It's Collo time again, which means it's time meta-Collo posts.
As always, Collo is a work-in-progress (or occasionally a work-in-regress.) I have a couple of broad goals in mind for this years iteration of the course.
(1) Focus class time more on freshmen and incoming Midways. The class hours are always the hardest for people to meet, and my brilliant idea of holding multiple sections each week is a logistical nightmare that has, thus far, been largely unsuccessful. So two birds, one stone. Class time will be devoted to incoming students, with a few larger sessions for everyone. The requirements for class hours will be adjusted accordingly (details forthcoming.)
(2) Emphasize and encourage more individualized contracts for returning students. These have been an option for a while, but few people take advantage of this option. I think it has been a good experience for those who have. My hope is that by having you design your own plan for what you want to do for Collo credit will help unify what you're doing. As it is, the things you do for Collo are sometimes a disjointed hodgepodge of activities, and that starts to feel more like checking a box than meaningful engagement. But if you set goals for yourself and identify things you want to do, then it should hopefully feel less like that. People in the past have used this option to work on graduate school applications, service projects, and creative projects. It need not be one single project. I think the important thing is for you to set your own goals, and then propose some concrete ways you intend to show progress towards those goals.
(3) Provide more opportunities for making connections. As our programs grow, and as Collo grows, it gets harder to provide opportunities for you to get to know others outside of your cohort or program. I think making those kinds of connections is important, and knowing what others are doing is important. This was a suggestion on a number of course evals, and I think it was an excellent suggestion. You are all doing interesting things and are interesting people. I'd like to try to provide opportunities for you to get to know others and share your own interests, activities, and accomplishments. If only someone would invent a way to do this without having to be in the same place at the same time. Maybe through a computer or phone or something. Where is Al Gore when you need him? So I'll be trying to do more online to create opportunities for this kind of connection. A podcast is in the works. A new collo webpage is in the works so we can ditch d2l once and for all. I intend to step up the Honors College's social media. The goal of all of this is to help share with others both in and outside the Honors College who you are and what you're doing.
So them there's the goals that are guiding the development of Collo 4.0. Details to follow...
