Apr 20, 2024  
2020-2021 Adult Degree Completion Academic Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Adult Degree Completion Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Academic Goals and Outcomes


The Adult Degree Completion (ADC) Program follows the WLC mission and academic expectations of Wisconsin Lutheran College as undergraduate academic program. As such it designs its programs and assessments around the academic goals and respective general education guidelines.

Wisconsin Lutheran College strives to develop in each student a Christian mind and a servant’s heart that allows him or her to excel in the world of ideas and in relationships with people. Each graduate is committed to humble and responsible service through independent and creative thought and uses research and analytical skills to make critical judgments.

The Academic Goals of Wisconsin Lutheran College

The faculty of Wisconsin Lutheran College believes that a Christian undergraduate education based on scholarly activity, engagement with the liberal arts, and practical application of knowledge enlarges students’ perspectives and prepares them for the various vocations in which God places them. Consequently, graduates of Wisconsin Lutheran College demonstrate the ability to:

AG1: Articulate a world-view based on Holy Scripture, as interpreted by the Lutheran Confessions.
Students at a Christian institution of higher learning have the unique opportunity of learning to view the wonder and order of the universe as part of God’s creation. This coherent perspective of the world is based on an understanding of the biblical narrative, systems of doctrine, church history, and Christian vocation through the hermeneutical lens of the Lutheran Confessions. Students are thus enabled to comprehend synoptically the diversity of information to which they are exposed, as they effectively and faithfully carry out their roles in the church and society.

AG2: Think critically, clearly, and accurately in the pursuit of Truth.
Because students are exposed to a wide variety of social institutions, historical perspectives, manifestations of culture, and systems of belief, as well as the means by which people express themselves in these contexts, a comprehensive Christian education equips students to evaluate wisely and discriminate among the varied perspectives they encounter. The breadth and depth of knowledge they have gained in a variety of disciplines allows students to inquire with discernment and to reason validly. Moreover, the empirical skills they acquire allow them to engage with the structure, forces, and systems of God’s creation and relate scientific concepts to the phenomena of the physical universe.

AG3: Express themselves with grace and precision in a variety of contexts.
A comprehensive Christian education fosters students’ ability to listen, speak, and write respectfully, critically, and effectively. It also nurtures their ability to reason and express observed relationships in numeric, symbolic, and graphic forms, while at the same time integrating appropriate technologies into their studies. In order to communicate with integrity from a global perspective, students will develop a facility with the elements, structure, and cultural context of a foreign language. Finally, their exposure to the arts and humanities stimulates students’ willingness to depict ideas and emotions creatively in verbal, visual, and musical forms.

The Academic Goals of the Degree Completion Program

Graduates of WLC’s Accelerated Degree Completion program:

  • Lead by serving others in the home, workplace, and community;
  • Apply analytic skills through collaborative inquiry, research, and reflection on personal experience;
  • Achieve personal and professional goals through application of new learning in the professional setting.

Program Focus

The ADC Program of Wisconsin Lutheran College is designed for adults who seek to complete their bachelor’s degree by integrating an accelerated academic program into busy work and family lives. The program offers an opportunity to work with a group of peers while learning from credentialed experts who teach lessons based on ongoing experience in the professional setting.

Learner Outcomes

Graduates of the ADC Program:

  • Develop ability to solve practical workplace issues;
  • Utilize teamwork strategies;
  • Reflect on personal knowledge and experience;
  • Establish and achieve meaningful professional goals;
  • Integrate and apply new knowledge and skills to the professional setting;
  • Assess personal leadership potential and plan for continued personal and professional growth; and
  • Demonstrate a life of service and leadership.

ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS

For successful completion of the Adult Degree Completion Program, students should expect the following:

  1. The courses emphasize a Christian worldview and how personal values can impact studies, life, and work.
  2. The program offers a tremendous opportunity to work with a group of peers in a cohort model while learning from facilitators who personally live and work the lessons they teach in their own business or corporate settings every day.
  3. Adult students need to contribute professional work experiences as a means to integrate theoretical with practical and thereby, supporting the adragogical approach to teaching and learning.
  4. Group projects or assignments are purposefully integrated throughout the program with the intent to have students assume various roles and responsibilities so that they practice the academic and interpersonal skills needed to work with others, whether they are employed in the immediate vicinity or in remote locations.
  5. Adult students are held accountable for professionalism whether it is in written and/or oral communication, attendance, and overall quality of exhibited work.
  6. The program has been designed around an engaging curriculum to provide students with skills and competencies that employers list as highly valued characteristics for their top employees.