This article features a conversation on the occasion of a May 2018 "Festschrift" in "Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies" to honor the work of William Newell, between Newell and P. Sven Arvidson. William Newell is Emeritus Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Miami University, where he taught interdisciplinary courses full…

The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, an experimental college, has developed an innovative general education program. Teaching approaches and organizational structures of the program have been changed to accommodate the new curriculum. The general education core, called the Interdisciplinary Studies Sequence (IDS), includes courses in…

This report describes the organizational plan of Los Angeles Mission College (LAMC). LAMC has chosen a structure stemming from the cluster concept, involving semi-autonomous clusters, each small in size. These characteristics enhance student-faculty-administrator relations and permit each instructional unit to participate directly in its own…

In the early twentieth century, Alexander Meiklejohn believed the undergraduate college must teach students how to think. He aspired to make students into thinking, caring, active citizens with the intellectual skills to participate in a democratic society. In 1927, with the founding of the Experimental College at the University of Wisconsin, he…

"The Experimental College" tells the story of a 4-year academic experiment at the University of Wisconsin established by Alexander Meiklejohn. Aimed at finding a method of teaching that would help students develop "intelligence in the conduct of their own lives," the Experimental College discarded major requirements,…

Oakton Community College is organized into four learning clusters, each comprising a group small enough to maintain "recognizability" and a sense of belonging. Each cluster has approximately 600 FTE students, 30 full-time faculty members, one learning resource faculty member, three counselors, and its own dean. The first of these…

At Metropolitan State University, the Individualized Educational Planning Course was a response to adult students' unique curriculum needs. Students learn university expectations of quality; plan solid, individualized degrees; examine what it means to be an educated person; pursue knowledge actively and successfully through informed choices; and…

The philosophy and structure of programs of coordinated study at Evergreen State College from 1970 to 1980 are discussed, and comparisons are made to the experiment at the University of California, Berkeley, promoted by Joseph Tussman. Both programs are based on ideas suggested by Alexander Meiklejohn and his Experimental College at the University…