Accelerated Summer College Course Catalog: May 23 – July 1, 2016
Accelerated Summer College (ASC) students will take two of the courses below, each course is worth four credits. Students should be advised that credits earned at Saint Michael's College are transferable at the discretion of the receiving institution.
Students wishing to register for just one ASC class may do so starting March 1, using our regular registration form.
Registration for all ASC participants is May 16, 2016.
Accelerated Courses:
Combines the best of e-learning technology with face-to-face instruction.
Accounting:
AC 141 Financial Accounting - Professor Steve Doyon
Introduces accounting principles and practices applicable to the preparation and analysis of financial statements of a business organization. Major topics include the accounting cycle, classification of elements of financial statements (assets, liabilities, equity), measurement of income, and preparation and analysis of financial statements.
AC 143 Managerial Accounting - Professor Tom VanDzura
Covers the preparation and use of accounting information to support managerial planning, control and decision making. Introduces cost classification and behavior concepts, cost-volume-profit analysis, the use of budgets, cost-control systems, standard costs, variance analysis, cost-based decision making, and cash flows.
AC 490 Non-Profit Accounting - Professor Tom VanDzura
Nonprofit organizations constitute a significant portion of the American economy. They vary in size from small regional firms to vaster worldwide entities. Nonprofits engage in an array of important undertakings, from education, research, religion, health/welfare, social activities, and professional pursuits.
This course provides students with a fundamental understanding and awareness of the financial accounting and reporting issues and requirements related to this unique sector of the economy. Unlike commercial (i.e. for-profit) enterprises that focus on the maximization of profit and/or shareholder wealth/returns, nonprofit organizations: 1) exist for purposes other than to make a profit, 2) receive contributions of substantial resources from donors who do not expect a proportionate return; and 3) maintain no ownership interests parallel to those carried by commercial enterprises.
Anthropology:
AN 109 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology - Professor Robert Brenneman
An introduction to the principles and processes of cultural anthropology. The course not only provides students with basic insights into facts and theories, but also, most importantly, the anthropological attitude of a commitment to understanding and tolerating other cultural traditions.
Biology:
BI 108 Human Nutrition - Professor James Willard
An intensive lab science course for non-science majors that will consider the components of human diets, how such components are processed by the human body, and how nutrition affects human health throughout the life cycle. Topics include the physiological requirements for and chemistry of the main nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, lipid, minerals and vitamins.
For Saint Michael's College students: Biology 108 is a laboratory course designed for students who are not science majors. While a biology major or minor may able to take BI-108, depending on the topic, the course may not be counted towards the biology major or minor.
BI 110 Topics: Environmental Science - Professor David Heroux
The goal of this course is to help students develop an understanding of the basic scientific principles and concepts underlying healthy ecosystem and biosphere functioning and sustainability. With this knowledge students can become active participants in moving toward a more sustainable society helping to devise sustainable development that allows us to meet our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
For Saint Michael’s College students: Biology 110 is a laboratory course designed for students who are not science majors. It may not be taken by biology majors or minors.
Business Administration:
BU 111 Introduction to MIS (Management Information Systems) - Professor Karen Popovich
Introduces students to the role of information technology and information systems in formal organizations. Includes study of the use of information technology to build efficient and effective information systems. Focuses on development of information systems that provide meaningful information for management decision making. This course will have a project, focused on using Excel to analyze and organize data that in turn is used to inform decision making for a real organization.
BU 190 Personal Financial Planning - Professor Diane Lander
This course covers key principles, processes, and techniques related to managing one’s own personal finances. The goal is for students to make more informed personal finance decisions and be wiser money managers and consumers of financial services and products. Specific topics include personal financial statements and budgets, basics of federal income taxes, time value of money, financial institutions and services, consumer credit, purchasing strategies, selecting housing (rent vs buy), insurance (renters, automobile, health, disability), and fundamentals of retirement planning.
BU 214 Management - Professor Karen Popovich
This survey course covers the basic principles and management fundamentals of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Topics covered include leadership, group dynamics, team management, motivation, and communication skills.
BU 215 Marketing - Professor Robert Letovsky
This course will provide a review of the fundamental topics in marketing management, and expose the student to various analytical and decision making tools currently used by marketing managers. The course will focus on the various elements of the marketing mix, and on how the marketing manager must control and integrate each of them to achieve competitive advantage.
Economics:
EC 101 Principles of Macroeconomics - Professor Reza Ramazani
An introduction to the macroeconomic approach to economic analysis. Students learn how to measure and interpret: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment and price levels through a discussion of fundamental economic concepts and the role of markets. We examine macroeconomic instability through a study of causes and policy prescriptions from two major opposing schools of thought: Classical and Keynesian. We continue with a study of money, interest rates and the Federal Reserve. Current economic problems and policy debates including economic controversies on the role of international trade, monetary and fiscal policy, the deficit, economic growth, and productivity are also highlighted.
EC 103 Principles of Microeconomics - Professor Tara Natarajan
Introduction to how economists interpret the everyday decisions of consumers, businesses, and workers. Develops concepts and models that explain what is produced, how it is produced, and how output is distributed. Applies the insights of economic analysis to real-world questions such as minimum wage, business profits, taxes, outsourcing, and environmental policies.
Education:
E-120 The Culture of Making: Lessons in Creative Persistence (Robotics) - Professor Mary Beth Doyle
Makerspaces, once the purview of engineering schools, have recently been emerging in public schools, libraries, community centers, colleges, and universities. The experiences within these spaces are impacted significantly by a growing culture that supports active learning, creativity, sharing, and problem-solving. In this class, students will create their own “maker community” engaging in the creation and programming of Lego EV3 robots. In addition, after becoming familiar with the supplies and equipment in the SMC MakerSpace and in other local makerspaces, they will work together to develop and create Lego course challenges.
Note: no prior robotics experiences are necessary
Environmental Studies:
BI 110 Topics: Environmental Science - Professor David Heroux
The goal of this course is to help students develop an understanding of the basic scientific principles and concepts underlying healthy ecosystem and biosphere functioning and sustainability. With this knowledge students can become active participants in moving toward a more sustainable society helping to devise sustainable development that allows us to meet our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
History:
HI 103 U.S. History Since 1865 - Professor Micalee Sullivan
A survey of American society and culture from 1865 to the present. An emphasis will be placed on social history and popular ideologies. Students will consider the ways that family structure, immigration patterns, labor, religious traditions, civil rights, women's liberation, and other related factors have continued to affect our nation.
HI 107 Modern European History - Professor Tim Blake
This course is a survey of political, economic, social and cultural forces that have changed the course of European and Western civilization since the French Revolution. This course will investigate the people and events that shaped European landscapes, boundaries, and economics, as well as the European mindset over the period.
Mathematics:
MA 120 Elementary Statistics - Professor Jim Hefferon
The material and techniques of statistics are an essential background for many fields, and for all of modern life. We will learn to describe sample data about probability distributions including the Normal distribution (which you may know as the bell curve), and about line of best fit correlation and regression. We will also study the topic that comes to your mind first when you think about statistics: sampling and drawing conclusions from those samples, called hypothesis testing and statistical inference. At the end of the course we will cover the related topic of Chi-square tests.
Media Studies and Digital Arts:
MJD 219 Wilderness Photography - Professor Jerald Swope
This digital-based photography course will explore the methods and artistry of outdoor, adventure photography and multimedia storytelling. Through the analysis of historical and contemporary work, students will develop the technical skills and creative approaches necessary for documenting recreational and adventure sports pursued in the natural world. Additionally, in the experiential learning component of this class, students will be responsible for creating multimedia marketing presentations for Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing. By the end of the class, students will be proficient in the following Adobe programs: Photoshop, Audition and Premiere.
Music:
MU 243 History of Gospel Music - Professor William Ellis
This course examines the great body of African American religious song that has been created and practiced from slavery to the present day, i.e., from the ring shout to holy hip-hop. There is a strong focus on the nineteenth century spiritual and the various manifestations of gospel song and performance that have defined much Black religious expression since the Third Great Awakening. This comprehensive class takes into account the historical, social, political, cultural, and musical forces at work in the creation of spirituals and, subsequently, gospel music. Style practice, song recognition and analysis, the use of coded language and signifying, the rhetoric of folk sermons, blind performers and street evangelists, musical forms, composers, preachers, quartets, gospel stars, and more is also considered in this thorough yet entertaining course.
Political Science:
PO 245 International Relations - Professor Mauro Caraccioli
This course introduces students to the study of international relations, focusing especially on the interactions between states and non-state actors in the international environment. Emphasis is placed on understanding the major theoretical approaches to international relations, and applying them to consider enduring and contemporary issues and problems in international affairs.
PO 285 Introduction to Comparative Politics - Professor Michael Bosia
What is a nation state? Capitalism? Authoritarianism? This course provides an introduction to comparative political analysis and central concepts in this field. The course will investigate political development and contemporary politics, governments and policies of countries around the world.
Psychology:
PS 101 General Psychology - Professor Ari Kirshenbaum
An introduction to the field of psychology, its methods, major perspectives, theories, and area specialties, with emphasis on the normal adult human being. We will address important questions about the nature of self, consciousness, and explore the multiple paths toward psychological well being. The course explores basic psychological research in areas such as neuroscience, childhood development, animal behavior, psychopathology, and racism.
PS 250 Social Psychology - Professor Rene Schmauder
This course focuses on individuals and how their thoughts and behaviors are influenced by the presence, real or imagined, of others. The course will include topics such as the self, social cognition, social influence, group dynamics, prejudice, attraction, helping behavior, aggression and conflict.
PS 320 Psychology & Law (Forensic) - Professor David Boynton
Forensic Psychology examines psychological research, methods, theory, and practice as they apply to the legal system. Topics include psychopathy, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, media violence, the psychology of police, mistaken eyewitness testimony, criminal profiling, false confessions, assessments of competence and insanity, jury decision making, punishment and sentencing, and juvenile and adult corrections. These issues and others are explored through an examination of the relevant court cases and decisions, media coverage, and empirical literature.
Sociology:
SO 101 Introduction to Sociology - Professor Robert Brenneman
This course is an entry level introduction to the basic institutions of society (education, religion, the economy, etc.) and an examination of culture, population, groups, the individual, socialization, social stratification, interpersonal interaction, and community. The "sociological imagination" and standard methods of research and theories are included.
Additional Face-to-Face Courses:
Taught in traditional classroom style.
Art:
AR 127 Ceramics I: Wheelworking - Professor Jeremy Ayers
Will provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the practice of throwing on the potters wheel including clay preparation, centering, formation of vessels, trimming, glazing and firing. We will also look at the work of historical and contemporary ceramic artists. M&TH 5:30 - 8:30 PM
English
EN 404 Film and the Environment - Professor Robert Niemi
This course surveys a diverse array of films that dramatize a broad range of environmental issues, e.g., soil and water conservation, food crises, industrialization, overpopulation, pollution, nuclear energy, fracking, and humanity's relation to wild animals and the wilderness. We will screen, analyze, discuss, and write these films both in cinematic terms and in terms of the ethical and philosophical issues they raise about the technocratic transformation of life on Earth in the modern era. TW&TH 6:00 - 8:30 PM
Environmental Studies:
ES 301 Advanced Topics: Food Systems & Sustainable Agriculture - Kristyn Achilich
Students will explore the structure and function of contemporary food systems with a focus on Vermont, a small rural agricultural state, and compare them to historical models before launching into a rich investigation of ecological agricultural practices. The Permaculture Site and field visits to local farms will serve as a living classroom as we study sustainable agriculture through the lens of agroecology. T&TH 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.