Important Information from your Student Handbook

The Concentration Proposal

Pages referenced here can be found in the Student Handbook.

If you are pursuing a baccalaureate degree, you must prepare a two-part proposal and essay for faculty approval that describes how you will fulfill the credit requirements for a concentration. Typically, you are expected to submit the proposal once you have completed 60 credits plus the writing requirement (6 credits in English composition).

Proposals are sent to faculty mid-month, every month. You should submit your proposal at least two weeks before then to allow for time to make any changes recommended by your counselor. If you matriculated prior to October 1, 2002 you also must submit the Concentration Proposal Review Fee at this time. The faculty requires a minimum of two weeks to review proposals. Concentration proposals in the fields of Business Administration, History and Humanities, and Behavioral Sciences and Health Studies are reviewed by one faculty member. Two faculty members review proposals in areas of Math, Science and Technology, and proposals in Individualized and Liberal Studies are reviewed by at least two faculty members. There must be unanimous approval among faculty reviewers in order for the proposal to be accepted. Your counselor will notify you about the outcome of the review.

Be sure to plan ahead: Don't wait until you are ready to graduate to submit your proposal. Faculty may require that you to take another course or revise the essay, so you need to give yourself plenty of time. Until the proposal receives faculty approval, there is no guarantee that the proposed credits can be applied toward the concentration so it is in your best interest to receive approval as soon as possible.

The presentation of your concentration and essay is a major step in the process of earning a bachelor's degree at Charter Oak State College. The purpose of the proposal is to establish an agreement with faculty for fulfillment of the concentration requirements for your degree. As an external degree student, you do not have the opportunity to meet and discuss your degree candidacy with faculty as you might on a conventional campus, so the essay portion of the proposal is the vehicle through which you communicate your concentration plan and explain its elements and how they fit together.

Your counselor will help you decide ways to fulfill the credit requirements of the concentrations that are described in the Student Handbook, but you must write the essay portion of the proposal yourself. Your counselor will review your essay once and may make recommendations for ways to improve the essay before submitting it for faculty review; but he or she will not act as an editor. For help with writing, try http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/.

When you are ready to propose a concentration, you will prepare the material according to the directions on the Concentration Proposal form. You may request approval for changes in your concentration at any time, at no additional cost, by submitting the appropriate paperwork that is forwarded to faculty on the 15th of the month. If you should have to withdraw from Charter Oak for more than one year, you will have to resubmit your proposal for faculty review upon reinstatement into Charter Oak.

Writing The Concentration Proposal Essay

The essay is the key element of the proposal. Faculty wants to be sure that Charter Oak State College graduates can communicate their ideas in writing. It is through the essay that you convince the faculty reviewers that your concentration is more than a collection of assorted credits. The essay allows you to explain how the various credits in your proposed concentration relate to one another and to your educational needs and personal and/or professional goals. A carefully crafted essay will insure that your initiative, creativity and experience are recognized and rewarded through acceptance of your proposal.

The essay for Individualized Studies and Liberal Arts concentrations should be between 750 and 1500 words (3-5 pages) in length. The essay for other concentrations should be between 500 and 750 words (2-3 pages) in length. All essays should be word processed or typewritten, double-spaced, and should address the following issues:

Your reason(s) for pursuing a degree;

1. The knowledge you have acquired or expect to acquire through your concentration;
2. How and why the credits in your concentration fit together to form a strong program or meet the concentration outcomes; and
3. How this learning will be or has been useful to you in meeting your needs and goals.

A proper essay is well organized and grammatically correct with no typographical errors. It is not merely a list of the subjects you wish to include in the concentration but, rather, a discussion of why they fit together and make sense for your own needs and goals.

To help you with the process of composing the essay, we have provided examples of essays that have been approved by faculty as well as examples of those that have been rejected (see Student Handbook). We have also included a list of resources, such as websites and texts, which will be helpful (see Student Handbook). Finally, we urge you to use the checklist below. Be sure you have addressed all the items before submitting your essay.