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Plan of Concentration

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The Plan is a coherent program of study that may have multi-disciplinary components. The first year is normally devoted to courses which are preparatory to Project work. The Project is a major paper or set of papers based on library, laboratory or field research; a presentation in the performing or creative arts; or any other effort or combination of efforts appropriate to the focus for the Plan. It may also consist of a set of written examinations on clearly defined topics.

Credit and Residency Requirement

The Plan of Concentration consists of a minimum of 50 credits, not more than 8 of which may have been earned prior to the junior year.

Normally, students are expected to be in residence during the senior year, although sponsors may occasionally recommend a non residential term. Such terms must be approved by the Dean of Faculty. Students are required to register as full-time for the final senior semester.

Degree Field

The Degree Field indicates the area of concentration for Plan work. A Plan must demonstrate both breadth and depth in addressing a problem or set of problems, but it need not necessarily encompass the scope of a traditional major. Plans integrating two (or more) degree fields may generally be regarded as constituting a single interdisciplinary field rather than a "double major". However, each degree field listed requires a demonstrable engagement with that field's materials and methods.

Fields must be selected from the list of degree fields (see below) adopted by the Faculty. The degree field may be followed by descriptive sub fields, e.g., ART HISTORY/Renaissance Painting; BIOLOGY/Ornithology; HISTORY and LITERATURE /Shakespeare.

American Studies Languages
Anthropology Literature
Art History Mathematics
Astronomy Music
Biochemistry Painting
Biology Philosophy
Ceramics Photography
Chemistry Physics
Classics Political Science
Computer Science Religion
Cultural History Psychology
Dance Sculpture
Economics Sociology
Environmental Science Theater
Film/Video Studies Visual Arts
History Writing
Asian Studies  

In addition, World Studies Program students may select the following field:

Development Studies

The faculty member named first on the Plan application is the Plan sponsor of record for administrative purposes. It is appropriate to have co-sponsors if other faculty members make major contributions to the Plan. Visiting faculty and retired members of the faculty may serve as Plan sponsors only at the discretion of the Committee on the Faculty, which may consult with faculty members in related disciplines.

The first year of the Plan normally concentrates on course work in the area of the Plan, leading to a precise definition of the Project at the end of the junior year. The senior year is usually spent in tutorials and independent work necessary for the Project. All current rules for good standing, satisfactory progress and academic probation apply to Plan students.

Preliminary Application

This Application serves as the student's formal request for permission to embark on the first year of the Plan. The first year is normally devoted to courses which are preparatory to Project work.

The deadline for submission of the Preliminary Plan Application is before the end of the semester in which the student will have earned 55 credits or more.

Any student who does not have a Preliminary Plan Application on file by the end of the semester in which he or she has earned 55 credits must, in the next semester, submit with the registration form either a Preliminary Plan Application. The Application must be approved by the Dean of Faculty. Copies of the Preliminary Plan Application shall be circulated to all faculty two weeks prior to final approval by the Dean of Faculty so that faculty may register any misgivings.

Final Plan Application

The Final Plan Application specifically defines the Plan objective and the Project (see Forms, Final Plan Application). It lists work completed during junior year and work projected for senior year. The deadline for submission and distribution of the Final Plan Application is two semesters prior to the anticipated date of completion of the Plan. Applications submitted at the end of the semester must be distributed to the faculty no later than two weeks before the final faculty meeting. Students who fail to submit Final Plan Applications on time may be required to spend an extra semester at Marlboro before they can graduate.

The Application must first be approved by the Dean of Faculty. Copies of the Final Plan Application are then circulated to all faculty for final approval.

Work to be Evaluated & Proportional Weights

Technically, all work on Plan is subject to final evaluation. Typically, minor parts are not evaluated; they often provide essential background for the project or papers, which are evaluated. Major elements must be evaluated: for example, if a student takes three tutorials in Irish History but writes a thesis on the Tudors, an examination or paper (listed under Other Plan Components) should be written on some aspect of Irish History.

Percentages should be roughly consistent with the time spent on each element. The Plan Project is often weighted heavily because it is supported by several courses and tutorials that are not evaluated separately. The Project may be weighted between 15% and 75%, although any weight less that 25% or more than 50% requires written justification and permission from the Dean of Faculty. Although the Project may have separate elements, it is, by definition, a coherent effort that bears a single percentage weight and, upon evaluation, receives a single grade. At least one element must consist of formal written prose and must comprise at least 20% of the weighting. In addition, at least 20% of the material presented for evaluation must be in a form prepared by the student independently of faculty guidance, and all independent work must be available to the Outside Evaluator. Such independent work or examinations normally cover aspects of the major fields or subfields of study or areas of the Plan not addressed explicitly by the Project and supporting work. Independent work must be supported by coursework or tutorials taken on Plan.

Upon the recommendation of the Plan Sponsor, the Project may consist of a set of written examinations on a clearly defined topic or topics.

Percentage Weights must be made by the Friday before midterm faculty meeting of the final semester on Plan. Changes must be approved by the Dean of Faculty and Plan sponsor(s) and communicated by the student to the Registrar by this deadline. Clarifying changes in wording may be made after this deadline only as deemed appropriate by the Dean of Faculty in consultation with faculty sponsor(s). Students on extension are completing Plans already subject to final modification; no further substantive changes may be made.

Grades, Junior Year

Standard grades (A-F) are given in courses and tutorials.

Grades, Senior Year

Seniors normally receive progress grades (S, S-, U) for classes and tutorials taken in the two semesters of their senior year. These grades appear on a student's transcript until after the oral evaluation, at which point the Registrar replaces progress grades with asterisks (*) on the transcript. The "*" leads to a statement under the Final Plan Grade: "Applies to all senior year Plan courses and tutorials." The progress grades of seniors who do not complete their Plans remain as S, S-, or U. For the purpose of transferring Marlboro credits for classes and tutorials with progress grades, S and S- are considered equivalent to C- or better. Faculty sponsors, in consultation with teacher(s) of individual courses (if these are different people), may permit seniors to receive letter grades for courses on Plan taken either semester of the senior year. Plan Courses that continue for more than one semester must receive the same treatment both semesters. The grade option is not available for Plan tutorials: senior Plan tutorials always receive progress grades. The deadline for submitting the signed form permitting a senior a standard letter grade for a class coincides with the deadline for drops. Standard grades remain on the transcript after the oral evaluation (i.e., they are not replaced with asterisks as with progress grades).

Seniors under the cumulative grading system who do not complete their Plan will (for transfer purposes) receive a Pass in courses they have completed at a satisfactory level.

Tutorials with Non-Members of the Faculty

Students on Plan and their sponsor(s) may arrange for Plan-related tutorials with non-members of the faculty. The Plan sponsor is responsible for notifying the Registrar of such an arrangement at the start of each term, for the evaluation of the work, and for submitting grades. The student is responsible for any additional expenses incurred as a result of such work unless other arrangements are made in advance with the Dean of the Faculty in extraordinary cases.

Oral Evaluation

The Board of Evaluators consists of the Plan sponsor and co-sponsors, a second faculty member if there are no co-sponsors, and an outside evaluator. Marlboro faculty who participate in major portions of a Plan should be on the committee. The Dean of Faculty appoints an outside evaluator upon recommendation of the Plan sponsor; students are encouraged to suggest names of possible outside evaluators.

At least one week before the oral evaluation, the outside evaluator must have copies of all exams, papers, journals, etc., which are part of the Plan. The outside evaluator should have the opportunity to evaluate all elements of the Plan and must have the opportunity to evaluate at least 90% of Plan work and all work prepared independently of faculty guidance. However, when a student teaches, performs, or or gives a public lecture, the outside evaluator may not be available. Therefore, such elements with weightings of more than 10%, or which are included as independent work, must be documented in a form available to the entire community. For this reason such elements should not be included under work done independently of faculty guidance, as at least 20% of such work must be available to the outside evaluator. Weightings for a public lecture or class teaching must be kept to 10% or less. If such elements comprise more than 10%, special arrangements must be made with the Dean of Faculty. Exceptions to this rule may be granted by the Dean of Faculty, upon advice from the Curriculum Committee.

Honorarium for Outside Evaluator

The College pays a $300 honorarium to the outside evaluator upon receipt of an evaluation of the Plan and oral evaluation. This covers travel expenses. However, for outside examiners who must travel long distances or who must make a second trip to the College to view a performance or exhibit, there may be travel funds available. If the outside evaluator must stay overnight, such arrangements and their cost are the student's responsibility.

Duplication Costs

The College pays the cost of photocopies of the Plan paper for the library and outside evaluator. If copying is done off campus, the College will reimburse the student for these "free" copies to a maximum of 10 cents/page. Receipts showing number of pages copied, number of copies made of each page and cost must be presented to the Plant and Operations Office prior to reimbursement.

Written Evaluation

Plan sponsors and the outside evaluator must submit a written evaluation of the student's work to the Registrar as soon as possible after the oral exam. All written evaluations will be made available to the student and retained in his or her permanent file for future reference.

Senior Plan Written Assessment

Faculty members who have taught courses in the student's senior year but who do not sit on the Board of Examiners will submit a written assessment of the student's work to the Board of Examiners.

Copy of Plan Paper

All graduating students must submit to the Registrar a final printed copy and electronic copy of the Plan project (in appropriate medium) and other written Plan components. Submission of all other Plan components is strongly encouraged.

Honors

Honors are granted on an overall evaluation of the Plan, as follows:

A   = Highest Honors
A-  = High Honors
B+ = Honors

Plan Grade

Upon the Plan's completion, the evaluating board assigns a grade which covers the entire Plan. For the purpose of determining honors, this final grade supersedes all grades given in individual courses and tutorials over the entire two Plan years, whether these are standard letter grades (A-F) or cumulative grades.

Satisfactory Progress

It is assumed that the student will make satisfactory progress on Plan. However, the faculty reserves the right to take action up to and including dismissal for academic failure, upon recommendation of the student's Sponsor and the Dean of Faculty.

Unsatisfactory Progress

When a student on Plan receives a report of unsatisfactory (U) from his or her Sponsor at the end of a semester, he or she will be placed on probation. If, at the end of the following semester, he or she is still doing unsatisfactory work, he or she may be dismissed from the College for academic failure.

When a student on Plan is, in the faculty's opinion, making no significant effort to meet his or her academic responsibilities, he or she may be dismissed for academic failure. The student may instead be asked to do an extra semester's work upon notice from the Dean of Faculty.

Extensions

There are two kinds of extensions for Plan work that are outlined below. Extensions for Plan work may be granted by the Dean of Faculty. The Plan sponsor must concur. The Director of Advising may be contacted for help working out individual situations.

Extension 1

For Scheduling Final Plan Evaluation:

If Plan work is complete, an extension of up to three months beyond the scheduled completion date may be granted for scheduling and taking written and oral examinations. There is no fee for this extension.

A student may not choose this category if,

  1. at the end of this semester, he or she has received unsatisfactory grades which would drop earned credits below the minimum of 50 credits required on Plan or 120 credits required for graduation;
    OR
  2. he or she needs further faculty assistance, including reading and commenting on drafts of the Plan project, regardless of credits earned.

Extension 2

For Completing Plan Work:

If the student does not complete Plan work on time, and further faculty assistance is needed, he or she must register for further instruction or be discontinued.

(This is valid for the next spring semester for students scheduled to finish in December and for the next fall semester or the intervening summer for students scheduled to finish in May.)

The number of credits may range from 1-18, depending on the proportion of work needed to complete the Plan, and will be set by the Dean of Faculty after consultation with the student and the Plan Sponsor. Students are charged on a per-credit basis for any remaining work.

If the work is not completed on time under Extension 2, further extension under Extension 1 is possible. A further extension under Extension 2 is possible, but only if the student submits a new Final Plan Application which the faculty must approve.

Discontinuance

If the student fails to complete Plan work on time, he or she may elect to be discontinued by faculty vote. The student may complete (and is encouraged to complete) Plan work while discontinued, as long as the work does not require faculty assistance.

Reinstatement

If the student finishes work independently (while discontinued), he or she must be reinstated by faculty vote for the purpose of final evaluation. The student has two years to show satisfactory progress on Plan and be reinstated by vote of the faculty. The student must pay a reinstatement fee in accordance with the Marlboro College tuition fees for 2005-2006 academic year. A student must be reinstated on Plan no later than three weeks prior to the date of Commencement.

If two years have passed, the student must petition the faculty for reinstatement. In this case, new requirements may be imposed.

Student-Taught Courses

In exceptional cases, where the student has demonstrated mastery of the material, a student on Plan may teach a course for credit at the College under the supervision of the Plan Sponsor. Normally, such courses will not exceed two credits. The student teacher must present a course description and syllabus to the sponsor sufficiently in advance to allow full consideration of the proposal by the sponsor, then the Curriculum Committee and the Committee on the Faculty. The sponsor is responsible for evaluating the work of students and of the student teacher and for granting credits. The sponsor is expected to monitor the course by meeting regularly with the student teacher and by attending the course at least occasionally.

Students who are not on Plan may participate only in cooperative team-teaching with faculty members. The Curriculum Committee defines "team-teaching" as direct and continuous participation in the course by the faculty member.

The Dean of Faculty and the Registrar must be notified by the supervising faculty member about any course taught by a student.