As the keystone of the Core Curriculum, the Augustine and Culture Villanova Seminar upholds the intellectual tradition and values represented by the legacy of St. Augustine. It is the means by which we center ourselves as a university and model for our students the deep reading, serious conversation, and analytical writing which mark a community of scholars.

The Villanova Seminar is a two-semester seminar which introduces all first-year students to significant texts of western culture. In the first half (Traditions in Conversation), texts include readings from the Hebrew Scriptures, the Gospels, the Greeks, Augustine (often either Confessions or City of God), the Middle Ages, and a Shakespearian play. In the second half (Modernity and its Discontents), readings must be chosen from a variety of disciplines and time periods. (See below for list of required and recommended readings.) In addition, each Mods class must develop an Augustinian theme during the course of the semester.

A cultivated intellect, because it is a good in itself, brings with it a power and a grace to every work and occupation which it undertakes, and enables us to be more useful, and to a greater number.
— John Henry Newman, The Idea of a University

The Villanova Seminar is not, however, a survey course. Our aim is to explore questions with our students about life, humanity, God, and truth, through texts which over the centuries continue to challenge us. We teach students to be better and more reflective readers, able to engage texts through thoughtful discourse and reasoned writing. The ACS classroom is discussion-oriented, with critical attention paid to reading primary texts and interacting with them through the spoken and written word.

1. To advance students to a level of critical reading and inquiry, writing, speaking and listening, marked by clarity and grace as befitting a university graduate.
2. To help students see the interconnections between the various disciplines of the humanities through the common study of primary texts and the pursuit of fundamental human questions.
3. To bring first year students into an ongoing dialogue with some of the finest teacher-scholars in the College.
4. To assist students in their quest for wisdom and moral excellence
5. To support an intellectually vibrant faculty of teacher-scholars, and to create an environment of shared conversations and intellectual opportunity where these teacher-scholars can flourish.
6. To advance the intellectual and moral mission of the College by introducing students to the Christian and Augustinian traditions.
7. To further the development of a vital intellectual community of scholars and student- scholars who learn from each other as active participants in these first year seminars.
8. To provide a foundation of studies in the Humanities, in conjunction with the introductory level courses offered in History, Literature, Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies and the Fine Arts, which students can build upon in their major field of study and in their electives.

The VCLE Commitment to Teaching and Scholarship:

In the VCLE, we believe that that good scholars make for good teachers. Accordingly, we want to support both teaching and scholarship, because that is what will help our students learn and our faculty prosper. This dual emphasis not only enhances our classrooms immeasurably, but it also gives our faculty the skills and support they need, whether they remain here at Villanova or, in the case of our Ennis fellows, move on to tenure-track positions elsewhere.

When I was with my friends, my mind was occupied with our talking and laughing, exchanging kindnesses, reading good books together, now joking, now being serious, disagreeing without animosity as one might disagree with one's own self (and finding that our rare disagreements seasoned our usual concord) teaching and learning from one another, sorely missing those who were gone and welcoming with joy those who came. These and such signs coming from hearts that loved one another, through mouth and tongue and a thousand gracious gestures, were the kindling of a fire that melted our minds together and made the many of us one.
— St. Augustine, Confessions 4.8.13

For many of our faculty, the VCLE is the place where they learned how to be strong and effective teachers. The demands of the seminar structure with its small class size and its emphasis on discussion clearly contribute to fostering positive teaching skills. However, the real strength of the VCLE has always been in the sharing of ideas through conversations, which in turn makes the critical difference of helping scholars develop into teachers.

Our faculty often gather for informal lunch-time discussions of pedagogy, texts, scholarship, or general social exchange in the VCLE common room. Our senior Ennis fellows and Gallen fellows routinely share experience and advice through this medium, and an atmosphere of congeniality quickly develops. We also encourage our faculty to sit in on each other’s classrooms to offer informal feedback. In this way, we help our new faculty and our experienced faculty to pay attention to the continued development of good teaching skills.

At the same time, we are eager to provide opportunities for the scholarly growth which in turn informs our ACS classrooms. As the VCLE has grown over the years, we have expanded into wider areas of interdisciplinary inquiry. First, the VCLE sponsors two sets of lecture series: the Birmingham lectures and the Barbieri lectures. The Birmingham lecture and discussion series features faculty from other departments speaking on their research, and the Barbieri lecture series features the research of senior Ennis and Gallen fellows. These lecture series are particularly important as they allow our faculty to network with faculty in other departments. We have also created a conference series and the “Augustine in Conversation” book series, including such titles as Augustine and Liberal Education (2000), Augustine and Politics (2004), Augustine and Literature (2006), and Augustine and History (forthcoming 2008). Most recently we have created an interdisciplinary journal in the humanities entitled Expositions.

Throughout all its endeavours, and especially in the Villanova Seminar, the VCLE supports the critical connection between the liberal arts tradition and the faith heritage of Catholicism – a connection embodied through the work of Augustine who was himself one of the first significant thinkers to tackle the connections and tensions between the liberal arts and faith. In addition, the Villanova Seminar guarantees that every first year student encounters key primary texts of this evolving tradition, read in the spirit of serious critical inquiry.

In the context of ACS, fundamental questions about human nature, truth, and faith are raised, and serious attention is paid to the answers that we – teachers, students, and texts – try to articulate. At the same time, the seminar structure encourages discussion rather than indoctrination; there is no preaching or insistence on one interpretation. Diversity and respect for other faith traditions is encouraged by the ACS format of discussion based on student interaction with the texts. However, the VCLE also offers a forum, unique perhaps to Catholic universities, where faith and the search for truth are examined as central issues in our lives. It is, above all, by investigating these issues that the VCLE advances the mission of Villanova University as an Augustinian institution.

The interdisciplinary nature of the Villanova Seminar requires the professor to seemingly wear several hats in any given semester--from philosopher to theologian to historian and literary critic. However, the seminar does not demand that we be experts in every field; rather, the professor is allowed an opportunity to show the students that we continue to be critical readers and learners long after we have obtained our official degrees. The exercise of reading together and exploring together is in itself a powerful lesson in lifelong learning; in addition, it creates an atmosphere of academic community which includes, rather than excludes, the first-year student.

. . . [A] truly great intellect... is one which takes a connected view of old and new. past and present. Far
and near. and which has an insight into the influence of all these one on another: without which there is no whole. and no centre. It possesses the knowledge, not only of things but also of their mutual and true relations: knowledge, not merely considered as acquirement but as philosophy.
- John Henry Newman, The Idea of a University

A central part of the interdisciplinary approach is the reading of “significant texts,” i.e., texts which, by their longevity and thought-provoking nature, are commonly recognized as critical contributors to the history of ideas. These are not texts to be reverenced and accepted without question. On the contrary, the power of the ancient and modern works now considered classics is precisely their ability to raise troubling issues and debates. The ACS classroom allows teachers and students to explore together the complexities and contradictions which these works pose.

An excellent introduction to the VCLE’s approach to interdisciplinary learning can be found in Augustine and Liberal Education (Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2000), edited by Kim Paffenroth and Kevin Hughes, both former Ennis post-doctoral fellows of the VCLE. This volume of essays, many of which are by VCLE faculty past and present, explores the concept of liberal education through the lens of teaching the works of Saint Augustine, specifically in a Villanova Seminar setting. It also offers a model of the sort of interdisciplinary conversations which fuel both teaching and scholarship for our VCLE faculty.

ACS 1000 Traditions in Conversation (Trads)

Required Readings:

One text drawn from each of the following:

• Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, or Job recommended)
• New Testament (a Gospel reading recommended)
• Classical Greece
• St. Augustine
• Medieval Europe
• Shakespeare (one play)

Recommended Readings

• Classical Rome
• A non-Western culture contemporary with the above cultures

ACS 1001 Modernity and its Discontents (Mods)

Required Readings:

Texts must be chosen from each of five separate time periods and should represent at least three
different disciplines. An Augustinian theme, based on a text, must also be developed in the course.

• Early Modern (1615-1720)
• Enlightenment (1720-1800)
• Romantic/Victorian (1798-1901)
• Modernist (1910-1945)
• Contemporary (1945-Present)

The dates listed here for each "thematic period" or "movement" are for the sake of convenience only. As we all know, the "enlightenment period" and "romanticism" occurred at different times in different cultures and even the designation of these periods is itself contested in the literature. Nor do the recommendations of these "movements" and texts suggest that faculty are limited to "Western" writers and texts. Faculty are encouraged to develop their course within the overarching guidelines of the VCLE and should feel free to explore other cultures and traditions in comparison with our own tradition.

The following list of recommended readings for the Mods class is meant to provide VCLE faculty with a sense of the range of texts which might be appropriate for this course. The list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor is it meant to be prescriptive. What is prescriptive when choosing texts is that your choice be guided by the selection of texts which raise and grapple with fundamental and significant questions concerning the human experience from a variety of perspectives including (but not limited to) the spiritual/religious perspective. Many of the authors and texts included herein raise "Augustinian themes". The recommendation that an Augustinian theme be incorporated in your course fulfills one of the specific requirements of the Villanova Seminar. Since ours is an Augustinian institution, it is appropriately fitting to raise the questions of our courses from this thematic standpoint. It should be understood, however, that one can raise these questions from this specific thematic standpoint in a variety of texts and contexts.

The Villanova Seminar is the major focus of writing in the Core Curriculum. Faculty are expected to discuss their students’ written work in separate conferences and to devote class time, when appropriate, to general questions regarding writing style and essay development. ACS is not, however, a grammar or composition class. Ours is a text-driven Humanities Seminar which focuses on developing students’ written and oral skills, along with their ability to read and think critically.

Writing Requirements:
Students should write a minimum of thirty pages per semester. At least twenty of those pages should be in formal essay assignments. The remaining ten pages can be rough drafts, journal entries, etc. The Writing Committee recommends that there be 8 to 14 writing assignments in the course of the semester, including one-to-two page reactions papers focused on questions raised by the text. Some of these assignments may be written in class.

Portfolio Method:
The portfolio method is an assessment tool through which student writers are asked to collect their work (in a portfolio), select their best work (for revision and grading), and periodically reflect upon their progress as writers in the form of written self-assessments. All VCLE faculty are required to use the portfolio method; however, there is great flexibility within this method for individual preferences. In the Writing Component section of this Manual, various approaches to the portfolio method are discussed. Please be certain to place a description of the method on your syllabus.

Diagnostic Essay:
In the first week of class, we recommend that all instructors assign an ungraded in-class diagnostic essay in order to identify weak writers who will need extra help through conferences or through the Writing Center.

Student Conferences:
Faculty must meet with each student outside of class at least twice during the semester and are strongly encouraged to have a third or fourth conference with each student. The student's progress in writing should be the focus of at least one of these conferences.

Research and Library Component:
Since ACS is not intended to be a research-oriented course, we discourage the use of long research assignments. However, a short research assignment which requires the student to learn and use the resources of Falvey Library may be assigned at the professor’s discretion.

Writing Center:
The Writing Center is located in Old Falvey Library, Room 202. The Director of the Writing Center is Ms. Mary Beth Simmons, ext. 95358.

In the Fall semester all Villanova Seminar students are required to go to the Center with a rough draft of a writing assignment for evaluation and critical assistance. The peer tutors, comprised of both undergraduate and graduate students, have been trained in a semester-long course in tutoring. Please be sure to make such an assignment for your students in the Fall. Spring ACS classes are strongly encouraged to require their students to visit the Writing Center, but it is not mandatory.

All questions regarding the Writing Program, the Writing Center and course expectations concerning writing should be directed to either the Director of the VCLE or the Director of the Writing Center.

Writing Handbook:
There is a standard writing handbook for this program. It is Easy Writer by Andrea Lunsford (Bedford/St. Martins, 3rd Edition). Copies are available in the VCLE office. Copies for your students are automatically ordered for the Book Store by our office. You should however list it on your syllabus as a required text.

Writing Awards:
The VCLE sponsors the Margaret Cecilia Baney Writing Award, which is given every semester. You will be contacted with further information regarding the procedure for submitting your students' work for consideration for the award.

Cultural Events:
A requirement of the Villanova Seminar is attendance at three cultural events outside the classroom over the course of the semester. It is up to the individual instructor’s discretion which events may be considered as “cultural events.” In addition to the many lectures and cultural opportunities on campus, trips to the various museums in the area, attendance at Villanova Theater productions, the Cultural Film Series, or other area performances are all good possibilities for cultural events. We also strongly recommend that faculty require students to submit a reaction paper for each event they attend.

Faculty are also encouraged to invite their classes over to their home for a social evening. In the Fall semester there is a $50 voucher available to the instructor to help cover expenses involving these extra classroom events.

Saint Thomas of Villanova Day:
Saint Thomas of Villanova Day is the yearly academic convocation to welcome the incoming freshman class. It takes place in September, shortly after Labor Day. The celebration includes an address to the freshmen from selected faculty members, and its theme generally revolves around Augustinian values. The convocation is followed by a parade and university-wide feast on the front lawn. Because it is aimed primarily at the freshmen, it is our responsibility as ACS professors to strongly encourage our students to attend.

Syllabus:
Every Villanova Seminar should have a syllabus giving basic information about the instructor, assignments, books and expectations for the course. Please submit three copies of your syllabus to the VCLE Secretary at the beginning of the semester. These syllabuses are kept on file and used for evaluations and are also sent to the office of the College Dean.

Office Hours:
You should maintain scheduled office hours and post those hours on your office door. Please try to maintain your office hours schedule. If possible you should spread your office hours over several different class times. Otherwise, if your office hours are MW at 2:30, for example, students who have class at that time will never be able to meet with you. If at all possible, let your students know that you can make appointments to meet them at other times.

Exams, Papers and Grades:
Please give a copy of your final examination to the VCLE Secretary, as well as copies of any other course materials which you think might be helpful when your course is evaluated. The expectation is that there will be a final examination at the time and place scheduled. Do not give the final examination during the last week of classes.

However, since the Villanova Seminar is not a survey course would be, we discourage traditional written exams. Oral exams, group projects, open-book exams, or other more creative approaches to a final exam are encouraged.

Writing Component:

Assignments: A minimum of 30 pages of writing (20 pages of formal, graded writing plus 10 of informal writing (reaction papers, in-class assignments etc.)) Assignments should be kept short; 8-14 assignments in the fall. No research paper required. One copy of each assignment should be given to the department secretary.

Writing Conferences: Conference with your students twice during the semester.

Portfolio Method: Mandatory for all ACS classes. Please include on your syllabus.

Writing Center: Require your students to visit the Writing Center once during the Fall semester (and strongly encourage them to visit in the spring).

Academic Integrity: Include blurb in syllabus regarding university policy. Require students complete the AI on-line tutorial accessed through “My Classrooms”) sometime in the first five weeks of class; spend some time in class discussing the tutorial.

Attendance Policy: Freshmen have a maximum cut limit for class; in addition, since ACS is a seminar class, it is important to stress to your students that they must attend class.

Augustinian Themes: In the Mods course, an “Augustinian Theme” should be addressed and discussed (see the Handbook under “The Augustinian Component” for suggestions for Augustinian themes).

Cultural Events: Require your students to attend three cultural events over the course of the semester (and write short reaction papers on each).

Final Exams: The policy of the College of Arts and Sciences is that each class must have a final exam; however, since ACS is not a survey course, we recommend less traditional forms of exams, like oral exams, group presentations, etc.

St. Thomas of Villanova Day: Ask your students to attend.

Syllabus: Your syllabus should contain information on: office hours and location; telephone; course requirements; and schedule of readings. It should be posted on your webpage (see department secretary for help). Please hand in three copies of your syllabus to the department secretary.

OTHER:

Activities Money: $50 per section is available in the fall for subsidizing any cultural events or off-campus meal you wish to do with your class.

Since the fall of 1996, the Villanova Seminar has been linked with the Learning Communities initiative. At its most basic level, the definition of a learning community here at Villanova is housing students according to their ACS designation. All residential first-year students are housed with their ACS Villanova Seminar classmates in the same residence hall.

Mission Statement And Goals Of Learning Communities
The goal of Learning Communities is to extend the values fostered by ACS – deep reading, serious conversation, and analytical writing – beyond the walls of the classroom. Learning Communities are where the intellectual community created by the Villanova Seminar can take root and flourish in students’ lives.

Specifically, by housing students with their ACS classmates and providing enriched programming with structured extra-curricular learning experiences we hope to:

• De-fragment student perceptions of classroom and residence hall experience.
• Encourage student/faculty interaction outside the classroom
• Create an environment which supports the continuation of serious conversations beyond the classroom
• Promote active student learning through interaction with their peers in the residence hall

As the Villanova Seminar allows for a holistic approach to academic work that emphasizes the human questions, so Learning Communities allow for a holistic approach to the learning process by which we approach those questions. For it is in the company of peers and faculty members, inside as well as outside the classroom, that students ask the truly meaningful questions from the center of their college life experience.

Types of Learning Communities at Villanova:

1. High-end models:

   Villanova Experience: Leadership: The Villanova Experience Program centers on the theme of “Leadership.” Unlike all other learning communities at Villanova, it involves an extra “fourth hour” per week in which leadership themes are developed. The fourth hour is not taught by the ACS instructor; it is taught by instructors recruited by John Immerwahr, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. Because of the fourth hour component, the VEXP is the only learning community which offers an additional one-credit. Students opt-in to VEXP in advance; faculty are selected in advance. VEXP consists of twelve sections of ACS.

   Visions of Freedom: A thematic learning community housed in Delurey Hall. Students opt-in in advance; faculty are selected in advance and work from a common syllabus. VOF consists of five sections of ACS.

   Performers and Artists; Global; Environmental: Themed learning communities consisting of two sections each with teams of faculty working together on a common syllabus.

2. Mid-range models:

   House-Master Models: The House Master Model is geared towards the smaller residence halls. One faculty member, selected in advance, has all of his or her students housed in one of the smaller halls, and extra programming is planned around the faculty member's syllabus and theme. The students do not sign-up in advance, but are placed there at random.

   Team-Teach Models: Two or more faculty working together with either a common syllabus, or certain shared key texts, plus additional programming.

   Other Possibilities: VITAL grants and other support are ideal ways to explore how you can make innovative use of learning communities. If you have an idea for working with other faculty, bringing in guest lecturers, field trips, the learning communities platform could help make this a reality.
   

3. Low-range model:

   Students housed together; professor can take advantage of the residence hall connection by assigning a group project, or doing some group activity. Extra administrative support will be available if the professor wishes to avail him/herself of it.

• Do I have to change my syllabus or theme?
  No, participation in LCs does not require you to change what you teach or how you teach it. You may find, however, that LCs give you the opportunity to explore ideas or texts in your syllabus in new and innovative ways.
   
• Is this a year-long program?
  The official link between the Villanova Seminar and the residence hall will be only for the fall semester. In the spring semester, the students will be free to choose any ACS section (except for the students in the Visions of Freedom Program and VEXP). However, if you and your class are interested in remaining together in the spring, we are exploring ways of making this possible.
   
• Do the students choose which LC they will be in?
  The only LCs which students may opt into in advance are VEXP and Visions of Freedom. Otherwise, the registrar and the housing office will assign them to a residence hall and ACS section.
   
• Where will my students be housed? In a large residence hall, or a smaller one?
  The first year students will be housed in varying buildings on south campus and on the southwest corner of main campus. The buildings range in size from 150 students to 500 students (Stanford). The smallest residence halls for first year students are reserved for the house-master models and Visions of Freedom.
   
• If I have multiple sections, will they all be housed in the same building?
  Yes.
   
• Will it really be 100% guaranteed that all my students will live in the same building?
  We cannot guarantee that there won’t be some students who, due to schedule issues (sports, ROTC, etc) or health issues, will not be in the same building as their classmates. We are endeavoring, however, to keep those few students in close proximity to the building where the majority of their classmates are (i.e., 13 of your class live in Stanford, and 2 live in St. Monica next door). Over the past two years, we have achieved a 96% rate of success in linking housing with the ACS seminar.
   
• Will LCs require extra work on my part?
  The low-range LCs do not require extra work. They will offer the ease of having your students all in one place if you assign group projects, or want to hold student conferences in the residence hall. The mid-range and high-end models may involve greater investment on the part of the faculty member, but will also have greater rewards.
   
• What support is there if I wish to be more involved in extra-curricular events for my students? I want to do more, but I don’t have a lot of spare time.
  Kathy Byrnes, Assistant Vice President for Student Life, and Nancy Kelley, Academic Coordinator for Learning Communities will be available to help you put programming in place. They can assist you in contacting the Resident Assistants (RAs) in the residence halls, and in accessing other resources of the university.
   
• Is there extra money for LCs?
  Yes, there is additional funding and support available for various academic activities.
   
• What changes might I expect in the classroom?
  You will find that your students get to know each other much more quickly; as a result, class discussions tend to be livelier and more involved. You will also find it is easier to have them work together on projects, and you will notice that they tend to talk to each other about the assignments and the readings. Because of the group dynamic, you might also notice “the echo effect” – where positives and negatives in the class tend to get amplified.
   
• I’ve heard something about a “fourth hour” requirement – do all LCs have this fourth hour?
  No, only students in the VEXP have a fourth hour, which involves an extra credit hour. All other LCs do not have any fourth hour.

Advising and Student Problems:
Every Villanova student has an academic advisor, but frequently students come to faculty members for academic or personal advice. Since your Villanova Seminar is often a student's smallest class, you are all the more likely to be sought out for advice. Any time taken listening to and redirecting a student's problem or concern is appreciated. Undergraduates can frequently become embroiled in very difficult personal, family or medical situations. They are not always resourceful in knowing how to help themselves, asking for help, or being able to deal with the stresses of their friends and roommates. While a faculty member is often the entry-point to the support of the university, there is only so much you can do. Generally speaking, you should try to refer troubled students either to their academic advisor, the Counseling Center, Campus Ministry, or to their respective Dean's office.

Athletic facilities:
Faculty members may use any of the athletic facilities on campus (including swimming pools, weight room, tennis and handball courts) when these are not in use by the Athletic Department. Call the Athletic Facilities office for a complete list of services available.

Book Orders:
The bookstore requests book orders several months before the semester starts. There is a book order form which is available from the secretary and which must be signed by the Director. If your book orders do not reach the bookstore at least a month or two before the semester, you should be prepared to get along for the first few weeks without books. Please try to think about the price of the books you are ordering, as well as the other virtues of those texts. The VCLE secretary can supply you with an order form for desk copies for yourself.

Class Sessions:
Classes begin at the scheduled time. Tuesday-Thursday classes meet for 75 minutes and Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes are 50 minutes in length. Please notify the Director if you are unable to meet one of your classes. If possible, try to substitute some other scheduled activity when you cannot be available, such as a guest lecture, a video, a film or museum assignment. If you are ill or unable to attend a class please call the VCLE office, and we will make sure that the students are informed that you will not be there.

Deficiency Forms:
If you have students who are not coming to class or who seem to be having problems, it is recommended that you fill out a Deficiency Form (available from the Program Secretary). This form goes to the Dean's office and the Deans will try to determine what is going on. The student may be having problems in other courses as well, and the Dean's office can sometimes see the larger pattern and help head off bigger problems before they occur.

Faculty Discounts:
Complimentary Villanova Theatre tickets (for you and a companion) are available to faculty members generally for Tuesday and Wednesday performances. Faculty receive a discount on all other performances. Connelly Cinema offers faculty discounts on tickets for all showings. The Cultural Film Series always has some good movies playing, followed by a lecture on Monday evenings. Popular, almost first-run movies are shown on weekends.

The University Shop offers faculty members a standard 10% discount on all merchandise.

Instructional Media Services:
Located in the lower level of Falvey Library is the Instructional Media Services (IMS), the modem version of the old AV room. It is quite well-stocked with films, slides, and some tapes and CDs. The staff is gracious and helpful; they are also generally willing to help you hunt down hard-to-find films.

Interlibrary Loan:
The staff of the Interlibrary Loan department are very helpful and prompt if you need to track down books and articles which Falvey Library does not possess. You can access InterLibrary Loan requests through the library home page.

Parents:
Our informal policy is that students should learn to solve their own problems and should not involve their parents. Occasionally, however, we do get parents who become involved. The first principle to remember is that you are not permitted to discuss a student's work with a parent (or with anyone else except a University official), unless the student has signed a Buckley Amendment waiver permitting you to do so. The second principle is that it is usually a good idea to direct parents to the Dean's Office or the Director, rather than trying to deal with them yourselves.

Photocopying:
In thinking about photocopying, please keep in mind both the VCLE’s limited budget and the University's environmental policies. Try to limit your photocopying to what you absolutely need, and please copy on both sides of the sheet whenever possible. If you are copying articles and sections of books, you should send that material down to the Copy Center. In addition, it is sometimes worth going the route of coursepacks, sold through the book store, rather than photocopying excessive amounts. The book store homepage has detailed information about creating coursepacks. Electronic reserve in Falvey Library is another possible route to explore. Finally, some texts are available on line and can be downloaded by students directly. As always, please respect copyrights.

Saint Augustine Center:
The building is unlocked during the day and early evenings, but access at other times is through the parking lot door on the East side of the building. To access this door you must have a valid "Wildcat Card" aka WILDCARD. The door mechanism unlocks only when a valid card has been "swiped "through the reading device. These cards are available from the WILDCARD office in Dougherty Hall. Try to test the card sometime rather than waiting for an emergency when you absolutely have to get into the building.

Sexual Harassment and Related Issues:
University policy (as well as state law) endorses the objective that employees and students should be free of situations where sexual considerations form the basis for business or education decisions. The policy covers both unwelcome sexual advances and also situations which interfere with people's performance by creating an intimidating, hostile or demeaning environment (See Faculty Handbook). University policy also forbids language which does not respect the dignity and inherent worth of every individual.

Student Complaints:
We get a very small number of student complaints. The most frequent topics are perceived unfairness or lack of clarity of expectations; faculty who are inaccessible; faculty who are rude or condescending to students; and faculty members who are disorganized, vague and difficult to understand. I try to listen to the complaint sympathetically without taking any position whatsoever. I then encourage the student to speak informally to the faculty member or, if that does not succeed, to put the complaint in writing.

We sometimes receive complaints about grades. I invariably ask the student to contact the faculty member to discuss this. Where the issue is a final grade, I usually ask the student to contact the faculty member to determine how the final grade was computed. My assumption is that it is a reasonable request for a students to ask for feedback on how they did in their course work. If the student is still unsatisfied by the response of the faculty member and the Director, he or she is free to initiate an appeal. The appeal process is described in the Faculty Handbook.

Telephone and Voice Mail:
You should have a voice mail account. Every Villanova student has a voice mail account and this is an excellent way to contact your students. The voice mail system is quite sophisticated: it allows you to send not only individual messages but messages to groups of people (for example, to a whole class). You can also determine whether a message has been received by an individual. You are welcome to give your home phone number to students; in my experience they rarely abuse this privilege.

Weather Emergencies:
The school occasionally closes when the weather is bad. The weather announcements are posted on voice mail and on the university homepage. Once you reach your voice mailbox you will hear the message, if any. If you are en route to the university, KYW (1060 AM) will broadcast our snow emergency number: Delaware County 528 for undergraduate and Delaware County 2475 for evening classes.

Worker's Compensation:
Under Pennsylvania state law, medical expenses from work related injuries or illnesses are paid by Villanova, rather than by your personal health insurance carrier; this often covers accidents on campus, such as slipping on the ice. If you have a work-related injury, you must notify the Program Director. In the case of an accident on campus, Public Safety will take you to the Bryn Mawr Hospital Emergency Room.

Some publications which may be helpful to you:

The Blue Book Yearly student handbook with lots of useful information as well as policies applying to students.

Faculty Handbook (full-time and part-time) Outline policies for faculty members. (accessible on line through the VPAA’s office)

The Enchiridion Handbook published by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences which covers policies specifically for Arts and Science Students.

The Villanovan Weekly campus newspaper