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 following a quarter schedule. Clusters are comprised of a faculty member and approximately 12 to 14 students who meet for four hours weekly during an evening or weekend for 12 weeks. Nine credit hour clusters schedule a 13th class meeting within the quarter. Each student is enrolled in a group of two or 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 six or nine semester hours per 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. Each cluster is limited in size to approximately 14 students.
The cluster begins with a first assignment, given to the student when he or she enrolls in the cluster. This assignment is due during the first class meeting. Subsequent homework assignments are delineated in the syllabus, and, due to the accelerated nature of the program, it is expected that a student will spend, at a minimum, twenty hours per week working on these out-of-class homework assignments. This time commitment may vary, however, depending upon the student’s level of expertise in a given cluster. A student in a management cluster, for example, who has worked several years in a middle management position, and who has completed a variety of corporate sponsored management courses, may, in fact, spend less time working on assignments for this cluster.
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.