Promise Core Curriculum

INSTITUTIONAL OUTCOMES

With support from the Hartwick community, all Hartwick students will:
1. Identify and achieve practical & intellectual goals by academic and co-curricular pathways.
2. Every semester, build onto an interactive resume that reflects a personal brand.
3. Complete one or more major courses of study and represent achievement with thesis or capstone project(s).
4. Complete a general education curriculum that contributes to personal growth & development of flexible and prepared career professionals.
5. Benefit from mentors & advisors whose contributions to academic, personal and career growth extend beyond graduation.
6. Benefit from a welcoming community that promotes wellbeing and provides opportunities for meaningful contributions before and beyond graduation.

GENERAL EDUCATION OUTCOMES

Students will assemble a general education program that builds their skills to:
1. Communicate competently using oral and written skills.
2. Understand visual, performative, and digital media forms.
3. Evaluate information critically.
4. Engage in constructive dialogue among diverse perspectives, demonstrating political and cultural fluency.
5. Apply data and an understanding of big data analytics to decisions and actions.
6. Understand the relevance & limitations of science & technology as tools for addressing contemporary challenges.
7. Solve problems through collaborative and creative work.

PROMISE CORE GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM (22-43 Credits)

FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE (13 Promise Core credits)

WickWeek experience, 1 credit: 
A 7-day summer bridge orientation program with morning workshops and afternoon activities that integrate both the Hartwick and Pine Lake Campus experiences. 

First-Year Seminar, 3 credits:
(General Education Outcomes (GEOs) 2, 4, 5, and/or 6) 
Students will be introduced to their digital resume and building a portfolio of their work throughout their time at Hartwick showcasing their GEO proficiencies. 

First-Year J-Term experience, 3 credits: 
A three-week course including opportunities for local and off-campus winter experiences exclusively for freshman, where students will participate in location-based learning activities, apply knowledge, and reflect on their experiences that are related to two or more of our GEOs.
 
Second Semester FYE modules, 3 credits: 
(GEOs 4, 5, and 6) 
Three modules will incorporate concepts and learning experiences related to the 21st century skills highlighted in GEOs 4, 5, and 6.  

ENGL 110 College Writing, 3 credits:
(GEO 1)
English 110 will introduce students to college-level written and oral communication.

MAJOR (No additional Promise Core credits)

GEOs 1, 3, and 7: 
Each major will ensure that students are proficient in GEOs 1, 3 and 7. Proficiency can be achieved through courses or experiences. 

Writing Requirement: 
Students must complete two 200 and/or 300 level writing courses in their pathway, as designated by their major.

REMAINING OUTCOMES (6 to 27 Promise Core credits)

GEO 2:
Achievement of GEO 2 requires three appropriately tagged or approved course or non-course/co-curricular experiences. Some 1-credit courses, such as music ensembles, count as one experience.

GEOs 4, 5, and 6:
The FYE modules count as one experience each for GEOs 4, 5, and 6. For the remaining two experiences for each of these outcomes, the student may take two appropriately designated 3- or 4-credit courses, or one appropriately designated 3- or 4-credit course and one approved non-course experience. 

WELLNESS (2 Promise Core credits)

PHED experience:
Students must complete two PHED experiences during their time at Hartwick. While these experiences will be primarily tied to PHED courses, some other courses may also be assigned a PHED designator. Non-course/Co-curricular experiences will be reviewed by the mentorship teams. Our inclusive PHED courses are flexible and adaptable, encouraging individual growth in the physical and mental wellness of each of our students. Student-athletes may count their full, completed athletic season towards this requirement, potentially earning both PHED credits through a seasonal sport. The PHED experiences do not count towards the total 120 credit pathway of each Hartwick student.

PROMISE CAPSTONE (1 Promise Core credit)

From Hartwick Into the World, 1 credit:
One or two semesters before their final semester, students review their portfolios and construct a personal statement that ties together the breadth of their Hartwick education, framing their experiences and accomplishments in a manner appropriate to the external audiences that they will encounter post-graduation. The statement is written as well as being in an oral and/or video format.

The activities of the Promise Capstone can be incorporated into the existing capstone or thesis for the major, and will also be offered as a stand-alone interdisciplinary course for students from majors that do not include it.

BREADTH

In support of our institutional goal of educating flexible and prepared citizens, students will take at least one course in each of the three academic divisions.

NON-COURSE/CO-CURRICULAR EXPERIENCES

A motivating idea of the Hartwick Promise is the incorporation of non-academic experiences that can meaningfully contribute to developing the skills identified as important to 21st-century adaptability. Through a job, an internship, or a co-curricular experience, students may practice, for example, substantial data analysis (GEO 5) or play a significant role in student government, highlighting constructive discourse (GEO 4). It is possible to satisfy the general-education curriculum solely through coursework, but students are invited to think creatively about other ways of acquiring understanding through non-course and co-curricular experiences.

To apply for a non-course or co-curricular experience to count as a GEO experience, students submit an application to their mentorship team prior to the event. Following the event, students will submit a reflective document outlining what they learned from the experience and how it relates to their pathway and associated GEOs. A repository will be created of all experiences that have been accepted by mentorship teams as GEOs, to be reviewed for assessment purposes by a designated group at the end of each academic year.