Studying with us
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How does distance learning work at Catherine College? |
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A special feature of our courses is that they are undertaken in collaboration with other women, but also with men who have a genuine interest in learning how to overcome gender inequity in society and religion through awareness and critical analysis. We believe adults learn best when they take charge of their own learning and discover things for themselves. In so doing, they invariably find that they learn more easily, more enjoyably, and more deeply. Our courses have adapted problem-based
learning and competency-based evaluation designed for online learning
in small, interactive groups. Over the next few days, a give and take then takes
place which allows you to discover how participants within different
cultures and educational backgrounds define and respond to the shared
questions differently. Meanwhile, at the same time as you give feedback
to others, you will receive feedback from persons with different backgrounds.
Inside this process, the tutor/mentor offers his/her own reflections
and words of appreciation. From time to time, you will even receive
clarifying questions that will invite you to further examine and clarify
the responses that you have offered. This teaching environment, in
particular the incorporation of small group learning and collaborative
work, fosters self-reliance, problem solving, and the recognition
of the limits of ones own knowledge and skills. |
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When and where do you study and interact in our courses? |
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During a typical week, you will study when and where you please--in your home, at a local library, in an internet cafe. As you study, you will be interacting with the material and, in a typical hour, posting five of your hunches, new ideas, conclusions online. After each posting, the reflections of your learning partners scattered around the world will then open up before you. Then the fun begins. You get to interact with their mind bending ideas just as they will get to interact with yours in a few hours or days. Every course has a highly qualified facilitator/tutor who is ready (a) to respond to your inquiries, (b) to assist you in expanding the skills that you set out for yourself at the beginning of each course. Our facilitators allow themselves to be known and interact with your posts as you go. More importantly, they listen carefully to your struggles and difficulties and know how to guide you to overcome any hurdles you may be experiencing along the way. |
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In the best of classrooms, everyone has something to teach and everyone has something to learn, including the professor. Catherine College provides a safe place wherein women can find their true voices and to express them freely. The bonding that takes place in the virtual classroom must accordingly be joined with a shared sense of respect and mystery in the face of co-learners struggling to become their authentic selves even when they have for so long been beaten down and forced to adapt roles that conceal their true voices.
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Why do women come to our College? |
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Catherine of Siena College is a virtual university. It offers online courses that are selected to give women the knowledge and confidence they need for leadership tasks. Women study our courses for different purposes:
They choose one of our courses because they know
that we select our courses for their quality of content, their dynamic
potential and wide international appeal. |
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How do you study |
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Most students work from home or wherever it's convenient. Our unique method of study - a combination of personal work, group discussions through message boards, correspondence with your tutor and occasional chatroom encounters - means that you can set your own timetable around the way you live. We are gradually building up the range of what we will offer:
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Notice of our non-discriminatory policy
| Catherine of Siena Virtual College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, ancestry, military discharge or status, marital status, parental status, or any other protected status in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship, and loan programs. Otherwise qualified persons are not subject to discrimination on the basis of disability. |

