ce Center, a St
nal schools in:
e oral traditio:
HC CHOSEN
A AC
OR PILOT
ROJECT
from^ ^ College is one of 18 schools in the nation chosen by the Association
^rom to P^rican Colleges to participate in a three-year pilot project entitled
upper quadraj,^^^.^^ Academic Majors Using External Examiners. ” The project has
. iderwritten by 2 grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secon-
(FIPSE), an agency of the U.S. Department of Education,
former ^, ^I^Association of American Colleges is a national organization of nearly 600
’ sets b* th° e ii'^ universities who have in common a mutual interest in liberal
Sm’th h mainstay of American higher education.
i lent ' f^ h ^°*^^**^ Schmeltekopf, academic vice-president of Mars Hill,
p n s o t e major issues in education today is how to effectively evaluate academic
annu 1 S h ^‘^^^'^ionally, this assessment has been done in a class by class man-
nua out ^\idents who received a passing grade in a class were deemed “competent”
a ison ounty itself. Students passing a series of inter-related classes
aid to have an academic major (major field of study) and were awarded a
in that area.
type of assessment, notes Schmeltekopf, clearly had its shortcomings. It
it take into account the total experience of the student’s progress through
jagram, nor was the true effectiveness of the program evident.
I new project aims to assess the learning of students who are completing ma-
; selected areas of arts and sciences. Participating schools have been arrang-
o six “clusters,” each composed of three schools of the same general
|. size, and character. The same three academic majors must be selected by
Hill College Community Since 1926
the three schools in the cluster. Faculty members from each of the departments
will then begin to meet and devise the methods by which the “peer review” of
programs will be conducted. A primary means of evaluation will be to select 15
senior students in each department—for a total of 45 students from each school—
and administer written and oral tests to them each year.
There will be time allocated for an examination of the evaluation process mid
way through and for adjustments to the process, if necessary. This increases the
likelihood of producing useful, reliable results. The examiners will then give the
host departments constructive feed-back on the program’s strengths and oppor
tunities for improvement.
When the project ends, the association will prepare a report which will be
distributed to the presidents or chief officers of all American colleges and univer
sities. The association will also publish the report in several of its own academic
journals.
Dr. John Chandler, president of the association and a Mars Hill alumnus,
states that the project will accomplish much. According to him, the methods the
project will develop will give the tax- and tuition-paying public assurance of the
quality of college programs; schools will be able to speak with greater confidence
about the degree of mastery by their students of the skills and knowledge their
degrees certify; a continual refinement and improvement of teaching skills will be
encouraged by the faculty; students will have an opportunity to demonstrate their
knowledge and skills; and new professional ties will be created among
cooperating institutions which will foster both healthy competition as well as
mutual support.
For Mars Hill, the benefits of being a member of the pilot project includes the
immediate benefit of continuing its own “in house” evaluation process, which
began this year and “fits in rather nicely with the proposed project,” states
Schmeltkopf, who believes that one of the reasons Mars Hill was choosen for the
project was its reputation of being able to examine itself and make necessary
changes.
Schmeltekopf believes that the project will gain success as a national model
which will add a new dimension to the evaluation of schools across the country.
He also recognizes that the college’s participation and association with schools
such as Cornell University, Wellesley College, and Louisana State University can
only reap benefits for the mountain school.
'iWICHES
lONORARY DEGREE
““lESTOWED
T
^RS HILL - Dr. W. Otis Duck,
Hill physician who has cared for
al generations of townspeople and
I ^*11 College students, was awarded
jonorary Doctor of Humane Letters
during the school’s annual
ders’ Day Convocation October 21.
• Duck officially retired from his
y practice at the end of June, ending
[year career of health care in the area,
now an adjunct member of the col-
faculty and will serve as the school’s
ical director.
native of Madison County, Dr.
c traces his family heritage to one of
bunders of the school. Berry Duck.
kSZSZ O N ^ an alumnus of Mars Hill, Class of
Z ON l!*^, and completed his undergraduate
(es at Wake Forest College. His
96e)S0(j'
uoqezjueOjQ 1^
at
medical training was conducted
Halnemann Medical College in
Philadelphia, and his initial residency
was at Knoxville General Hospital. He
was commanding officer of a combat
medical unit in Europe during World
War II and returned to Mars Hill after
He established the Community
Medical Center in Mars Hill and was
joined in a partnership agreement with
Dr. Ernest Powell in 1952. Until he stop
ped delivering babies nearly 14 years ago.
Dr. Duck delivered thousands of babies,
many at home. He is especially proud of
never having had a maternal fatality. He
worked vigorously to improve the quality
of rnedical care of mothers and infants
with the Maternal Welfare Committee of
the N.C. Medical Society.
Dr. Duck has also been active in sup
porting many of the programs of the col
lege, especially the natural sciences
academic program. He has served four
terms as a trustee of the school and has
been named chairman of the trustees
several times. In civic affairs, he has been
a member of the Mars Hill aldermen and
served briefly as mayor. He has also serv
ed on the board of education. He is a
deacon of the Mars Hill Baptist Church
and has served as chairman of that body.
In recognition of his contibutions
the college and the community, the col
lege recognized him as “Alumnus of the
Year” in 1974.
The degree awarded to Dr. Duck dur
ing the ceremonies was only the eighth
such honorary degrees ever to be given by
the college.
to
(See our special sections on Home
coming, page 10 and Appalachian
Poverty, page 8.)