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The
University
The University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire was founded in 1916 as the Eau Claire State
Normal School, occupying a single building on land donated to the
state by the city of Eau Claire. The academic history of the
institution is reflected in its subsequent changes of name and
mission. As a State Teachers College (1927-51) it awarded
baccalaureate degrees in education; as one of the Wisconsin State
Colleges (1951-64) it added degree programs in liberal arts. The
state colleges were granted university status in 1964, and the
Wisconsin State University-Eau Claire was organized into the
Schools of Arts and Sciences, Education, and Graduate Studies. The
School of Nursing was created in 1965 and the School of Business
in 1966. With the merger of the two state-supported university
systems in 1971, Eau Claire became a member of the University of
Wisconsin System, which includes 13 universities, 13 two-year
colleges, and UW-Extension. Through a major administrative
restructuring, the School of Human Sciences and Services was
created in 1994, and all of the schools were reorganized into the
three colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, and Professional
Studies. The College of Professional Studies includes the Schools
of Education, Human Sciences and Services, and Nursing. Graduate
programs are administered by each of the colleges.
The University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire today is a multipurpose institution, offering
a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs, and serving
regionally as a center for continuing education. The physical
plant includes 28 major buildings located on a 333-acre, two-level
campus, which embraces Putnam Park on the south bank of the
Chippewa River and is connected by a footbridge to the Haas Fine
Arts Center and the Human Sciences and Services building on the
north bank. The student body numbers approximately 10,500; faculty
and academic staff total over 750.
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SELECT MISSION
In addition to the system and core missions, the
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has the following select
mission:
The University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire is a comprehensive university whose purpose
is to foster the intellectual, personal, social, and cultural
development of its students. The University provides an academic
environment designed to encourage faculty-student interaction and
promote excellence in teaching and learning, scholarly activity,
and public service. Its residential setting fosters personal and
social development through a rich array of co-curricular
activities.
The University’s focus is a
liberal arts based education across the curriculum in all
programs. The University places a special emphasis on experiential
learning activities, such as international studies,
faculty-student research collaboration, internships, and community
service. UW-Eau Claire is the University of Wisconsin System’s
Center of Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Student
Research Collaboration.
In addition to the
University of Wisconsin System Mission and the Core Mission of the
University Cluster Institutions, the University of Wisconsin-Eau
Claire has the following select statement:
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to provide undergraduate
education in a broad range of programs, based on a strong general
education component emphasizing the liberal arts and sciences,
offering degrees in the arts and sciences, allied health fields,
business, education, nursing, and other areas that grow clearly
from university strengths and meet identifiable regional and state
needs;
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to provide graduate
education, at the master’s and specialist levels, in select
programs that grow clearly from undergraduate strengths and meet
identifiable regional and state needs;
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to support and encourage
scholarly activities, including research and creative endeavors,
that enhance its programs at the associate and baccalaureate
level, its selected graduate programs, and its special mission;
and
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to support the cultural,
education, and economic development of the immediate region in a
variety of ways, including its outreach and community service
programs.
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ACADEMIC
GOALS
The University seeks to foster the
intellectual, personal, cultural, and social development of each
student. It strives to provide distinguished instruction in a
democratic atmosphere, bringing individual students into close
contact with a faculty whose scholarly attainments and concern for
teaching are able to instill a love of learning.
The baccalaureate degree at UW-Eau Claire
provides students with the knowledge and abilities needed for
lifelong learning. In designing the degree, the faculty expect
that graduates will have achieved the following goals. The
baccalaureate experience shall develop for students an:
• understanding of a liberal education.
• appreciation of the University as a
learning community.
• ability to inquire, think, analyze.
• ability to write, read, speak, listen.
• understanding of numerical data.
• historical consciousness.
• international and intercultural experience.
• understanding of science and scientific
methods.
• appreciation of the arts.
• understanding of values.
• understanding of human behavior and human
institutions.
The General Education Program, which forms part
of all baccalaureate degree curricula, contributes to the breadth
of each student’s education through its emphasis on the cultural
heritage of a free and responsible citizenry and on the
development of creative imagination, critical judgment, and skill
in the interchange of ideas. Students are afforded opportunities
to collaborate with faculty on research and other scholarly and
creative projects. UW-Eau Claire is recognized as a Center of
Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Student Research
Collaboration.
Upon this foundation the University builds its programs in
liberal arts and sciences and in professionally-oriented fields.
In keeping with the goals of the baccalaureate degree, each
program is designed to impart the specialized knowledge and
competencies appropriate to the particular degree, while providing
also for a broad overview of the entire area and an appreciation
of its relationship to other fields of learning.
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Organization
of the University
The Chancellor of the University is its chief
administrative officer, responsible to the University of Wisconsin
System for all phases of University activity. In the discharge of
these obligations the Chancellor is assisted by other
administrators and, in an advisory capacity, by the faculty and
students of the University. Members of the faculty have primary
responsibility for academic and educational activities; students
have primary responsibility for local policies concerning student
life, services, and extracurricular activities.
The administrative functions of the University
are organized into two areas: Academic Affairs, headed by the
Provost/Vice Chancellor, and Business and Student Services, headed
by the Vice Chancellor. The following brief overview identifies
the major offices which provide direct services to all students; a
more complete listing is found under Administrative Organization
and Personnel.
Academic Affairs. Each College of the
University is headed by a Dean, and each Department by a Chair.
Department Chairs are responsible for assigning a faculty adviser
to each student who elects a major program in the department and
for monitoring the academic progress of all departmental majors.
The Deans are responsible for reviewing and approving students’
plans for a degree. The offices of Advising, Testing and New
Student Orientation, Career Services, and Counseling assist
students with academic planning, degree completion, career
development, employment preparation, and personal counseling. All
students are admitted to the University by the Admissions office.
The office of Records and Registration maintains students’
academic records. The Office of Student Development and Diversity
is responsible for providing supportive services to student
activities, student government, and student organizations. Support
for the instructional program is provided by the McIntyre Library,
Teaching and Learning Technology Development Center, and Computing
and Networking Services. These units provide learning resources
and computing and media needs of students, faculty, and academic
staff.
Business and Student Services. In cooperation with the
Office of Student Development and Diversity, the division of
Business and Student Services is responsible for those activities
which contribute to the quality of campus life — the Children’s
Center, Housing and Residence Life, Parking and Transportation,
University Police, and University Centers and Programs (Blugold
Card office, Bookstore, Food Service, Printing and Duplication,
Recreation, Service Center, Student Activities and Programs, and
Student Organizations Complex). Students are also served by the
Financial Aid office and the Business office which disburses all
forms of financial aid and collects fee payments.
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The School
Year
Each regular academic semester (fall and
spring) consists of approximately seventeen weeks, including days
reserved for registration and final examinations.
The Summer Session is offered in two periods.
Students may enroll for courses during a three-week period in late
May and early June, during which three credits may be taken.
Offerings include regular courses adapted to an intensive
presentation as well as specially designed courses and study
trips. An eight-week period is scheduled in June, July, and
August. Although many courses run for the full eight weeks, others
are scheduled in shorter blocks of time (two, four, or six weeks)
for the convenience of summer students. Offerings include regular
courses and special workshops or institutes at undergraduate and
graduate levels.
The Winterim Session is offered during a
three-week period between the fall and spring semesters. Offerings
primarily include regular courses and may include travel seminars
and field experiences.
With the exception of certain professional
programs, curricula for baccalaureate degrees are designed to be
completed by full-time students in eight regular semesters. Many
students attend summer sessions in order to graduate earlier or
take advantage of special offerings. Others, especially teachers
in the area, find in the summer session an opportunity to
strengthen professional competencies and to work toward graduate
degrees.
The Calendar in this catalogue is supplemented by a more
detailed calendar, including official academic deadlines, which is
published in the current Class Schedule Bulletin for each semester
and summer session.
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