Frequently Asked Questions about Winter Term

What is Winter Term?

What is the Winter Term Credit Requirement?

How are Winter Term credits earned?
Are Winter Term credits same as academic credits?

Are there various types of Winter Term projects?

How do I decide on a Winter Term project?
What are the basic options for a Winter Term project?

What are the Winter Term deadlines I need to remember?

Are there any special Winter Term fees?

What can I do if I'm going on an academic leave of absence and I cannot complete a  Winter Term project during the month of January?

Where can I find more information or ask for help?

What is Winter Term?
The purpose of Winter Term, the month of January, is to enable a student to complete an educational project of his or her choice, either individually or as part of a group. Projects are proposed by faculty and occasionally by administrative and professional staff members or alumni, or a student may propose his or her own. Projects may be completed on or off campus. Whatever a student decides, Winter Term allows a full-time self-directed commitment to pursue educational goals.

What is the Winter Term Credit Requirement?
•  In order to graduate from Oberlin, students pursuing a bachelor's degree are required to earn three full Winter Term credits.
•  Transfer students must earn one credit in each Winter Term during their enrollment at Oberlin, unless this would result in more than three credits.  

How are Winter Term credits earned?
•  Credits are earned by completing a project, either individually or as part of a group.   Individual projects require a written proposal, final report and a positive assessment of the project by the sponsor. Winter Term projects are evaluated as "completed" (Y) or "not completed" (N); no letter grades are given.
•  Winter Term projects are rated as half or full. Students may participate in one half, two halves, or one full project each Winter Term.
•  The time commitment for a half-time project is three hours per weekday; the commitment for a full-time project is five to six hours per weekday.
•  The required three credits may be earned on or off campus, in any combination.

Are Winter Term credits same as academic credits?
•  Winter Term credits are not the same as semester credit hours, i.e., the Winter Term credits are not included in the required 112 Arts and Sciences, 124 Conservatory or 152 Double-Degree semester hours.
•  A student registered for Winter Term credit may not be paid for work associated with his/her project.

Are there various types of Winter Term projects?

The College's expectation is that all Winter Term projects are relevant, rigorous, experiential, and educationally rewarding. It is important for a student to begin thinking early in the semester about possible projects, and to consult as much as the student wishes with faculty members.

According to a recently approved change in Winter Term policy, students who matriculated prior to Fall 2007 may propose Winter Term projects from one of the following categories:

   1. Academic Study: a faculty-sponsored, academically-focused research, study, or performance project that can be conducted on- or off-campus, individually or as part of a group project.

   2. Field Experience: a learning activity that could include career exploration, social or political action, community service, or an unpaid internship.

   3. Personal Growth and Development: an opportunity to learn a skill, try something new, or pursue subject matter outside of traditional academic disciplines.

Only one full project (or two half projects) may be earned from category three. All three Winter Term credits may be earned from categories one and two. You and your sponsor together must determine the most appropriate category for a proposed project.

Students matriculating Fall 2007 and later do not have to specify a category for their Winter Term project. These students are expected to complete Winter Term projects that are academically relevant, rigorous, experiential, and educationally rewarding. Viable projects are those that involve academic study and/or field experience, as well as experiential learning—including internships and community service. Your advisor and/or your project sponsor will help you propose a Winter Term project that meets these goals.

How do I decide on a Winter Term project?
You should meet with a potential sponsor in late October or early November (during advising appointments prior to registration for the Spring semester) to discuss Winter Term plans. Your academic advisor may be a suitable sponsor, or if not, he/she may be able to suggest others. Here are some general thoughts to help you get started. During Winter Term, you might:

•  pursue a subject related to a first-semester course
•  work with a particular faculty member
•  study a musical instrument
•  take an intensive foreign language course
•  explore a potential career field through an internship
•  volunteer with a community group
•  participate in a theatrical or musical production
•  explore a field of inquiry that is new to the student

What are the basic options for a Winter Term project?
You have two choices, the first of which is recommended if this is your first Winter Term:

1. Join a publicized (group or individual) project. This is a two-step process, in most cases not requiring a separate proposal form. The steps are (1) sign up with the sponsor, and (2) submit a completed registration card to the Office of the Registrar. Both steps are required.
2. Propose an individual project. In this case, you must follow all required steps:

find  an interested faculty sponsor, propose a project on the appropriate form, obtain   approval from the sponsor, and submit a completed registration card to the Office of the Registrar.

What are the Winter Term deadlines I need to remember?
Deadlines change slightly every year - check the Winter Term website for updated deadlines at the beginning of each academic year.   

The most important deadlines for Winter Term 2009 are:

•  The last day to register for WT 2009 is Friday, December 5, 2008. Registration cards must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar (Carnegie 124). No late registration cards will be accepted.

•  Winter Term starts on January 2, 2009 and ends on January 27, 2009.

•  The last day to submit changes to your WT project information is January 16, 2009.  

•  The last day to submit your individual project report to your sponsor is February 6, 2009.

•  The last day to change the WT credit from ‘Full' to ‘Half' or to change the title of your WT project is February 6, 2009.

Are there any special Winter Term fees?
There are no additional tuition or room fees for Winter Term. Student may purchase (or use their OCID cards to charge) individual meals at Stevenson during Winter Term. Students may also use remaining flex dollars to purchase meals at Stevenson.

Some on-campus projects may require a fee from each student participant to help defray expenses. Remember: A student registered for Winter Term credit may not be paid for work associated with his/her project.

What can I do if I'm going on an academic leave of absence and I cannot complete a Winter Term project during the month of January?
Students who plan to take an academic leave of absence for an entire academic year should plan to complete their three WT projects during each of the three years in residence, since they may not register for Winter Term while on leave for the entire year. Students on leave for one semester may register for Winter Term if their studies elsewhere do not overlap with Winter Term.  

Under a very limited set of circumstances, an Arts and Sciences student may request permission to complete a winter-term type project during the summer. Such authorization is very rare and can only be granted by the Office of the Dean of Studies (for students in the College of Arts and Sciences) or by the Office of the Conservatory Associate Dean (for students in the Conservatory).

Where can I find more information or ask for help?
•  Visit the Winter Term Fair, Monday, October 27, 2008, 7-9 p.m. in Philips Physical Education Center.
•  Visit the Winter Term website for comprehensive updated information and downloadable forms.
•  Talk to your academic advisor(s) about project ideas and possible sponsors.
•  Contact the Office of the Dean of Studies (for students in the College of Arts and Sciences) or the Office of the Conservatory Associate Dean (for students in the Conservatory) if you have specific questions about the Winter Term requirements.  
•  Contact the Office of Career Services if you are interested in Winter Term internship opportunities. The deadline for Winter Term internships through this office is November 9, 2008.
•  Contact the Bonner Center for Service and Learning for information about community service projects.

•  Contact Donna Young, administrative assistant for the Winter Term Committee (Peters 205) if you have general questions or need paper copies of forms.