From its founding in 1874 Worcester State College has been
dedicated to educational programs that lead to self-enrichment
and to careers in the professions, government, business and
industry. As a public, state-funded
college governed by a local Board of Trustees under the direction
of the Higher Education Coordinating Council, Worcester State
College is empowered to award baccalaureate and master’s
degrees in education and in the arts and sciences. While continuing
its tradition of serving the residents of the Commonwealth,
the College has earned a reputation for quality teaching by
dedicated faculty in classes of moderate size, and for programs
responsive to its students’ and society’s changing
needs.
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Worcester State College, a public metropolitan institution
of higher learning located in a culturally vibrant region
of the Commonwealth, affirms the principles of liberal learning
as the foundation for all traditional liberal arts and sciences
disciplines, while maintaining its historical focus on teacher
education. It has expanded its offerings with professional
degree programs in biomedical sciences, business, and the
health professions. Through its curricula, the college addresses
the intellectual and career needs of the increasingly diverse
citizenry of central Massachusetts. Worcester State College
is dedicated to offering high quality, affordable undergraduate
and graduate academic programs and to promoting global awareness,
lifelong intellectual growth, and career opportunities of
its students. To this end, the college values teaching excellence
rooted in scholarship and community service; cooperates with
the business, social and cultural resources of Worcester County;
collaborates with other institutions of higher learning in
the region, and develops new programs responsive to emerging
community needs.
Undergraduate information is available in the Undergraduate
School Catalogue which may be obtained in the Admissions Office.
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Worcester State College is accredited by the New England Association
of Schools and Colleges, Inc., a non-governmental, nationally
recognized organization whose affiliated institutions include
elementary schools through collegiate institutions offering
postgraduate instruction. Accreditation of an institution
by the New England Association indicates that it meets or
exceeds criteria for the assessment of institutional quality
periodically applied through a peer group review process.
An accredited school or college is one which has available
the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through
appropriate educational programs, is substantially doing so,
and gives reasonable evidence that it will continue to do
so in the foreseeable future. Institutional integrity is also
addressed through accreditation. Accreditation by the New
England Association applies to the institution as a whole.
As such, it is not a guarantee of the quality of every course
or program offered, or the competence of individual graduates.
Rather, it provides reasonable assurance about the quality
of opportunities available to students who attend the institution.
Inquiries regarding the status of an institution’s accreditation
by the New England Association should be directed to the administrative
staff of the school or college. Individuals may also contact
the Association:
NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
THE SANBORN HOUSE, 15 HIGH STREET
WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS 01890
(617) 729-6762
The following programs are accredited by their respective
professional organizations: Nursing, The National League for
Nursing; Speech-Language Pathology, the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association; Occupational Therapy, Accreditation Council for
Occupational Therapy Education; and Nuclear Medicine Technology,
the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear
Medicine Technology. Please refer to department chapters for
addresses and telephone numbers of the accrediting organizations.
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The College is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination,
equal employment opportunity, and affirmative action in its
educational programs, activities, and employment practices.
The College maintains and promotes a policy of nondiscrimination
on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, sex, sexual
orientation, age, disability, veteran status, marital status,
and national origin. This policy incorporates by reference
the requirements of Federal Executive Orders 11246 and 11375
as amended; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended;
Title IX of the Higher Education Act of 1972 as amended; Sections
503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended;
Section 402, Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance
Act of 1974; the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988; and
pertinent laws, regulations, and executive orders; directives
of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, the Board
of Trustees, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and other
applicable state and federal statutes. The Director of Diversity
may be contacted at 508-929-8117 regarding the College’s
policy of nondiscrimination and affirmative action (including
compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
as amended).
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Worcester State College complies fully with the provisions
of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.
This federal law protects the privacy of education records,
establishes the rights of students to:
1. Inspect and review their education records within 45 days
of the day the College receives a request for access. Students
should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic
department or other appropriate official, written requests
that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The College
official will make arrangements for access and notify the
student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
If the College official to whom the request was submitted
does not maintain the records, that official shall advise
the student of the correct official to whom the request should
be addressed.
2. Request the amendment of the education records that the
student believes are inaccurate or misleading. Students may
ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate
or misleading. They should write to the College official responsible
for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they
want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.
If the College decides not to amend the record as requested
by the student, the College will notify the student of the
decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing
regarding the request for amendment. Additional information
regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student
when notified of the right to a hearing.
3. To file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education
concerning the alleged failures by Worcester State College
to comply with the requirements of FERPA, the name and address
of the Office that administers FERPA is:
FAMILY POLICY COMPLIANCE OFFICE
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
INDEPENDANCE AVENUE, SW
WASHINGTON, DC 20202-4605
Worcester State College accords all the rights under the
law to students who are declared independent. No one outside
the institution shall have access to nor will the institution
disclose any information from students’ education records
without the written consent of students except to personnel
within the institution, to officials of other institutions
in which students seek to enroll, to persons or organizations
providing students’ financial aid, to accrediting agencies
carrying out their accreditation function, to persons in compliance
with a judicial order, and to persons in an emergency in order
to protect the health or safety of students or other persons.
All these exceptions are permitted under the Act. A school
official is a person employed by the University in an administrative,
supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position
(including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff);
a person or company with whom the University has contracted
(such as and attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person
serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on
an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance
committee, or assisting another school official in performing
his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational
interest if the official needs to review an education record
in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
At its discretion the institution may provide Directory information
in accordance with the provisions of the Act to include: student
name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth,
major field of study, dates of attendance, degree and awards
received, the most recent previous educational agency or institution
attended by the student, participation in officially recognized
activities and sports, height and weight of members of athletic
teams, and other similar information. Currently enrolled students
may withhold disclosure of Directory Information by notifying
the Registrar in writing of the request prior to the end of
the first week of classes in the Fall. Such requests will
be honored for the duration of the academic year—September
through August; therefore, authorization to withhold Directory
information must be filed annually with the Registrar. The
College assumes that failure on the part of the student to
specifically request the withholding of categories of Directory
Information indicates individual approval of disclosure. A
request to withhold the above data in no way restricts internal
use of the material by the College. In compliance with the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended,
the College reserves the right to disclose information to
parents of a student under 18 and/or the parents of a student
who is dependent upon such parents for Federal Income Tax
purposes.
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The College is located on 58 acres of rolling, wooded land
facing Chandler Street in the residential west side of Worcester.
It is within an hour’s drive of all major population
centers in New England and combines urban convenience with
a suburban setting. The College is convenient to the Worcester
Airport, a regional facility, and to Interstate Highways 90
(Massachusetts Turnpike), 190, 290 and 495. The campus is
served by buses of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority
and by the shuttle bus service of the Worcester Consortium
for Higher Education. The physical facilities of the Campus
include the following:
Administration Building
Constructed in 1932 to inaugurate the College’s new location,
the Administration Building houses the central administration,
the Admissions Office, faculty offices, Personnel, Affirmative
Action, and finance offices, classrooms, laboratories, plus
an auditorium equipped for theatrical productions.
Sullivan Academic Center
Named for Eugene A. Sullivan, College President from 1947
to 1970, the Sullivan Academic Center is a primary instructional
center on campus. It contains faculty and academic department
offices, a large lecture hall (Eager Amphitheater), classrooms,
and a large attached auditorium. The Sullivan Auditorium provides
the setting for a number of formal ceremonies including the
annual Academic Honors Convocation. Also located in the Sullivan
Academic Center are the Learning Assistance Center, administrative
offices of the Registrar, and Financial Aid.
Kalyan K. Ghosh Science and Technology Building
Opened in Fall 2000, the Science and Technology Building is
a state-of-the-art building designed to house the sciences
including: Academic Computing, Communication Disorders, Occupational
Therapy, Computer Science, Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry,
Geography and Earth Science, Geology, Natural Science and
Physics, Health Science and Nursing. The building contains
thirty science, therapy and computer labs; offices for faculty
and staff; conference/seminar rooms; and student discussion
areas. This facility also houses a 200-seat Multimedia Classroom
and an 80-seat General Use Computer Lab.
Learning Resources Center
The Learning Resources Center (LRC) houses the Library, a
comfortable place for study and research with over 142,000
volumes and approximately 1000 current periodicals. A CD-ROM
network provides ready access to several resources electronically
and a new library system will soon offer easy catalog and
Internet searching capabilities. The Library is a member of
the Worcester Area Cooperating Libraries (WACL), a joint effort
of 15 academic, public, and special libraries to facilitate
the sharing of resources and provide advanced techniques in
library and information science. A book delivery shuttle service
operates daily during the academic year and weekly during
the summer to facilitate interlibrary loans to students, faculty
and staff. WACL extends cross-borrowing privileges to all
full-time and permanent part-time faculty and high-level administrators.
Individually issued WACL cards permit direct loans from member
libraries. The Learning Resources Center also encompasses
a complex of modern telecommunications and electronic learning
facilities. Among these is the Academic Computing Center with
open access microcomputers and several laboratories with both
Windows-based and Macintosh computers. The campus-wide computer
network, maintained by Information Technologies and Network
Services, provides Internet connections to the outside world
from the computer labs and student email accounts are available
from the Academic Computing Center. Also in the LRC are television
studios and a production facility, photographic laboratories,
and the student-operated radio station WSCW. An instructional
media center provides media to support the teaching and learning
process while media production services is equipped for production
of slides and tapes. The offices for library staff, Instructional
Technology and Learning Resources, Information Technologies
and Networking Services, Facilities, Publications and Printing
Services, and the Communications and Urban Studies academic
departments are located in this building along with seminar
rooms, classrooms, and lecture halls.
Gymnasium
The Gymnasium contains indoor athletic and recreational facilities,
including the Oscar Larsson Fitness Center. It also houses
the Education and Art academic departments, the Health Services
Office, the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education
and Athletics and Recreation administrative offices.
Residence Halls
Residence Halls at Worcester State College provide housing
to approximately 700 fulltime undergraduate students. Chandler
Village is an unusual and distinctive residential townhouse
grouping that includes apartments in interconnected buildings.
The apartments accommodate four, eight, 12, or 14 persons
and include furnished common living and kitchen areas. Dowden
Hall, more traditional in style, is a five-story residence
hall which includes rooms for single and double occupancy,
common rooms and lounges, and an electronic door access system
for security.
Student Center
The Student Center is available as a resource for the entire
College community and is conveniently situated at the geographical
center of the campus. The facility contains a cafeteria and
dining area, snack bar, pub, and lounges; rooms for games,
music, and television viewing; offices for Student Development
personnel and student organizations; a student-run print center;
an auditorium; a dancing and exhibit area; a bookstore; offices
for Minority Affairs; offices for Alternatives for Individual
Development (AID); the Academic Success Center, and meeting
rooms.
Outdoor Facilities
The College has the advantage of naturally attractive surroundings.
Among its outdoor facilities are an artificial turf athletic
field and an eight-lane synthetic track, baseball and softball
diamonds, field hockey, and tennis courts.
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The College’s primary connection with the community is
the Office of Development and External Relations. The main
responsibilities of the department are to further the mission
and goals of the College through a variety of endeavors including
fund development, alumni relations, marketing and communications.
These four separate elements work in tandem to enhance the
image of the College and to maintain positive relationships
with a wide range of constituencies. Annually, the Office
of Development and External Relations coordinates a number
of special activities for Worcester State College alumni including
Reunion Weekend, Homecoming, and chapter events. Publications
such as the Worcester Statement, Communiqué, and the
Annual Report are published to inform the various constituents
of the College’s accomplishments. Fund-raising campaigns
provide an array of benefits and services to current students,
alumni, and friends. Contributions are used primarily for
scholarships, academic awards, laboratory and classroom equipment,
educational seminars, and other support services to promote
quality education. The department oversees all media relations
and releases newsworthy information pertaining to the College
both locally and nationally. In addition, the professional
staff participates in events sponsored by the State of Massachusetts,
the City of Worcester, and the local Chamber of Commerce;
hosts conferences, legislative meetings, and community breakfasts;
sponsors seminars, lectures, and workshops; and supports a
variety of initiatives in the arts and multi-cultural events.
The College’s calendar includes numerous programs and
events to which the public is welcomed. Members of the community
have participated in workshops and conferences on topics such
as energy, elder affairs, and hearing disabilities. Please
refer to our website for daily calendar activities: www.worcester.edu
(news & events; an internet connection is required).
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This catalog was prepared in the summer of 2003, with information
available at the time of preparation. Provisions of this catalog
are subject to change by order of the Massachusetts Board
of Higher Education or the Worcester State College Board of
Trustees. It is the policy of the College to provide advance
notice of changes whenever it is reasonable and practical
to do so.
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