2008 Woodie Awards
The evolution of Jan Plan
Chelsea Eakin
Issue date: 3/16/07 Section: News & Features
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An [Echo] editorial written in January of 1990 concluded that "JanPlan, it seems, is being allowed to die a slow death. As it was intended, JanPlan is an indispensable part of a Colby education. But, if we can't make JanPlan more worthwhile, we should just extend winter break and stay home."
Seventeen years later, the January program remains and continues to be advertised as an indispensable part of the Colby education-a month that allows students to pursue an interest in-depth, travel abroad, or gain valuable job experience through an internship. While it is indeed possible to use the month of January as a time for intense study, it seems as though it is also possible to use it as an excuse to do the exact opposite. The '90 editorial said that many courses offered on campus are unchallenging and unstimulating. It said that many students see January as a perfect time to ski every day, fine tune their technique at Super Mario Brothers and set new alcohol consumption records.
"Some students have monumental amounts of work, and some are taking a class they should have taken freshman year - there is such a huge range," Director of Student Activities Kelly Wharton said in a recent interview. A few years ago, the Student Activities Office started a program called JanPlan Inspirations, in part to provide workshops for students to participate in during their extra time. The program was designed to allow students to walk away from January with more than just the class they took, but also with life-building skills.
While some people spend the month working a challenging nine-to-five internship, others sign up to take music lessons that meet for one or two hours each week. With such an array of possibilities, it seems as though the intention behind the January term is up to personal interpretation.
Some History
Since its introduction in 1961, JanPlan has evolved as a program. As it was originally intended, the program was designed to offer students time free from the demands of a normal course load to pursue independent projects outside of the content of the regular semester curriculum, Dean of Faculty Ed Yeterian said. It allowed students time to explore a topic they may not have normally had time to explore, something outside of their major or minor. The program was called January Program of Independent Study to emphasize this point.
Seventeen years later, the January program remains and continues to be advertised as an indispensable part of the Colby education-a month that allows students to pursue an interest in-depth, travel abroad, or gain valuable job experience through an internship. While it is indeed possible to use the month of January as a time for intense study, it seems as though it is also possible to use it as an excuse to do the exact opposite. The '90 editorial said that many courses offered on campus are unchallenging and unstimulating. It said that many students see January as a perfect time to ski every day, fine tune their technique at Super Mario Brothers and set new alcohol consumption records.
"Some students have monumental amounts of work, and some are taking a class they should have taken freshman year - there is such a huge range," Director of Student Activities Kelly Wharton said in a recent interview. A few years ago, the Student Activities Office started a program called JanPlan Inspirations, in part to provide workshops for students to participate in during their extra time. The program was designed to allow students to walk away from January with more than just the class they took, but also with life-building skills.
While some people spend the month working a challenging nine-to-five internship, others sign up to take music lessons that meet for one or two hours each week. With such an array of possibilities, it seems as though the intention behind the January term is up to personal interpretation.
Some History
Since its introduction in 1961, JanPlan has evolved as a program. As it was originally intended, the program was designed to offer students time free from the demands of a normal course load to pursue independent projects outside of the content of the regular semester curriculum, Dean of Faculty Ed Yeterian said. It allowed students time to explore a topic they may not have normally had time to explore, something outside of their major or minor. The program was called January Program of Independent Study to emphasize this point.
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linda ellis
posted 3/16/07 @ 10:14 PM EST
25 years ago i took tie dyeing for my jan plan..it seems that there are still options that make this a waste of money and time. this january (and last)a student could take african druming and show up inebriated at the concluding performance along with 50% of the other students. (Continued…)
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