Ripon College Catalyst

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CATALYST THE FIVE­-COURSE CONCENTRATION IN APPLIED INNOVATION

Some schools would have you spend two years completing classes with no direct relationship to your chosen major. At Ripon, you will never waste time taking classes you don’t need.

CATALYST RIPON COLLEGE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS CHECKLIST n Completed Major n 124 TOTAL CREDITS

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MINOR A

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We’ve flipped Gen Ed on its head.

n Concentration in Applied Innovation (20 Catalyst Credits)

MINOR B

MA JOR 1 M AJ OR 2

C ATA LYST

Catalyst ensures

CATALYST 110 Writing

Information Literacy Oral Communication

Collaboration Writing

students are able to complete multiple majors and minors, study abroad and hold internships in four years.

Critical Thinking Information Literacy Oral Communication

CATALYST 120 Quantitative Reasoning

CATALYST 210 Intercultural Competence

CATALYST 220 Interdisciplinary Integration

Collaboration Writing

Critical Thinking Collaboration Writing

Information Literacy Oral Communication Collaboration Writing

CATALYST 300 Applied Innovation Seminar

Ripon College’s five-course curriculum, Catalyst, rigorously develops the 21st-century skills that employers seek while streamlining the path to graduation.

Students enjoy extensive freedom to pursue their passions and craft their own academic program of study. Catalyst culminates with an applied innovation seminar in which small teams of students work with faculty mentors to develop creative solutions to problems of global significance in a real-world context. Every graduate completing Catalyst earns a Concentration in Applied Innovation.

95% 93%

of employers prioritize skills that will help their employees contribute to innovation in the workplace.

of employers say a capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than the undergraduate major.

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Graduates who complete the Catalyst curriculum earn a Concentration in

CATALYST SKILL DEVELOPMENT Writing Collaboration Information Literacy Oral Communication Quantitative Reasoning Intercultural Competence Integration Critical Thinking

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Applied Innovation.

Catalyst consists of five seminars, two in the first year, two in the sophomore year, and the problem-solving seminar in the junior year. The first four seminars are designed to develop the essential skills students need to work collaboratively and independently in the junior seminar, in which they will work in teams mentored by faculty members as they develop and present proposed solutions to large, open­-ended questions. The seminars also provide grounding in some basic college-level academic skills and expose students to a range of disciplinary approaches. Graduates who complete the Catalyst curriculum earn a Concentration in Applied Innovation, which documents on the transcript that a graduate has mastered the skills of oral communication, writing, critical thinking, collaboration, quantitative reasoning, information literacy, integration and intercultural competence.

Catalyst is student­-centered, ensuring high quality instruction from tenure-­track faculty that delivers the tools needed to impact the world. Nothing is required as part of the Catalyst curriculum that does not directly contribute to skill development.

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CATALYST 110: WRITING

CATALYST 210: INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

This seminar emphasizes foundational skills in written communication essential to success in college. The primary objective of the seminar is to develop the basic writing and research skills students need in order to successfully navigate specific expectations in other courses and applied contexts. Students write several major essays related to the theme of the seminar. At least three of these projects involve significant revision and peer review, during which students will hone interpersonal oral communication skills and practice collaboration.

This seminar provides all students foundational skills in intercultural competency and further develops skills in writing and critical analysis, with a particular focus on identifying and challenging biases and assumptions. Students will become attentive to the ways in which their own cultural assumptions shape perception and begin to develop awareness of and empathy for the worldviews of other cultures. They will be able to describe how power and oppression shape the meaning of cultural differences and situate their own cultural identity within these relations.

SAMPLE CLASSES: • ‘Going Native’ in the Americas: Transformation, Appropriation, and Being in the New World • Beyoncé, Black Feminism, and Pop Culture • Fairy Tales and Contemporary Retellings • Gender Matters • Monsters, Deviants, and Outcasts in French Literature • Personal Stories, Public Lives • Princess, Frogs, and Evil Stepmothers: The Grimm Folk and Fairy Tales

SAMPLE CLASSES: • All because of Globalization: The Imperative of Intercultural literacy • American Others: Understandings and Impasses in the New World • American Revolutions • Fight Club: Peace and Conflict Studies

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Prisons and Punishment in American History Reading and Writing Right and Wrong Reforming Schools in the USA Shakespeare & Popular Culture Understanding the Bible Vices and Virtues Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How? Using the reporter’s questions in critical reading and writing • Women of Note

CATALYST 120: QUANTITATIVE REASONING This seminar emphasizes foundational skills in reasoning and quantitative literacy. The primary objectives are to develop basic skills in evaluating numerical claims and, when appropriate, using quantitative data to construct logically sound arguments. Students develop skills in critical analysis, specifically deductive thinking and/or scientific method. Students will complete several required writing assignments emphasizing skills that both evaluate and construct quantitative claims. Each student also will prepare, practice and perform at least one oral presentation related to the topic of the seminar.

SAMPLE CLASSES: • Dimensions of Life: Measurements in Biology • Energy-Charging Your Cell Phone and Your Body • Food and Drugs • Freshman Facts or Fiction • How Numbers Persuade the Public • Information: is it reliable or BS? • Learning and Remembering

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• Making a Case in our Digital World • One Billion Bird Collision Deaths a Year …

Really?!

• Precise Propositions and Dicey Decisions • The Air in Beijing, The Water in Flint, and The Temperature in Ripon • The Global Economy by the Numbers • The World is Going to Hell

• Global Rascism • Intercultural Perspectives on World Cinema • My House is Your House: Understanding Hispanic Cultures • Pickers & Artists: Culture in Antiques and Art • Telling Your Story: Identity and Art

CATALYST 220: INTERDISCIPLINARY INTEGRATION Students are prompted to connect examples, facts or theories from more than one discipline in order to diagnose problems and explore issues from different perspectives.

Students collaboratively employ at least two distinct disciplinary approaches in order to propose solutions to a defined problem. Students will develop techniques to orally present information to an audience, including appropriate language choices, awareness of audience reception and some comfort with public speaking. Students must rehearse and perform to the class at least one substantial presentation in which they present an argument using media and visual components designed to be effective for a particular audience.

SAMPLE CLASSES: • Bachelorettes and Wives: Medieval Women in Love and Marriage • Bring Out Your Dead: Infectious Disease Through History • Democracy Counts

• Poetry, Prose, Pinterest: Writing and Contemporary Collage • Saints, Witches, and Queens: Depictions of Medieval Women in Historical Drama • Who Rules the Street?

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98%

In the Applied Innovation Seminar,

of Ripon College alumni are employed, in graduate school or student-teaching within six months of graduating.

faculty mentors guide students in using the skills they developed at the

Career and professional development is embedded within the Concentration in Applied Innovation. Strong ties exist with the College’s alumni office to foster networking and

100 and 200 levels

bolster opportunities for students to connect with alumni and employers through

to examine real-

program.

world problems.

CATALYST 300: APPLIED INNOVATION SEMINAR Teams of students collaborate in development of strategies to address large, open-­ended problems, mentored by faculty members from across the liberal arts. Student teams present their proposals at a public forum near the end of the semester. The seminar requires engaging in independent research, developing a clearly defined approach, analyzing both evidence and proposed solutions, and working effectively with a diverse group. While each team is supervised by a faculty member, the majority of the work for this seminar is expected to be done autonomously in order to demonstrate mastery of applied innovation skills in ways that prepare graduates for independent work after college.

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FOUR-YEAR CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Alumni Career Days, Master Chats and Ripon’s award­-winning Career Discovery Tour

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Meet with Career and Professional Development staff

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Introduction to the Career Dashboard

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Staff work with faculty advisors to assess skill-building within majors/minors

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Career Dashboard reflects declaration of major and associated skills necessary to accomplish student’s stated goals

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Students are invited to specific programming to present options available for skill development

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Staff meet with students to discuss experiential learning internship opportunities to bolster skill set and provide experience

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Students learn employability skills through thoughtfully designed workshops and interactive opportunities to connect with employers and alumni through events like Alumni Career Day, Ripon’s award-winning Career Discovery Tours and more

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Reflection resources provide students with meaningful ways to incorporate internship experience into their academic plan

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Students have access to specially designed career launch activities and workshops that focus on résumés, interviews, job searches and networking

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Staff work to prepare students to make connections for successful transition to post-Ripon College experiences

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RIPON.EDU Q U E S T I O N S ? Contact the Office of Admission at adminfo@ripon.edu or 800-947-4766. Find your admission counselor at ripon.edu/admission-counselors

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