Master of Liberal Studies Program

Assessment Plan

July 2004

MLS Program Mission

The Master of Liberal Studies (MLS) Program at The University of Toledo seeks to provide an intellectually challenging and academically rigorous education to non-traditional students. By its very nature the MLS Program encourages interdisciplinary thinking and respects diverse philosophical and methodological approaches to knowledge. By requiring all students to complete a thesis the Program also seeks to generate new knowledge. Recognizing the unique challenges facing non-traditional students the MLS Program attempts to provide course offerings at convenient times and in a variety of delivery formats.

Program Goals and Expectations of MLS students

1. To recruit and retain high quality graduate students.

2. To encourage student diversity by making the MLS Program available and accessible to the broadest possible spectrum of students.

3. To expose students to the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and visual and performing arts and to encourage them to develop an understanding and respect for diverse philosophical and methodological approaches to knowledge.

4. To require students to develop an understanding and appreciation for interdisciplinary knowledge, to engage in interdisciplinary research, and to generate new knowledge.

Attaining Program Goals Measuring Expectations of Students

1. To recruit and retain high quality graduate students.

a. The MLS Program is aggressively marketed in the local media, including local newspapers and radio. Targeted recruitment is also utilized. For example, recent graduates of the Adult Liberal Studies Program are contacted and made aware of the MLS Program.

b. High quality student support services are the cornerstone of the MLS Program’s retention strategy. This includes intensive one-on-one advising by the MLS Program Director. Every student in the Program is strongly encouraged to meet with the MLS Program Director at least once per semester for advising purposes. The MLS Program Director also works very closely with the Division of Distance Learning (DL) to provide high quality student support services for students taking Internet courses. DL provides MLS students with a variety of support services including assistance with course registration and technical support while taking Internet courses. The MLS Program works with UT’s Writing Center to provide a twice-annual thesis workshop to assist students with the thesis writing process. Finally, the MLS Program has the luxury of being able to recruit the very best faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences to teach its core seminars. These top-class professors are the first classroom contact that new students have with the MLS Program. Creating a positive first impression is critical to student retention.

c. Establishing and maintaining a strong esprit de corps among the MLS student body has also been instrumental in student retention. This has been achieved by engaging in regular and frequent communication with students. An electronic list serve provides MLS students (and alumni) with weekly notification of cultural, educational, sporting, and other events that are occurring on UT’s campus. An MLS newsletter (Pathways) is also produced and distributed to MLS students (and alumni) three times per year. The MLS Program also has an active alumni group that organizes a variety of activities throughout the year (e.g. book discussion groups, social mixers, and lectures). Current MLS students (future alumni) actively participate in these events.

2. To encourage student diversity by making the MLS Program available and accessible to the broadest possible spectrum of students.

a. Student diversity within the context of the MLS Program is very broadly defined. It includes (but is not limited to) age, gender, race, socio-economic status, disability, and occupation. The MLS Program, through strategic advertising, has been very successful in attracting a diverse student body. For example, approximately 30% of MLS students are African-American while ages range from 21 to 72 (the mean is 36).

b. Accessibility is a significant issue for MLS students. Most work full-time, many have jobs with irregular and unpredictable schedules, and most have significant family responsibilities such raising children. For many, the traditional classroom (and its structured meeting schedule) is highly inaccessible. This barrier is overcome by providing all the core seminars and some electives via the Internet.

a. All students in the MLS Program must complete one core seminar in each of the following – humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and visual and performing arts. These core seminars are reflective of the divisional structure of UT’s College of Arts and Sciences. The subject matter of these core seminars (a total of 12 credit hours) varies considerably. For example, recent MLS seminars have explored topics such as Age of the Spanish Armada, the Myth and Legacy of Vietnam, Economic Geography of the United States, Living in Society: Alternative Futures, Brain Biology and Behavior, Natural Disasters and Hazards, Writing about the Visual Arts, and The Martyr’s Crown: The Toledo Rubens and Early Modern Culture. Professors who teach these seminars are encouraged to adopt an interdisciplinary pedagogy.

4. To require students to develop an understanding and appreciation for interdisciplinary knowledge, to engage in interdisciplinary research and generate new knowledge.

a. Once MLS students have completed their core seminars they chose 15-18 credit hours of electives. By this stage students usually have an identified field of interest. They are required to select electives from at least two disciplines.

b. Having completed their electives MLS students proceed to the writing of a thesis (3-6 credit hours). The MLS thesis is required to be an interdisciplinary piece of work. A minimum of two thesis committee members is required. Each committee member must represent a different academic department from The University of Toledo. The MLS thesis is the culmination of the student’s passage through the MLS Program. Assessment of the quality of the thesis is the responsibility of the individual student’s thesis committee.