II. Academic Advising
The three main parts of a Guilford education are the critical bases (or general education), a major area of study, and the Collaborative Quest. Ideally, all three parts are integrated into the students academic experience and allow them to realize and pursue their own interests.
i. General Education (Critical Bases + Collaborative Quest)
All students, regardless of their intended major, need to complete curriculum requirements (pictured in the previous section) in order to successfully graduate from Guilford College. First year students should begin fulfilling these requirements as early as their first semester.
Information on the Critical Bases in the catalog can be found here.
Information on the Collaborative Quest in the catalog can be found here.
My Collaborative Quest & Career, Academic, and Personal Exploration
The CQ is a hallmark component of a student’s Guilford education. It consists of a series of inquiry-based courses and experiences that provide space for curiosity, exploration, and reflection. The program offers a unique opportunity for students to merge academic and personal inquiry into an individual or cooperative project through collaboration with fellow students, faculty and staff, and/or members of broader local or global communities.
Through the CQ, students will:
- Develop an awareness of who they are as a learner and in the academic community of Guilford.
- Engage in continuous reflection on their academic growth as it relates to their curiosity and future goals.
- Produce a project (the Contribution) that integrates their learning, insights, values, and questions.
- Develop skills for collaborating with others to achieve group and individual goals.
- Develop skills for communicating their work in small groups and with larger audiences.
- Demonstrate a commitment to ongoing, self-motivated pursuit of knowledge.
MYCQ 100 Initiate
Students begin their Collaborative Quest with a single class in the first 3-week term, “Initiate.” Initiate is taught in interdisciplinary teams of faculty and staff. This class places emphasis on building community, acclimating to Guilford, expectations of college, project-based learning, and developing skills for communication and collaboration. It centers around the questions “who are we” and “what does it mean to be curious.” CAPE Advisors begin working with students during Initiate.
MYCQ 101 Reflection Seminar I
Students who start in Initiate during the 3-week session of their first semester stay with their cohort as they move to RS1 in the subsequent 12-week term. RS1 encourages students to think about who they are as individuals, their goals, and majors that are best suited for them. Students grow awareness of themselves as learners and in the Guilford community, they identify topics of interest (i.e. identify their curiosities), and create an integrated academic plan of resources, classes, and co-curricular experiences to explore these topics. Students also learn how to use Banner for degree planning.
MYCQ 201 Reflection Seminar II
RSII is typically taken during a student’s junior year. Transfer students are typically advised to begin in RS2 and move through the Collaborative Quest more quickly. Students reflect on and integrate learning across curricular and co-curricular experiences. They will identify their Explore courses (related to their intellectual curiosities and/or Contribution project) and make plans for the Apply course and Contribution project.
*NOTE: Students who have already taken RSII will be taking RSIII during the 2022-23 academic year. After this year all students will take RSII.
MYCQ 301 Reflection Seminar III
RS3 is a two credit course that students typically take in their junior year. Students reflect on and integrate learning across curricular and co-curricular experiences. They will identify their Explore courses (related to their intellectual curiosities and/or Contribution project) and make plans for the Apply course and Contribution project.
**NOTE: RS3 will be offered through Spring 2023. After that semester students will take a total of two Reflection Seminar classes, RS1 and RS2.
MYCQ 401 Apply
Apply is the last course in the CQ and is worth four credits. Students typically take Apply during their senior year (MYCQ 401 Apply or an approved designated option). Students produce a contribution project in this course and present it to the public. They also reflect on the CQ experience depending on their Contribution needs and other course requirements. The focus of Apply is completing the Contribution project and reflecting on the CQ as a whole.
Contribution Project
The Contribution requires students nearing the end of their degree program to complete a project addressing a question or problem that applies what they’ve learned and reflected on through their entire educational experience. The project might be a research paper, a performance, a portfolio of “signature work,” an exhibition of artwork, significant community service, or a project of similar scope. Students do not develop their Contribution in a silo, but with groundwork that is firmly rooted in the exchanges that occurred in a collaborative community with fellow students, faculty and staff, and/or members of broader local or global communities.
Additional information on the Collaborative Quest are available in the College Catalog (linked above). Resources can be found on a Collaborative Quest Canvas course available to all faculty. The CQ Advising Guidance and links to approved CQ course designations also provide important information for academic advisors.
Contact Stephanie Hudson, cq@guilford.edu if you have questions.
ii. Academic Programs and Major Advising
Guilford College has over 45 academic programs to choose from. Each of these majors is detailed in the catalog with graduation requirements (credit hours, internships, specific core courses to take, prerequisites, etc.).
Information on each program can be found here.
iii. Degree Maps for Majors
Degree maps help advisers and students understand what courses are required for general education, as well as for their specific major of choice. These are being developed in Guided Discovery with consultation from each department. Here is a template of what each degree map will look like: Degree Map Template. Faculty should notify guideddiscovery@guilford.edu with any necessary updates.
These degree maps are also publicly available on our Intranet page.