According to a school representative, The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, a public liberal arts college, takes a distinctive approach to teaching and learning that sets it apart from most other colleges and universities. Coordinated, team-taught, interdisciplinary programs--combining a range of topics around a central theme--replace disconnected courses. Faculty members write narrative evaluations to assess student work, rather than reducing performance and progress to a letter grade. The curriculum promotes engagement and collaboration, rather than competition. Students have the freedom, and accountability, to shape their education to meet their personal and career goals, without the limits or rigid requirements of formalized majors. The curriculum is redesigned every year to provide relevant and engaging academic choices, and upper division students can propose individual learning contracts to further customize their learning experience. While in many ways Evergreen breaks the mold of traditional higher education--and in doing so opens up opportunities for students with a wide range of learning styles and career goals--the college delivers a high level of academic rigor. Evergreen students spend more time analyzing and synthesizing information instead of simply memorizing; spend more time working with other students on projects or assignments; and are more likely to be encouraged to attend events that address important social, economic and political issues than students at peer institutions. Students have access to specialized media and scientific equipment often reserved for graduate students at other institutions as well as opportunities for research, hands-on field study, community service, internships and study abroad. As a public liberal arts college, Evergreen offers the small class size and personal attention of a private university at a public college price. The college is located in the vibrant state capital of Olympia. The city has a scenic waterfront on Puget Sound, an active performing arts center, and an eclectic variety of shops, restaurants, galleries, microbreweries and coffee houses. Beyond Olympia, students can easily access the urban life of Seattle, Washington or Portland, Oregon or the recreational opportunities of the Pacific Ocean, Mount Rainier and the Olympic National Park, all within a one- to two-hour drive. Evergreens forested 1,000-acre campus is used as a living laboratory. It features a half-mile of saltwater beach on Puget Sound, a Native American longhouse, an organic farm, and award winning, environmentally-friendly architecture. With a strong commitment to sustainability in operations, curriculum and policy, Evergreen has been noted as one of the nations top green colleges. The vast majority of Evergreens 4000 students are undergraduates. The college offers dozens of fields of study--from social sciences, arts and humanities to natural and physical sciences--and encourages students to work across academic disciplines to create their own customized educational paths. The college also offers graduate programs in environmental studies, public administration (including a distinctive tribal concentration), and teaching.

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