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acquaintance with a variety of life experiences. Their education in the ideal of
fraternity, which makes possible the other democratic ideals of liberty and equality,
begins in the classroom. This engagement continues into formal and academic
processes.
The orientation program, held every year, has discussions on the College‘s ideals.
The academic programs strive to go beyond a limited ethic of success through
competition and focuses instead on learning by doing, often calling on students to
learn cooperation and team-work. Many of our programs feature a sustained rather
than cosmetic focus on ethical practice. Learning does not stop at the classroom but
takes concrete form in outreach and social engagement.
St. Joseph‘s College strives to maintain a continuum of learning: the student is
provided an atmosphere of challenge and stimulation that begins with the curriculum
and extends into co-curricular learning and extra-curricular learning. This is reflected
in the strong network of co-curricular and extra-curricular fora - 52 in all - within the
institution‘s departments.
The Jesuit ideal of cura personalis thus extends to character-formation of our
students. College provides opportunities to students for such a formation through self-
discipline, hard work, perseverance, honesty, integrity and sensitivity to others. The
Josephite formed thus is capable of moving effectively past barriers of language,
religion and caste into responsible citizenship.
1.1.2. Describe the mechanism used in the design and development of the
curriculum? Give details on the process. (Need Assessment, Feedback, etc.)
It is with the conferral of autonomy in 2005 that College came into its own in terms of
designing a sustainable curriculum.
The initiatives begun then have, over the last eleven years, developed into well-
honed mechanisms that promote critical self-examination and insight. We have
developed a culture of conversation around our courses that draw on feedback from
teachers, students, their parents, alumni and industry representatives about course
experiences and outcomes. These conversations also go a long way in driving the
planning and commissioning of new courses. This endeavour is what makes the
institution relevant to the times and a transformative influence on its students.
Our departments are encouraged to pay equal attention to the framing of a syllabus
as they are towards thinking actively about the curriculum. They enjoy freedom at the
departmental level to develop and make changes . This encouragement takes the form
of regular staff interactions at the beginning of each semester with activities such as a
SWOC analysis that allow us to look at the big picture while paying close attention to
finer details.
Departments are encouraged to reflect on the experiences of each semester, and out
of this feedback from the teachers involved comes the basis for the annual Board of
Studies (BOS) meetings where the syllabus is formally examined in terms of teaching
and testing, and in terms of broader concerns like relevance and equipping the student
for a life in the academic discipline.
There have been trend setter departments that have set up alternative syllabi by
reading the gap in the fields that they are involved in.
Need assessment -- trends such as enquiries about new courses in College or interest
in a particular course in the city or at the national level sets in motion the idea that
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