Looking at an academic Bible

Yes. I said it. I am currently viewing an academic Bible- an OWU catalog, that is. I had to realize that the catalog is probably the best thing a student at OWU can possess. I am looking at the information inside and see all of this information. At first, it is overwhelming especially if it your first time viewing the catalog. Once you know what the contents are and how you can use the information to your advantage, then viewing the catalog is not a problem. Someone who graduated last year told me that "the OWU Catalog is like your academic Bible" because of the information to allow you to view all of the requirements you have to fulfill in many different areas. By learning this, you gain knowledge and ultimately, the wisdom to succeed at Ohio Wesleyan. I am so glad that I have the catalog at my disposal.
Upon arriving at OWU, I knew that the course load I would have to take would be rigorous. However, I did not know the standards of each major and the requirements it takes to finish with that major. I just knew what the brochure told me about the requirements. I did not know that some of the majors were as time-consuming as they are. For instance, when I first looked at Computer Science before taking my first class, I was happy at the detail of the courses they offered. Little did I know, you had to be persistent about the courses you take. For a Computer Science, it is either you take everything in a certain period of time (e.g. CS 110, Fall Freshmen year, CS 210, Spring Freshmen year, CS 255, Fall Sophomore year, etc.) or be a semester or worse, a year behind schedule of graduating. For other courses, like History, there are no prerequisites for most courses and the time schedule to take the courses is a lot more flexible. Learning that startled me because this was the first time I had seen a difference in two majors. It turns out that the Science and Math courses are top-notch in its difficulty and are not as flexible as I thought it would be. I realized this after I completed Calculus I and did not see a flexible schedule in Math until I looked in the Catalog and saw that you had to complete Calculus II in order to branch out in Multivariable Calculus and Discrete Math. Seeing that gave me an intense feeling in my stomach. I did not panic. I just studied the catalog to find out more opportunities.
The benefit to me as a Junior status student is tremendous. As a triple major in History, Geography, and Urban Studies, I saw how all of these studies combined itself into something I could see myself doing in a couple of years. Many people talk about how History will not help you earn a creditable job after you graduate. I decided to pair up History with Geography after the success of my Physical Geography class in the Spring last semester. Even though I would not be taking any more Computer Science classes while I am at OWU, I learned that Geography had an interesting Geographic Information Systems program in which captured my heart rather quickly. I could use my Geography skills with the extensive writing that I learned for my research projects for History classes. None of the classes were compatible since they are two separate majors. However, one day I was looking at the catalog and I saw another course that would benefit me in the long run. Urban Studies combined the Geography and History classes that I transferred in to OWU and took while I was here and gave those courses a practical use for a career after my time at OWU. Now I will be taking courses I only dreamed of such as courses in Chemistry and Philsophy. All of this can (and probably will be fulfilled) very soon; most of these courses also goes towards my distribution requirements. An example of this would be Environmental Ethics covers my last Humanities requirement and my Environmental Chemistry covers my last Natural Science requirement. See how everything works together and in favor of a triple major and possible a minor in something? No wonder there are so many double majors at OWU.
I would like to go through some of the benefits and information with you. The Academic Procedures section is beneficial to every students that attends or is thinking about attending OWU. This section provides information about school traditions such as Homecoming, gives incoming students details about how to become exempt from introductory classes (given scores on AP, SAT, or ACT tests), what to do for registration and the limits of being a part or a full time student, the grading system (which freaked the juniors and seniors of last year out and can really make or break an individual), what does certain grades and letters tell you (there is more to it than A,B,C,D,F,S,and U), what to do if you are on Academic Probation, the classification of students (Yeah, 19 credits for me!), how to achieve Honors or something like Cum Laude, requirements for your degree including how to earn your Writing Across the Curriculum (R) credit, your Cultural Diversity (V) credit, and your Quantitative Reasoning (Q) credit, the requirements toward your major and graduation, your distribution requirements in Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Humanities, and Arts, how to plan for a bachelor's/professional degree, information about off-campus trips during the school year and the summer (which I am thinking about), and apprenticeships/internships. This is a lot, I know but no one said college would be easy and the requirements toward classes, majors, graduation are just one small thing in a microcosm of aspects in college.
The next section is all of the majors and their classes. I was sure to acquire the 2007-2008 to see if there were any major changes in the schedule for me. There were a few but I was not sure because of the classes are under investigation (particularly in Geography). That is why after consulting the catalog, I went to see my academic advisor and the Urban Studies advisor to see what may or may not change. I probably would not have detected the possible changes if there was no catalog to refer to. As of right now, my requirements for the three majors are on track and for History, regarding I do well in my classes for this semester, I will be way ahead of the pack.
Near the back of the book, there is information about the cost to attend OWU, how to obtain financial aid, and other miscellaneous fees which will hit you once you have matriculated into OWU. One resource that may be overlooked by parents and students is at the back of the catalog where the listing of teachers is located. (Faculty of Instruction, it states at the top of the page). If you look closely, you will see a notation something like (L-1). This denotes which faculty members will be gone for a certain amount of time. (L-1) indicates that that faculty member will be on leave for the first semester. This is important because if the student knows that the class they have been planning to take will not be available for that year, that students will be able to plan an alternate approach to his or her degree without a problem. I did not realize this until the middle of spring semester of last year. Now that this wisdom has sunk in, I can plan accordingly and be happy with my professor and the course beforehand (hopefully).
Again, I know that this is a lot of information but I think you will be happy in the long run that I told you this. Hopefully, this message will find its way to many people and people can learn this information. Think of it as a first assignment to prepare for the rigors of college academically and even emotionally. This will save you a lot of time and money. This catalog serves as a what-to-do in case of this incident happening scenario, the best and the worst case, that is. Use this catalog by acquiring knowledge along the way through the college experience. Trust me, this will be the best move you have done in your four years here.




Cataloging,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10