Case adopts groundbreaking seminar program for undergraduate education
Seminar Approach to General Education and Scholarship (SAGES) approved by university's Board of Trustees
May 21, 2004 | For more information: Jeff Bendix (216)-368-6070
Case Western Reserve University has approved a major reform of its undergraduate program, providing all students with the benefits of small seminar classes taught by senior faculty and exposure to Cleveland's major artistic and cultural institutions.
 The program, the Seminar Approach to General Education and Scholarship (SAGES), was approved by the university's Board of Trustees on May 17. It will become the general education requirement for all undergraduates at the university beginning in the fall of 2005. A pilot phase of the program began in the fall of 2002.
“This is an historic day for our university,” said Edward M. Hundert, Case president. “This endorsement of SAGES by the trustees means that every undergraduate student will learn in small classroom settings from great minds throughout our university, as well as from business and industry and cultural institutions. It is a major step toward realizing our goal of creating the world’s most powerful learning environment at Case.”
"SAGES represents a new view of general education," said John Anderson, Case provost and university vice president for academic programs. "Rather than studying subjects such as history or economics in isolation, SAGES enables students to learn them in broader societal contexts. That is appropriate because outside of academia life is not neatly categorized by topics, but is interconnected. SAGES puts students immediately into that kind of thought process."
The SAGES program requires undergraduate students to progress through a series of seminars, taught by senior faculty from throughout the university and by experts from outside the university. Enrollment in the seminars is limited to 17 students. Entering students will take a first seminar, designed to provide a common intellectual experience and strengthen students' reading, writing and communication skills.
The next level in the program is university seminars, exploring three themes: "Thinking about the Natural World," "Thinking about the Social World" and "Thinking about the Symbolic World." They will be followed by departmental seminars, taught in the department in which the student is majoring.
The program ends with a senior capstone experience, a project to synthesize the knowledge and skills obtained throughout the student's education and enabling the student to demonstrate critical thinking and writing skills.
According to Mark Turner, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, one of the distinctive features of SAGES is its emphasis on communications skills. The seminar format involves both discussion and formal student presentations. In addition, all SAGES seminars are writing intensive. Typically the senior faculty member leading the seminar will be assisted by a co-instructor, who will focus on students' writing skills.
Another unique feature of the program is that it draws on not just Case faculty but experts from the larger Cleveland community, as well as the many artistic and cultural institutions in the surrounding University Circle district. Some SAGES seminars will take place in those institutions.
"The link to the wider world is a crucial aspect of SAGES," notes Turner. "Our students will be able to make a short walk to institutions like the Shafran Planetarium (part of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History) or the Cleveland Museum of Art or Severance Hall (home to the Cleveland Orchestra) for classes and research opportunities. The University Circle institutions thus become part of the students' experience at the university."
Adds Peter Whiting, co-director of the program and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, "We are taking advantage of the University's special setting to provide students with a strong introduction to the life of the mind in preparation for success in the rest of their courses, and ultimately in life."
Another important aspect of SAGES, says Whiting, is the close relationship that it fosters between students and faculty. Faculty members leading the first seminars are also advisers to students in their class until the student declares a major. Those relationships have already begun to develop in the pilot phase of the program, according to Whiting.
"What we hoped for, and what we're beginning to see, is a long-term association, a mentoring relationship, between students and advisers. That adviser comes to know the student well and can be counted on down the road maybe for a letter of recommendation or just advice on how to handle a particular situation."
More information on SAGES is available on the university's Web site at http://www.case.edu/sages/.
About Case Western Reserve University
Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826
and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research,
service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally
recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering,
Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work. http://www.case.edu.
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