PROGRAM COVENANT

General Expectations

1. All students will be expected to learn about mathematics and literature as independent inquiries and through creative interdisciplinary research and study.

2. All students will be expected to develop goals for their learning within this program and beyond.

3. All students must submit a self-evaluation and an evaluation of each faculty at the end of the quarter. The self-evaluation must be submitted, by the end of week ten, for inclusion in the student’s transcript before credit is awarded. Students’ self-evaluations are expected to be serious reflections on and assessments of personal and intellectual growth; they must address specific accomplishments and demonstrate comprehension of course concepts and themes.

4. Students must schedule and attend an evaluation conference with their seminar faculty during evaluation week (December 13-17). Failure to attend your evaluation conference will result in a “No Credit” on your transcript.

5. The faculty team expects students to increase their level of responsibility for seminar sessions in particular. All students are invited to work in collaboration with faculty to enhance, change, or add to the general curriculum in order to serve the needs and interests of the learning community as a whole.

Responsibilities of the Faculty Team

1. Both faculty members will agree together in advance before any new student is allowed to enroll in the course.

2. Faculty members will notify students at risk of reduced credit by the end of week five.

3. Faculty members will be prepared and punctual when leading program activities.

4. Faculty members will be available for consultation during office hours or by appointment.

5. Faculty members will provide timely feedback on student work.

6. Faculty members will prepare an evaluation of each student at the end of the quarter.

7. Faculty members will employ sound and justifiable pedagogical methods and be willing to explain their purposes to students.

Student performance

1. We will assume that our students will come to our course with little knowledge about the intersections of mathematics and literature but some familiarity with and interest in both subjects independently. Moreover, we will also assume that our students will have little knowledge of the history and theory of either subject.

2. Our students will come to the course, we expect, with limited ability to write fiction or examine abstract mathematical concepts. By the end of our program, they should be well prepared to speak about and practice writing and mathematics as engaged authors, educated observers, and informed scholars. We also expect our students to emerge from our program with the ability to formulate arguments about mathematics and literature and to base those arguments on fact and well-reasoned analysis rather than well-intentioned passion alone.

3. Collaborative learning is expected of all students, in seminar, lecture, and workshops. The more each of us contributes to our collective inquiries, the better equipped we are to make progress as individuals.

4. While collaboration is encouraged and expected, plagiarism will not be tolerated, and will be considered grounds for a loss of credit or expulsion.

5. Students are expected to understand and abide by the Evergreen Social Contract (below).

Evaluation criteria

1. Students need to participate fully in all program meetings, to include the following: lectures, seminars, workshops, project seminars, meetings with faculty, required tutor sessions, and challenge course events. We consider each component integral to the program; students should be prepared to explain and compensate for any absences. We will note all unexplained and repeated absences from any program activities.

2. Students will be required to complete all of the assigned readings on time. We also expect students to be fully prepared to discuss the particular week’s readings in detail with their fellow students in seminar. We will note the level and sincerity of student engagement with the assigned material in the final evaluation.

3. Students will make regular entries in an intellectual journal. Entries should include, but not be limited to, the following: weekly writing assignment drafts; notes and ideas gleaned from lectures, seminars, and workshops; reading notes and preparatory work for seminar. We will note the quality of these journals in our final student evaluations. The greater the thought and progress that one shows in this journal, the more positive will be the evaluation.

4. Students will demonstrate and articulate their achievement with respect to each program goal.