reception
desk to make an appointment.
Are academic advisors available in the residence halls?
Yes. LS&A academic advisors are available during posted hours
each week in each of the residence halls. Many advisors are there
over mealtimes and during evening hours. Students do not need
appointments. Students should check with the front desk in their
residence hall for advisors' locations and office hours.
Can my child get answers to advising questions without
coming in to the LS&A Advising Center?
Yes, your child may speak with an academic advisor in the residence
hall, use e-mail to contact his/her advisor, or e-mail: ask.LS&A.advisor@umich.edu.
Students can also find helpful information on the LS&A Student
Academic Affairs web page at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/saa/
How will I know how my son/daughter is doing?
You must ask your child. With rare exception, grades are seldom
a surprise. Your child's grades are sent to the local address
at the end of the fall term, and are sent to the permanent address
at the end of the winter term. Information in a student's record
can be divulged to the student's parents or guardian only with
the permission of the student.
Are there any tutoring resources available if my child
starts having academic difficulty?
Students who are experiencing difficulty should first speak with
their instructors and then with an academic advisor. Many issues
can be addressed when met in a timely manner. The academic advisor
can suggest resources to aid students or direct them to other
units such as the Math Lab, the Science Learning Center, and
the Language Resource Center. Many resources are listed on pages
11 and 12.
How does my son/daughter drop a class?
For the first three weeks of the fall or winter terms, students
may drop or add courses using a touch-tone phone and following
the directions found in the front section of the Time
Schedule. After that deadline, students need to come
into the LS&A Advising Center for forms and instructions
from the Advising Center staff and then get their instructor's
signature. After the ninth week of the term, students who wish
to drop a course need to petition and must show evidence that
extenuating circumstances, beyond their control, occurred after
the ninth week deadline. Students are always encouraged to speak
with an academic advisor to discuss the implications of dropping
a class.
My son/daughter should be in Honors. How can he/she get
in?
Students are admitted into the Honors Program by invitation of
the Director, though inquiries are welcomed from any highly motivated
student. Approximately 10% of incoming first-year students are
invited into the program, but continuance is based on academic
accomplishment.
You may contact the Honors Program in 1228 Angell Hall for more
information.
How can my child use AP test credits from high school?
Depending on your child's test results, he/she may receive college
credit. During Orientation, academic advisors will go over the
guidelines for granting of credit and course placement for acceptable
achievement on the Advanced Placement Program examinations.
My daughter/son is thinking about taking college credits
over the summer before school starts. Is this possible?
Some students choose to take summer courses before they arrive
on campus. All students should check with either the Office of
Undergraduate Admissions or the LS&A Advising Center to make
sure that transfer credit will be given for courses elected at
other colleges and universities.
Can my child take classes for credit in other schools
and colleges on the Ann Arbor campus, such as the School of Music?
Yes, students in the College of LS&A can take a limited number
of credits in another school or college on campus, provided they
meet the prerequisites for the courses. We encourage students
to take advantage of the wonderful opportunities afforded them
through the other units on campus. Students might need to talk
with an academic advisor about exploring this option.
What is a concentration?
"Concentration" is the term the college
uses to label the academic fields of study in which students
may pursue a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
degree (Other universities refer to these as majors rather than
concentrations.). Most concentrations require from 28 to 32 credits.
(See page 6 for a list of concentrations.) Although some students
pursue two concentrations, there are no minors in LS&A.
Suggested Readings
References
R.N. Bolles, What Color is Your Parachute? (Ten Speed
Press, 1987).
W.F. Brown and W.H. Holtzman, A Guide to College Survival
(Englewook Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1972).
R.A. Friday, Create Your College Success (Wadsworth
Publishing Co., 1987).
J.A. Jewler and J.N. Gardner, Step by Step to College Success
(Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1987).
J.N. Gardner and J.A. Jewler, College is Only the Beginning
(Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1985).
K.T. McWarter, College Reading and Study Skills (New
York: Little Brown & Company, 1980).
V.P. Maiorana, How to Learn and Study in College (Englewook
Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1980).
J.W. Meiland, College Thinking: How to get the best out of
college (New York, NY: New American Library, 1981).
K.M. Ramsland, The Art of Learning. A self-help manual for
students (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press,
1992).
T. Walter and A. Siebert, Student Success. How to do better
in college and still have time for your friends (New York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981, second edition).
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