A Note to Students New to Kenyon

The Kenyon curriculum affords you great freedom of choice in planning your course of study. We assume that a formal program of liberal education will occupy you throughout four years of full-time study, but how that program may best be organized is left for you and your faculty advisor to determine. We believe that no single set of courses or uniform plan of study can suit all students, even for the first year. Hence there are no required first-year courses.

Although it is a good idea, prior to arriving on campus, to begin making a list of courses in which you might like to enroll your first year, make it a long list and consider it a tentative one. Look for the special symbol beside the courses in each department that are considered especially appropriate for first-year students or upperclass students new to that department's curriculum. During the four days of Orientation, you will learn about our academic departments, programs, and courses. You will also have ample opportunities to find out about particular courses, the proper level at which to begin, or your advanced placement test scores and credits. Your faculty advisor and your upperclass counselor will be a big help to you as you choose your schedule of courses during Orientation.

Every student is required to complete a major course of study for graduation. Normally, students declare their majors in the spring of the sophomore year, although some do so at the end of the first year and others wait until the junior year. I want to emphasize that you should not be concerned if you are unsure of a major at this time. Faculty members do not encourage the declaration of a major until the sophomore year, and no department requires enrollment as a first-year student in order to declare a major in that department. (If you are considering a laboratory science as a possible major, enrollment in your first year is advisable, though not mandatory.)

The natural tendency is to enroll in disciplines that are possible majors, and this is quite common. Your first year, however, is a good time to explore areas where you have had little or no previous experience; we encourage you to do so. Many upperclass students will tell you that they had no notion of their present major until they discovered it by sampling unfamiliar disciplines.

Do not be overly concerned about our diversification requirement: most students fulfill this requirement virtually without trying. It simply requires that each student complete two semesters within each of any five departments distributed over the four academic divisions of the College. It is difficult not to satisfy this requirement by the time you have completed your second or third year.

I'm sure that many of you are interested in preparing for professions such as business, law, medicine, or teaching. Fundamentally, we are a college of the liberal arts, and thus we have no major programs expressly for these professional areas. Moreover, as the success of our graduates in the professions will attest, professional schools do not require or even encourage such programs for undergraduates. Primarily, they are looking for bright, well-educated, articulate men and women. You will have an opportunity during Orientation and throughout your time at Kenyon to discuss your professional goals with individuals who are knowledgeable and experienced and able to guide you in the appropriate selection of prerequisite courses for respective graduate programs.

Please note that some students spend their entire four years at Kenyon working with just one faculty advisor. Many students, however, will work with their initial advisor for three or four semesters and change to another when they declare their major course of study. Still others may choose to work with five or six advisors by the time they graduate. I do not advocate that you change advisors more than necessary, but you should know that if, after you have settled in for a few weeks, you find someone with whom you would rather work, you are welcome to come and discuss a change of advisor.

One last note about your faculty advisor: Any time you are enrolling for courses or changing your enrollments, you will do so on a form that will require the "approval" of your faculty advisor. Here, "approval" is not meant in the usual sense of the word. Your advisor's signature does not necessarily indicate that he or she agrees; it indicates that the two of you have discussed the matter and together have considered all aspects of the issue. You will make your decisions.

If you have any questions concerning the contents of this catalogue, please do not hesitate to contact me, Registrar Richard Switzer, Acting Provost Gregory Spaid, or one of the faculty members listed in the text. We look forward to seeing you in August.

Jane Martindell
Dean for Academic Advising