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The
Oberlin Winter Term
Academic
Policy
In order to graduate
from Oberlin, students pursuing a bachelor's degree are required
to earn three full Winter Term credits.
Transfer students
must earn one credit in each Winter Term during their enrollment
at Oberlin, unless this would result in more than three credits.
Credits are earned by completing a
project, either individually or as part of a group. Individual
projects require a written proposal, final report and a positive
assessment of the project by the sponsor. Winter Term
projects are evaluated as "completed" (Y) or "not completed"
(N); no letter grades are given.
Winter Term projects are rated as
half or full. Students may participate in one half, two halves,
or one full project each Winter Term.
The time commitment
for a half-time project is three hours per weekday; the time
commitment for a full-time project is five to six hours per
weekday.
The required three
credits may be earned on or off campus, in any combination.
Winter Term credits
are not the same as semester credit hours, i.e., the Winter
Term credits are not included in the required 112 Arts and
Sciences or 124 Conservatory semester hours.
Students may propose
Winter Term projects from one of the following categories:
1) Academic Study: a faculty-sponsored,
academically-focused research, study, or performance project
that can be conducted on- or off-campus, individually or as
part of a group project.
2) Field Experience:
a learning activity that could include career exploration,
social or
political action,
community service, or an internship.
3) Personal Growth
and Development: an opportunity to learn a skill, try something
new, or pursue subject
matter outside of traditional academic disciplines.
Only one full project
(or two half projects) may be earned from the Personal Growth
Category. All three Winter Term credits may be earned
from categories one and two. Student and sponsor together
must determine the most appropriate category for a proposed
project.
A student registered
for Winter Term credit may not be paid for work associated
with his or her project.
Questions about
Winter Term requirements should be directed to Dean Kathryn
Stuart, Office of the Dean of Studies in the College of Arts
and Sciences or to Associate Dean Marci Alegant in the Conservatory.
Sponsor: Every project
must have an on-campus sponsor. Faculty members and,
under some circumstances, members of the Administrative and
Professional Staff (A&PS), may serve as project sponsors.
Finding a suitable sponsor is largely a matter of matching
student and faculty or staff member interests. Additional
information is given below.
Fees: There
are no additional tuition or room fees for Winter Term. Students
may purchase (or use their Oberlin College identification
cards to charge) individual meals at Stevenson during Winter
Term. Students may also use flex dollars that remain
in their account from the fall semester to purchase meals
at Stevenson during Winter Term.
Some on-campus projects,
especially those directed by an invited specialist, require
a fee from each participant to help defray expenses.
This fee typically ranges from $10-$40 or more.
IMPORTANT
NOTICE REGARDING CREDIT:
Because students
working on Winter Term projects off-campus earn Oberlin College
credit, Oberlin's Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is
required by federal law to monitor the quality of off-campus
projects where Oberlin students are working that involve animal
use.
In order to receive
credit for an off-campus Winter Term project that involves
work with animals, students must show that the institution
where the work is being carried out has a federal assurance
of compliance or that the project team is working under an
approved protocol.
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