ston), adjacent to the Babson College campus. Olin College is noted in the engineering community for its youth, small size, project-based curriculum, and large endowment funded primarily by the F. W. Olin Foundation. The College currently awards the full-tuition Olin Scholarship to each admitted student. Unlike many institutions, Olin College does not have separate academic departments. Consequently, no separate budget exists for different majors or subject areas. In addition, all faculty members hold five-year renewable contracts with no opportunity for tenure. The college was accredited by the regional accreditation board NEASC on December 6, 2006.History
Olin College was founded by the F. W. Olin Foundation in 1997. The foundation donated most of its remaining financial resources to the college, providing Olin with
an endowment worth approximately 460 million dollars. Richard Miller was ceremonially inaugurated as the college's first president on May 3, 2003.
In a program known as "Invention 2000", Olin College hired its first faculty and invited 30 students, known as "Olin Partners," to help them form the first curriculum. The Olin Partners lived in temporary housing and spent their first year after high school investigating assessment and grading methods, jump-starting the student culture, and experimenting with forms of engineering education.
an endowment worth approximately 460 million dollars. Richard Miller was ceremonially inaugurated as the college's first president on May 3, 2003.In a program known as "Invention 2000", Olin College hired its first faculty and invited 30 students, known as "Olin Partners," to help them form the first curriculum. The Olin Partners lived in temporary housing and spent their first year after high school investigating assessment and grading methods, jump-starting the student culture, and experimenting with forms of engineering education.
Olin admitted its first full class of 75 students in 2002. This class included the Olin Partners, a group of deferred students known as the Virtual Olin Partners, and recent high school graduates. After admitting three more classes, the college reached its full size of approximately 300 in Fall 2005.
Olin's campus was designed by architects Perry Dean Rogers & Partners in the postmodern architectural style. The construction of the first phase of the Olin College campus was completed in 2002, comprising four buildings. The construction of a second dorm, East Hall, was finished in Fall 2005. Administrators and trustees are planning another academic building that is likely to contain additional machine shops and project space. Olin College shares many of its campus services with Babson College, including health, public safety, and athletic facilities.
The Olin experiment
Olin's campus was designed by architects Perry Dean Rogers & Partners in the postmodern architectural style. The construction of the first phase of the Olin College campus was completed in 2002, comprising four buildings. The construction of a second dorm, East Hall, was finished in Fall 2005. Administrators and trustees are planning another academic building that is likely to contain additional machine shops and project space. Olin College shares many of its campus services with Babson College, including health, public safety, and athletic facilities.
The Olin experiment
Olin College attempts to set itself apart from traditional engineering schools through its focus on project-based and team-based learning, its interdisciplinary approach, its unique organizational structure, and its practice of providing full-tuition scholarships to all accepted students. Because Olin College is a new school, it has little institutional inertia to overcome when adopting new practices.
Much of Olin College's curriculum is built around hands-on engineering and design projects. This proje
ct-based teaching begins in a student's freshman year and culminates in two senior "capstone" projects. In the engineering capstone, Senior Consulting Program for Engineering (SCOPE) student teams are hired by corporations, non-profit organizations, or entrepreneurial ventures for real-world engineering projects. In the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHS) or Entrepreneurship ("E!") capstone, students work on a self-designed project relating to their focus.
All accepted students receive the Olin Scholarship, which pays for tuition in full. This tuition also covers cross-registration with Babson College, Wellesley College, and Brandeis University. Although Wellesley College has an all-female student body, cross-registration is available for both male and female Olin students. Olin also shares clubs and intramural sports with the aforementioned colleges. Olin College also allows students to receive funding and non-degree college credit for "Passionate Pursuits", student-defined personal projects that the college recognizes as having academic value.
In addition to the Olin Scholarship, Olin College provides financial aid in form of need-based grants. These grants are paid when it is determined that the student is in need of more than $2,500 a year, which the school expects students to be able to obtain through part-time and summer work.
Academics
Much of Olin College's curriculum is built around hands-on engineering and design projects. This proje
ct-based teaching begins in a student's freshman year and culminates in two senior "capstone" projects. In the engineering capstone, Senior Consulting Program for Engineering (SCOPE) student teams are hired by corporations, non-profit organizations, or entrepreneurial ventures for real-world engineering projects. In the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHS) or Entrepreneurship ("E!") capstone, students work on a self-designed project relating to their focus.All accepted students receive the Olin Scholarship, which pays for tuition in full. This tuition also covers cross-registration with Babson College, Wellesley College, and Brandeis University. Although Wellesley College has an all-female student body, cross-registration is available for both male and female Olin students. Olin also shares clubs and intramural sports with the aforementioned colleges. Olin College also allows students to receive funding and non-degree college credit for "Passionate Pursuits", student-defined personal projects that the college recognizes as having academic value.
In addition to the Olin Scholarship, Olin College provides financial aid in form of need-based grants. These grants are paid when it is determined that the student is in need of more than $2,500 a year, which the school expects students to be able to obtain through part-time and summer work.
Academics
Olin College offers degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Mechanical Engineering (ME), and Engineering (E). Within the Engineering program, students may concentrate in Computing (E:C), Bioengineering (E:BE), Materials Science (E:MS), Systems Design (E:SYS), or they may design their own concentrations with the administration's approval. Students also have access to an accelerated M.S. in Technological Entrepreneurship program at Babson College, with the potential to obtain this degree one semester after graduating from Olin College.
Classes at Olin College emphasize the importance of context and attempt to take an interdisciplinary approach. Freshman take integrated course blocks that teach engineering, calculus, and physics by exploring the relationships between the three subjects. Arts, humanities, and social sciences courses take an interdisciplinary approach to subjects such as the "self" ("What is I?"), history ("History of Technology"), and art ("Wired Ensemble" and "Seeing and Hearing").
Olin College maintains a strong emphasis on practically grounded education, teaching not only the concepts but also connecting them to real-world challenges and projects. Beginning their first year, students receive training in Olin's machine shop for project based work. First-year students all take "Design Nature", a class that teaches design tools and processes. In this class, students design and build mechanical toys based on biological systems (such as the click beetle's jumping mechanism). Projects often take a "do-learn" approach, with the application of concepts being taught before the formal introduction of the underlying theory.
Olin's Cur
riculum expires every five years, and must undergo an internal curriculum review. The goal of these reviews is to ensure that the college maintains a culture of change and continuous improvement, and constantly working to reinvent itself. The first of these reviews is in progress as of December 2006. It is not yet clear to what extent the curriculum review will result in changes, but significant aspects of the curriculum are being considered for detailed review. Notably projects, student assessment, AHS/E! course offerings, experimentation within Olin, student workload are being targeted specifically for detailed review. These areas of detailed review were selected after significant student and faculty feedback was solicited from the Olin community.
Olin College's academic culture is heavily influenced by the school's honor code. Students often take exams on their own time and are generally allowed to use outside resources on exams. Students are trusted to adhere to the rules and limits specified for each exam without the supervision of a proctor. Because of this, honor code violations in an academic context are treated far more seriously and formally than social violations.
In general, the academic culture at Olin College is highly informal. Unlike most colleges and universities, some members of the upper administration teach classes alongside other faculty members. Teachers and administrators at Olin College are generally very receptive to student suggestions. This is viewed as especially important because Olin College is a new school, and its students play an active role in shaping the college for future generations.
Accreditation
Olin College has received accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). The college became eligible for accreditation after it graduated its first class on Sunday, May 21, 2006. On August 31, 2007, Olin received accreditation from the Engineering Accreditation Commission of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The accreditation applies retroactively to all degrees issued by the college. Olin College experienced trouble attracting and keeping international students, due to students' difficulty in obtaining student visas for an unaccredited institution.[citation needed] However, a handful of international students are currently enrolled.
Classes at Olin College emphasize the importance of context and attempt to take an interdisciplinary approach. Freshman take integrated course blocks that teach engineering, calculus, and physics by exploring the relationships between the three subjects. Arts, humanities, and social sciences courses take an interdisciplinary approach to subjects such as the "self" ("What is I?"), history ("History of Technology"), and art ("Wired Ensemble" and "Seeing and Hearing").
Olin College maintains a strong emphasis on practically grounded education, teaching not only the concepts but also connecting them to real-world challenges and projects. Beginning their first year, students receive training in Olin's machine shop for project based work. First-year students all take "Design Nature", a class that teaches design tools and processes. In this class, students design and build mechanical toys based on biological systems (such as the click beetle's jumping mechanism). Projects often take a "do-learn" approach, with the application of concepts being taught before the formal introduction of the underlying theory.
Olin's Cur
riculum expires every five years, and must undergo an internal curriculum review. The goal of these reviews is to ensure that the college maintains a culture of change and continuous improvement, and constantly working to reinvent itself. The first of these reviews is in progress as of December 2006. It is not yet clear to what extent the curriculum review will result in changes, but significant aspects of the curriculum are being considered for detailed review. Notably projects, student assessment, AHS/E! course offerings, experimentation within Olin, student workload are being targeted specifically for detailed review. These areas of detailed review were selected after significant student and faculty feedback was solicited from the Olin community.Olin College's academic culture is heavily influenced by the school's honor code. Students often take exams on their own time and are generally allowed to use outside resources on exams. Students are trusted to adhere to the rules and limits specified for each exam without the supervision of a proctor. Because of this, honor code violations in an academic context are treated far more seriously and formally than social violations.
In general, the academic culture at Olin College is highly informal. Unlike most colleges and universities, some members of the upper administration teach classes alongside other faculty members. Teachers and administrators at Olin College are generally very receptive to student suggestions. This is viewed as especially important because Olin College is a new school, and its students play an active role in shaping the college for future generations.
Accreditation
Olin College has received accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). The college became eligible for accreditation after it graduated its first class on Sunday, May 21, 2006. On August 31, 2007, Olin received accreditation from the Engineering Accreditation Commission of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The accreditation applies retroactively to all degrees issued by the college. Olin College experienced trouble attracting and keeping international students, due to students' difficulty in obtaining student visas for an unaccredited institution.[citation needed] However, a handful of international students are currently enrolled.
