The Cluster
Central to the theory and practice of adult education is the ideal of the synthesis of knowledge. The School of Accelerated Degree Programs seeks to achieve this goal through the construct of the cluster. Clusters are comprised of a faculty member and approximately 12 to 14 students who meet for four hours weekly during an evening or weekend. Each student is enrolled in a group of three related subject area courses, called a cluster, that are, in many cases, integrated into one seminar. Three semester hours of credit are awarded for successful completion of each course in the cluster for a total of nine semester hours per cluster. Students pursuing a bachelor of science degree must enroll in a one-hour lab in conjunction with the science cluster. The cluster provides students with an opportunity to explore basic subject areas beyond the confines of a single discipline.
These cluster group meetings provide a collegial environment in which students present their work and share their learning. A major objective of this format is the development of knowledge synthesis, so students can expect their learning to be measured in a variety of ways: written and oral presentation, class discussion, research papers, group projects, and traditional testing. However, as is true of most higher-education programs, each professor determines how students are to be assessed and graded; therefore, tests and quizzes may be used to supplement papers and presentations as assessments of student mastery.
Due to the accelerated nature of the cluster (program), the rewriting of papers or the assigning of extra credit homework to improve a grade, or grades, is not permitted.