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Students of the Thomas More Institute have an opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Bishop’s University.

All students are required to register formally each year. All consultations require an appointment to be arranged with the Registrar, Dr. Heather Stephens. The period for academic appointments for degree students is: September 6-8, 2011. This meeting is the best opportunity to discuss one’s personal study patterns, to get particular complications solved, and to schedule courses toward a degree.

Students undertaking the B.A. degree are expected to have the CEGEP diploma (DEC). Those who do not and are over 23 years of age can make up this requirement with three CEGEP or junior college-level courses, or 18 credits in university-level TMI courses. (These include all 12-and 24-week courses in this prospectus, with the exception of Canada On Screen, Conquering Fear/ Speaking Confidently, The Rest is Noise, Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, and Seniors’ Program) .

The degree calls for a total of 90 credits across eight required areas of study:

12-session course: 3 credits
24-session course: 6 credits

The courses, many of which are multidisciplinary and designed from year-to-year, allow the student to explore special curiosities and interests. They provide a broad liberal arts education at the undergraduate level.

The eight areas of study and the credit requirements for each area are:

PHILOSOPHY—18 credits
WORLD LITERATURES—24 credits (6 credits in French)
CLASSICAL CULTURE—6 credits
HISTORY—6 credits
SCIENCE (Natural Sciences/Social Sciences)—12 credits
MATHEMATICAL THOUGHT—6 credits
RELIGIOUS STUDIES/THEOLOGY—12 credits
ESSAY WRITING—6 credits

Information relating to the areas of study addressed in particular courses, as well as evaluation criteria, is available in a separate student’s handout.

The standard writing requirement for credits within a 24-session course is two essays of 3,500 words each, one written in each term, or the equivalent in shorter writings. In some courses a final examination may also be required. Active participation is an essential ingredient in the TMI methodology; it could count for as much as 20% of a student’s final grade. Academic records are periodically evaluated by the Accreditation Committee.

A full-time student annually takes four full courses of 24 sessions (or eight 12-session courses or some other combination of full and half courses yielding 24 credits) and is presumed to be giving full attention and time to study. Persons who are employed while pursuing their studies are advised to limit themselves to two full courses (or some other combination of full or half courses yielding 12 credits).

The attendance of each student is kept by the professor or discussion team, and is a permanent record taken seriously by the Registrar’s office. In the case of a student working for the Degree, it is understood that absences are only for exceptional reasons. Persons who miss more than FOUR CLASSES of a 24-session course or TWO CLASSES of a 12-session course cannot claim the right to full course credit. Interruption of studies should not extend beyond one year.

The Registrar is in charge of records for all students. Those wishing to transfer to another course or to drop a course must communicate directly with both the Registrar, Dr. Stephens, and the Bursar, Sally Cooper.

Students may register in person, or by telephone, Fax or email, or at our Open House on Friday, September 9 and Saturday, September 10, 2011. Early registration is recommended. Most courses meet for a two-hour group discussion once each week with the reading done beforehand. For the first session, readings are handed out in class, and participants are given time to read them before the discussion gets under way. Students are welcome to try out the first session of any course, unless the course is fully enrolled.

COURSE FEES:
Fees for courses (unless specifically noted otherwise in the course description):

Fees are payable in full by the third week of classes. Acceptable forms of payment include cash, personal cheque, money order, Visa or MasterCard. Refunds of course fees (less $25.00 administration charge) must be applied for before the third session. Non-attendance does not constitute a withdrawal.

Receipts for adult student fees of $100 and over are accepted by Ottawa and Quebec income tax offices. Students must ask for the receipt from the Bursar.

24 session courses estimated $65.00*
12 session courses estimated $35.00*

* On occasion this estimated figure may be exceeded.

It is understood that the readings fee will be paid at the same time as the course fee. Books are purchased separately.

BOOKS:
It is recommended that students buy their own books, either on-line or through local bookstores. If some books are difficult to obtain, the Institute will purchase them for the students. In each course, reading lists will be provided the first week, to identify the core books.

BURSARIES:
For a single year, a person who may be experiencing financial difficulties may apply for a reduced fee (written statement required). However, it is understood that all fees for readings have to be paid in full. Please consult the Registrar, Dr. Heather Stephens.

LEARNING IS A DYNAMIC PROCESS

“ The teacher, as has been recognized at least since Plato’s Meno, is not primarily someone who knows, instructing someone who does not know. He is rather someone who attempts to re-create the subject in the student’s mind, and his strategy in doing this is first of all to get the student to recognize what he already potentially knows…. That is why it is the teacher, rather than the student, who asks most of the questions.”
The Great Code Northrop Frye

The learning process at TMI is a collaborative one. Individuals working for a degree or certificate find themselves in courses beside participants with different aims and backgrounds. Some of the participants may have already earned a university degree. It is the mix of motivations and experience that makes each group unique and stimulating.

All students are encouraged to do the writing assignments of a course, whether or not they are working for the B.A. degree, or for a Certificate. Students are warmly invited to consult a leader about undertaking the writings or about overcoming difficulties in reading or studying. To express in writing what one has come to understand is a further step in appropriating one’s own learning; the act of writing leads to the discovery of what one thinks and to the deepening of one’s capacity to articulate what one knows.

When individuals are absent, their contribution to the class is missed. The current policy at TMI is to distribute readings one week before they are discussed. Students who are absent are expected to pick up readings before the next session. Generally a class will not be cancelled even in bad weather.

A selection committee, composed of academics, Catherine’s family, and fund secretary Patricia Sikender has been struck to appoint recipients of the Catherine Gleason Lifelong Learning Award to honour Catherine’s 50 years of study at TMI. These annual scholarships will support a deserving degree student’s tuition and reading fees.
To apply contact Dr. Heather Stephens.