This is a "College" Class

A note from Dr. Lancy

Reflecting on my undergraduate career, which began as a student in 1963 and continuing as a college instructor from 1968, I can identify three types of classes.

The first, what we used to call "gut" classes, are completely undemanding and unchallenging. They require little work and doing poorly is out of the question. My only anthropology class was like that. Taught by Margaret Mead, she declared that, since we were Yale undergraduates, we'd do well by definition so everyone would get an A. Our past president George "W" Bush was in that class and I believe it was the only A on his transcript.

Then there are classes whose nickname can't be printed in a university document. My Freshman Physics class was like that. Despite burning the midnight oil, study groups and tutors, I barely passed and had to give up a career in Engineering.

My Roman Art and Architecture class was the third type of class: intellectually challenging and hard work. But you learn a lot, you're stimulated and everyone has a shot at a good grade. I've tried to make this class fit that definition.

Another design criterion should also be noted. My college career as student and teacher has spanned the Ivy League to a small mission run college in the interior of Liberia to a Community College in Western Pennsylvania on the "wrong side of the tracks." The model for what a "college" class should entail has been consistent across all those settings. For better or ill, pursuing a college degree has meant full time schooling without also carrying the burden of full-time employment, caring for a family or maintaining a home. Those who have put off college and now find themselves carrying those burdens should pace themselves accordingly.

I have taken advantage of modern communications technology to replicate, in digital form, a class that is as close to the on-campus face-to-face version of the class as possible. Online delivery has increased student access but has not otherwise changed the content or requirements. And, unlike a face-to-face class, you will want to and be able to pause or stop the lectures and films often and review what you have just seen and heard.

This class is designed to replicate a normal, on-campus class. It has not been diluted or dummied-down. In a 15 week semester, you'd have either 45 class periods of 50 minutes or 30 class periods of 75 minutes. The rule of thumb for college classes has always been 1 hour of class time and two hours of homework per week per credit hour (double for the 8-week Summer Semester). Please allocate sufficient time to be successful or you will waste yours' and the taxpayers' money.

Dr. David F. Lancy