Page 31 - ssr_16

CRITERION I

CURRICULAR ASPECTS

St. Joseph‘s College is a minority Roman Catholic institution run by the Bangalore
Jesuit Educational Society (BJES). The institution was founded in 1882 and was
eventually affiliated to Bangalore University. The College was granted academic
autonomy in the year 2005 concomitant with its affiliation to Bangalore University.
These facts are important in terms of placing in context the special focus that various
aspects of curriculum design and innovation receive in the institution.

1.1. CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
As a Jesuit institution, the College values academic and human excellence equally and
our focus on the curriculum derives much of its character from this goal. The
institution is committed to using the valuable academic freedom granted under
autonomy towards furthering this concern. This translates into a sustained
engagement with developing a curriculum that offers the student a truly
transformative experience.

1.1.1. How are the institutional vision / mission reflected in the academic
programs of the College?

 The institutional vision is an articulation of its motto, ‗Faith and Toil‘.
 The Vision of the College is to prepare men and women for the service of their
fellow-citizens, especially the poor and the oppressed.
 This Vision receives further elaboration in our Mission statement which reads, ―St.
Joseph‘s College seeks to create men and women who will be agents of change,
committed to the creation of a society that is just, secular and democratic. The
education we offer is therefore oriented towards enabling our students to strive for
both academic and human excellence. The College pursues academic excellence by
providing a learning environment that constantly challenges the students and supports
the ethic of intellectual curiosity and ceaseless enquiry. We promote human
excellence through courses and activities that help students achieve personal integrity
and nonscientist them to injustice prevalent in society‖.
 The Jesuit ideal of cura personalis, or care of the whole person drives the
institution‘s initiatives. We do not see our students as automatons who must be
outfitted to join a work-force but as whole individuals who will need to withstand a
variety of challenges in life and work. Our academic programs focus on excellence in
the form of a commitment to lifelong learning rather than through a focus limited to
examination success. The College focuses equally on developing a sense of social
concern among the students, through an active engagement with social causes at local,
state and national levels.
 College is committed to the idea of education as a preferential option for the poor
and the marginalized and applies this idea rigorously in terms of student intake. It is
also committed to providing the academic and motivational support that students from
the margins will require.
 This emphasis on student diversity ensures that each classroom is a cross-section of
the republic and offers our students and teachers a substantive, continuing

30