Regional Area Network Events
First-Year Gateway Curriculum
CONNECTICUT Saturday, August 4 Bryant Fun Day at Lake Compounce Family fun day starts at 11:00AM Group dinner at Lakeside Pavilion at 5:00PM
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MASSACHUSETTS Saturday, August 4 • 5:00 to 7:00PM Cape Cod Cocktail Reception Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club • Brewster RHODE ISLAND Saturday, August 25 • 4:00 to 7:00PM Newport International Polo at Glen Farm Portsmouth Details for these events and much more can be found at:
http://alumniconnect.bryant.edu
Alumni-Admission Connection
The Character of Success Bryant University Office of Admission 1150 Douglas Pike Smithfield RI 02917
Global Foundations of Organizations and Business The world economy needs individuals with sophisticated skills, global perspective, expertise in multiple areas, and the ability to acquire new knowledge and skills as needed to meet the challenges of continuously changing business conditions. Global Foundations of Organizations and Business (within the College of Business) focuses on developing skills in building a personal skill portfolio, leadership, negotiation, communication, and time management.
Writing Workshops A 21st century “educated person” must be able to develop and express ideas in writing, comprehensively explore issues, ideas, artifacts and evidence, and then coherently write an opinion or conclusion. The Writing Workshops will focus on developing skills in engaging with others as a collaborative of writers, effectively accessing, interpreting, evaluating, and presenting information with an awareness of purpose and context.
The Bryant IDEA The last and perhaps most groundbreaking block of the Freshman Gateway is The Bryant IDEA - Innovation & Design Experience for All. A collective experience occurring in the spring semester of freshman year, it emphasizes experiential learning and integration across disciplines, two fundamental elements of Bryant’s approach to education. It is a 72hour hands-on experience focused on teaching the innovation process, specifically two key building blocks for creating new innovations in any field: design thinking and team work. Students work on projects covering a range of “real world” situations, ranging from the arts to social services to the business sector. They work in teams coached by faculty, staff, alumni mentors, and undergraduate seniors. Key elements of the innovation process are taught in faculty workshops and are applied immediately to projects. Within their teams, students practice elements of the design thinking process and come up with creative solutions to their project. Overall, Bryant’s curriculum is divided into two major sections. The Foundation Curriculum will yield 48 credits and encompass the First-Year Gateway and general education courses. The second segment, the Specialization Curriculum, nets 72 credits and includes core sequences and majors, concentrations, minors, and electives. This is the segment where students get to do the customization referred to above. More detail will be offered in future issues!
A Newsletter for Members of the Alumni-Admission Connection
Volume 12, Issue 2, Summer 2012
Annual AAC Renewal Time! Summer has finally arrived in New England and it’s time for our annual AAC renewal. It’s time to renew your commitment to AAC and make sure we have up-to-date information about you. The 2012-2013 Membership Renewal Form is enclosed. If you can continue your participation in AAC, please check the appropriate box at the top. Then, review the personal information, making any changes needed and return it to us in the postage-paid envelope provided. Also, take a moment to check the box indicating your preferred way to receive the newsletter: hard copy via mail or electronically. If you cannot continue, we understand completely. We know about careers and families! Just check the “Sorry!” box on the form and return it to us. The renewal date this year is July 16. Please let us hear from you by then. All renewing members will receive the updated AAC manual and directory along with the fall newsletter.
Phone: 401-232-6100 Toll Free: 800-622-7001 admission@bryant.edu admission.bryant.edu
Bryant programs garner national recognition! The Bryant Connection is published three times a year for the Alumni-Admission Connection members of Bryant University. Send comments on this newsletter or AlumniAdmission Connection activity to Rebecca Eriksen, Senior Assistant Director for Events and Volunteers, Bryant University Office of Admission, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917, 401-232-6957, 800-622-7001, or reriksen@bryant.edu.
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Bloomberg Businessweek recently ranked our International Business program 27th in the nation, up from 41st last year… …and our Entrepreneurship program is 71st, up from its debut last year at 97th.
Bryant introduces First-Year Gateway Curriculum In talking with prospective students and their families, please indicate we are starting something new and exciting at Bryant. This article is intended to make you aware of the change occurring so you can present up-to-date information. More in-depth information will be available to you through future editions of this newsletter. Students can learn more on the Bryant website. Beginning with the upcoming fall semester, Bryant will implement its new First-Year Gateway Curriculum, an innovative, unique program specifically developed by Bryant faculty, under the leadership of Vice President for Academic Affairs José-Marie Griffiths, to prepare students for life in the 21st century. In the typical college model, all students working toward a major are required to take the same courses; if students want to customize their college experience, the institution will impose its plan or, at best, make it inconvenient to vary. Bryant’s approach is to give students the tools they need to put together the components of their program and build programs that give them credentials in multiple areas. It was specifically designed to be integrated, developing habits of mind that cross disciplines; inspiring, leading to knowledge of self and society; innovative, encouraging unquenchable curiosity; and international in scope, incorporating the entire world. Bryant’s Foundation Curriculum still includes the traditional academic areas: business, economics, math, history, humanities, languages, arts and literature, social sciences, and natural sciences. Degree offerings have not changed and the requirement for liberal arts students to have a business minor and business students to have a liberal arts minor remains in effect. The difference is a set of experiences called the First-Year Gateway curriculum in which all freshmen will participate. It consists of four building blocks:
Global Foundations of Character and Leadership To be effective global citizens in the 21st century, college graduates need to be creative thinkers who can examine contemporary problems in historical perspective with an understanding of diverse world-views and cultures. The course Global Foundations of Character and Leadership (within the College of Arts & Sciences) focuses on developing the character and leadership skills required to make complex ethical decisions, critical thinking, and an understanding of other cultures and perspectives.
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