Shimer College

Filing Period

Jul 1, 2010 to Jun 30, 2011

Signed

May 15, 2012

Return Version

2010v3.4

Gross Receipts

$5,549,483

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

Weekend Program: The Weekend Program meets every third weekend in Chicago and offers adult students the opportunity to pursue a first rate liberal arts education.Weekend students bring their varied life experience as business owners, homemakers, salespersons, carpenters, social workers, artists, writers and more to the octagonal tables around which Shimer's discussion classes convene. Together, people from all walks of life gather to read and discuss the most influential writings by the greatest minds in history.This is an ideal program for returning adult students: there is little disruption to their weekly schedule, but every third weekend brings an immersion in the experience of being not just a student, but a scholar among scholars. There are no lectures at Shimer, only facilitation of discussion, and students absorb the experiences and wisdom of their fellow students. Weekend program students live the college life one weekend in three. They come to class, share meals with their peers, and enjoy a break from their weekday responsibilities.The Core Curriculum immerses students in the major works, questions, and methods of the Western intellectual tradition, and accounts for about two-thirds of the coursework. The other third consists of elective courses that offer in-depth study in a particular subject or field. The discussion of primary texts, in classes of 12 students or fewer, offers a unique environment for intellectual and personal growth, and fosters engaged, independent, and careful thinkers.The Core consists of required classes in:-Humanities-Natural Sciences-Social Sciences-Integrative StudiesWeekend Program student enrollment was 9 students.

Activity 3

Shimer-in-Oxford Program:For more than forty years, Shimer College has offered an academic study abroad program in Oxford, England, which students can apply to in their third or fourth year. Students in the Shimer-in-Oxford Program take at least one core course each semester with a Shimer faculty member who also serves as the Program Director. Like all students at Oxford, Shimer students also take traditional tutorials, which allow them to pursue their individual interests in one-on-one weekly meetings with respected academics from the Oxford area. Tutorials are held in one of Oxford's colleges, the tutor's home, or, occasionally, in a nearby pub. In recent years tutorial subjects have included the following:Post-Modern PhilosophyEvolutionary BiologyPrinciples of Architecture Modernism and the CinemaHistory of Banking Post-Colonial LiteratureImmanuel KantAlchemyGnostic GospelsEastern ReligionsFiction Writing Celtic MythologyVoiceCognitive PsychologyFrenchPhotographyItalian Medieval Literature Shakespeare TolkienMiddle Eastern PoliticsGreek Drama Students enrolled in the program have access to local libraries, attend lectures on English history and culture, tour historic Oxford, and enjoy informal aspects of student life in Oxford. Besides academic work, many students spend time touring England and the Continent. Regular activities have included a play at Stratford-upon-Avon, a tour of London museums and the Houses of Parliament, and visits to Bath, Stonehenge, Warwick, and Windsor Castle.In recent years, Shimer has been affiliated with the Oxford Study Abroad Programme (OSAP) which allows Shimer students to share housing with students from other American colleges and from Oxford University. All students' apartments are fully furnished and include telephone, television, and computers with internet access.The Shimer-in-Oxford Program allows students a remarkable opportunity to pursue their individual academic interests within the incomparable atmosphere of Oxford University, an atmosphere that has fostered academic excellence for thousands of years.There were 11 students in this program. The Oxford Program runs every other year.

Filer

EIN

36-2167921