Description
Cleveland State University recognizes that changes in the economy and in society require more women to have higher education. Women today are recognizing higher education to be the critical difference between a job and a career, or flexibility for home and family. Cleveland State's Women's Comprehensive Program (WCP) is a university unit established to promote Women's Studies courses for all students, to increase enrollment, to address concerns of female students, and to increase the number of college educated adults in the state of Ohio. Comprehensive by design, WCP focuses on academic courses, services to students, and outreach to under-represented categories of women--including the woman who, after a few or many years away, must now return to school. By integrating the concerns of and for female students into all aspects of university life, WCP systematically provides an equitable higher education experience, from recruitment to course development through exit counseling, for Cleveland State's present and potential female students.
Women are particularly encouraged to make career choices with care, since career sequences in our current economy require transferable skills, critical and analytical thinking, and the ability to synthesize information from more than one perspective. WCP (1) promotes interdisciplinary study through Women's Studies—the academic discipline recognizing gender roles as a fundamental part of the knowledge base, (2) administers the university's major and minor in Women's Studies, (3) coordinates course offerings, and (4) assists with the development of new courses. Program personnel work with students so that they gain exposure to a wide range of disciplines and professions.
Note: most Women's Studies courses are applicable to, or augment, many major fields, and do fulfill some university general education requirements as indicated in course listings. Courses are open to all students. Descriptions are listed in the Course Description section of this catalog. Requirements for the major and minor in Women's Studies are listed under College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
There is a Re-Entry Women's Project designed to address the needs of the increasing number of adult female students whose educational goals have been deferred or delayed. Because women must frequently return to school amid a range of continuing commitments and claims upon their time and resources, Outreach Programs are held throughout the year in an informal setting to help facilitate the re-entry process. Staff and former re-entry women, sensitive to the special concerns of women returning to school, aid in peer support and retention.
The Women's Comprehensive Program advances the university's mission by providing all students with an accurate, balanced view of the contemporary urban society in which they will serve. For further information, contact the Women's Comprehensive Program, (216) 687-4674, Main Classroom Plaza 142.
A background in Women's Studies can provide an advantage in career opportunities and advancement, inasmuch as the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau projects women to be 47% of the workforce by 2012 with more jobs requiring college education.