Thursday, May 24, 2007

What makes/made the Pitt UHC unique?

I missed the reunion. I originally planned to come, but we wound up driving a lot earlier in May for a funeral, and didn't feel up to putting ourselves and the kids (Sarah 6, David 4, and Leah 2) through another 8 hour drive.

If what I wrote about below is something you talked about last weekend, I appoligize for the duplication.

Many honors colleges appear to subscribe to the notion of creating a closed 'small' or 'liberal arts college' within the larger university. The UHC has some components that are aligned with this, but it is fundamentally different. Unlike most honors colleges, the UHC is open. It provides a smorgasbord of options and opportunities. To take advantage of some of these, students must meet certain minimum requirements. There are few walls. You are not required to be admitted as a UHC student to take advantage of UHC opportunities. Students who didn't initially meet the requirements can gain access later in their academic career.

I am biased I know, but I believe that the Pitt UHC approach is far superior. What do you think?

Jesse Richman