Mar 19, 2024  
Mansfield University 2007-2008 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
Mansfield University 2007-2008 Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

History & Information


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History

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Mansfield University traces its heritage back to 1857, when the Mansfield Classical Seminary opened. In 1862, Mansfield became a state normal school. In 1927, it became Mansfield State Teachers College, and in 1960, it broadened its degree offerings and became Mansfield State College. In 1983, it became Mansfield University. As a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, Mansfield combines the best qualities of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a comprehensive university.

MU Facts

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The campus consists of 174 acres and 39 buildings; multiple recreation areas, tennis courts, and playing fields; an indoor swimming pool, three auditoriums, a state-of-the-art library, a new fitness center, a new student union, and a new child care center.

Student Enrollment

3360 enrolled in the fall of 2006: 2,746 full-time and 614 part-time; 2160 female, 1,200 male. Students come from 28 states and 20 foreign countries.

Student-Faculty Ratio

The ratio is 18:1. Approximately 67% of our classes have fewer than 30 students; 42% have fewer than 20 students; and only 7% have 50 or more students.

Student Financial Aid

More than 89% of undergraduate students receive financial assistance in some form. This includes federal, state, and institutional grants; a variety of loans and employment.

Faculty

We have 162 full-time faculty; 26% of these are full professors and more than 80% have Ph.D.s or other terminal degrees.

Programs of Study

We offer 7 two-year associate degree programs, 42 four-year baccalaureate programs in the liberal arts and professional studies, and 9 master’s degree programs. We also offer 63 minors.

Special Options

We offer multiple majors, a self-developed major, an honors program, internships, independent studies, individualized instructions, and study abroad opportunities.

College Financial Data:

Our physical plant has a value of $70,000,000 and our 2004-2005 operating budget was approximately $52,000,000.

Accreditation

The principal accrediting agencies for Mansfield University undergraduate programs are:

The Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
The National Association of Schools of Music
The National Association for Music Therapy
The Council on Social Work Education
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs (CAAHEP)
The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission
JRC Joint Review Commission on Education in Radiologic Technology - Radiology - 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 900, Chicago IL 60606-2901
The National Accreditation Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences
Commission on Accreditation/Approval for Dietetics Association

Location

With a population of 4,000, Mansfield borough is located in the mountains of Northern Central Pennsylvania at the intersection of U.S. 15 and U.S. 6. It is an area noted for its quality of life, safety, and numerous recreational opportunities. The university is 50 miles north of Williamsport, PA and 30 miles south of Corning, NY. Driving time from: Harrisburg, PA, 3 hours; Scranton, PA, 2 hours; Buffalo, NY, 3 hours; Binghamton, NY, 2 hours; Philadelphia, PA, 4 hours; Pittsburgh, PA, 5 hours; New York City, 5 hours. Daily bus service, north and south, connects all points in the northeast U.S.

Region

The natural environment of the area provides numerous opportunities for outdoor recreation. These include hunting, fishing, skiing, camping, hiking, and water sports. The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, located approximately 20 miles from our campus, and other local sate parks provide many recreational opportunities for our students. Cultural attractions include the Clemens Center of Performing Arts in Elmira, NY; Corning Museum of Glass and Rockwell Museum of Western Art in Corning, NY.

Cultural Activities

We offer a variety of cultural activities during the academic year. The Faculty Lecture and Film Series, Women’s Art and Culture Week, and Global Issues Week are traditions at Mansfield, as well as recitals by music faculty and students throughout the year. Fiction and poetry readings as well as other cultural activities round out the University’s cultural opportunities.

Library Facilities

Mansfield University has one of the newest and most electronically advanced libraries in the United States. The renovated six-story North Hall provides an elegant 19th century setting where you can access information from around the world through our computers and links to the Internet.

Residence Halls

Four residence halls house approximately 1,800 students. Housing options include wellness floors, travel floors, 24-hour quiet areas, all smoke-free, and one building which houses females only.

Calendar

Our regular academic calendar consists of a fall semester which ends before Christmas and a spring semester ending in early May. We also offer three summer sessions from May through August.

Mission Statement

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Mansfield University is dedicated to providing an environment that promotes academic and personal growth as well as intellectual, ethical, and aesthetic values. The University serves the region, state, national and international communities by developing human and material resources. The University is committed to stimulating continuous pursuit of knowledge and understanding by students, staff, and faculty. To accomplish this mission, Mansfield University pledges:

  • To provide a liberal education for all its students.
  • To prepare students for full and purposeful lives through undergraduate and graduate instruction in liberal arts and professional programs.
  • To plan, develop, implement, and measure its efforts in providing optimum learning opportunities for students of a variety of ages, backgrounds, and needs.
  • To promote affirmative action and equal opportunity.
  • To maintain a faculty dedicated to teaching and scholarship.
  • To cooperate with other educational institutions for the achievement of mutual goals.
  • To provide educational and cultural programs to the general community.
  • To offer expertise in public service activities.

The Mansfield Creed

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At Mansfield University, we develop leaders. We accomplish this by focusing on the four core values that have been our tradition since 191 2: Character, Scholarship, Culture, and Service.

Character

We believe in integrity. We act with honesty and respect toward others. We take responsibility for our actions and reflect on their impact on ourselves and others.

Scholarship

We believe in learning. We use rigorous, responsible, and critical inquiry to understand existing knowledge, acquire and share new knowledge, and apply what we learn. Each of us is both student and teacher.

Culture

We believe in celebrating humanity. We enrich ourselves and others by sharing and exploring our similarities and differences. We honor the past as we invent the future.

Service

We believe in helping others. We work with others to improve the communities in which we now live and will touch in the future. Knowledge invests us with the power to improve our world and the responsibility to act.

Approved by Mansfield University’s Cabinet June 8, 2004

In 1912, our Mansfield University student body first adopted the above values, emphasizing their order: “Character as the essential, Scholarship as the means, Culture as the enrichment, and Service as the end of all worthy endeavor.” The current revision of the creed was developed by the Leadership Group of the Focus on Learning Forum and recommended to the Cabinet by the members of the Learning Forum.

Statement of Diversity

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Graduates of Mansfield University participate in a world that has been enriched by knowledge, insights, and traditions of diverse peoples who live and work together. An academic community that values diversity by words and actions provides the best environment in which students can learn the social skills necessary to participate and flourish in our multi-cultural environment.

The Mansfield University Council of Trustees reaffirms the purpose of Mansfield University, as stated by President Simon B. Elliot in 1912, to strive to make education universal; that the rich and the poor, the child of those who have power and place, and of those who tread the lowly paths of life, shall receive alike the blessings of education∧ invite equally and alike, without distinction of sex, or color, or race, or creed, or party, the children of all who may desire to participate in the opportunities here offered. That is the highest purpose for which Mansfield may be praised.

 

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