Franklin College Switzerland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Franklin College Switzerland |
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| Established | 1969 |
| Type | Private, Liberal Arts, Coed |
| President | Dr. Erik O. Nielsen |
| Faculty | 47 |
| Students | 355 |
| Location | Lugano, Switzerland |
| Nickname | Franklin |
| Mascot | Falcon |
| Website | http://www.fc.edu |
Franklin College Switzerland is a private university located in Lugano, Switzerland. Its campus is located immediately above the city, in Switzerland's southernmost Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. Chartered in 1969, Franklin College is named for Benjamin Franklin, the United States' first and most illustrious ambassador to Europe. Franklin is fully accredited in the United States by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and in Switzerland by the Swiss University Conference.
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[edit] Student Life
Clubs on Campus
The Arabic Club promotes Arabic culture on campus by holding meetings and organizing events.
The Asian Club holds themed movie nights and participates in International Food Night.
The Greek Club participates in International Food Night and hosts a Greek culture themed party, in addition to holding movie nights.
Drama Society enhances the performance capabilities of Franklin students through theatrical rehearsals and productions.
The Enlightenment, FCS's electronic newspaper, is run by students through the school’s Department of Communications. The Enlightenment provides news that is always accessible to the school community.
Franklin Booster Club provides communications support to the Student Assembly in order to create a more involved student body.
Latin Club works to expand the Latin flavors and colors throughout the Franklin community with events & meetings.
Literary Society is an organization that promotes knowledge of literary works, the development of individual student writing, and the production of an annual literary magazine.
Photography Club allows students to develop photographic work from their experiences in Europe and participate in exhibitions.
Skee-Ball Club strives to introduce Skee-Ball to the Franklin community and beyond.
Yoga helps students stay fit and have fun through weekly meetings with a trained professional.
Team Sports
The men’s soccer team competes in the Ticino 5th Division. The team competes with other clubs from the Canton of Ticino. Franklin College is currently the reserve team for the professional club F.C. Paradiso, making Franklin F.C.Paradiso II. The team trains twice a week and competes on Sunday nights in the fall and spring semesters, and is a mixture of students and local non-Franklin players. The players have a mid-season break from December to March. During this period the school hosts an indoor soccer tournament open to all Franklin students, faculty, and staff.
The men’s basketball team is in the Swiss amateur league. The team is comprised of Franklin students and currently practices twice a week.
The women’s basketball team is the newest team on campus. They practice twice a week in the Pat Tone Athletic Center. The Lady Falcons competed in the Swiss amateur league for the first time in the fall of 2005.
Fitness Activities
Student Affairs provides yoga and cardio body toning workouts in the College’s gym facilities. Many downtown fitness centers also offer student rates and discounts with Swiss medical insurance.
[edit] Focus
Franklin places a large emphasis on cross-cultural perspectives. A commitment to courses of study that are international in perspective and cross-cultural in content has been the cornerstone of FCS's educational mission since its founding. Franklin is not considered an American enclave abroad; instead, FCS maintains that it is an American education purposely positioned in Europe. It draws its students into daily contact and exchange on many cultural levels, it offers an environment in which to explore cultural differences and similarities, and it is an educational and cultural resource for its host canton Ticino.
Franklin College awards the Bachelor of Arts degree in a number of academic areas.
[edit] Mission Statement
The Trustees of Franklin College define its mission as a degree-granting institution in the following statement:
The mission of Franklin College is to provide a multi-cultural and international academic environment within which students acquire the essential knowledge and critical, creative and analytical abilities necessary to attain success in their chosen careers and to live culturally enriched and rewarding lives.
[edit] Academic Travel
The Academic Travel Program is an integrated part of the Franklin College curriculum. Academic Travel is a credit bearing degree requirement, with two weeks of travel each semester designed to expand students' class work. Travel is led by faculty members and relates to the academic expertise of the individual professor and to his or her knowledge of a given country or area.
All students, including semester and year-abroad students, are required to participate in the Academic Travel Program. Auditing of Academic Travel is not permitted.
Academic Travel is an integral component of each semester of study. The graduation requirement for Academic Travel is fulfilled by participating in six travel programs. Students usually fulfill the requirement by participating each semester of their first three years at Franklin. Students who enter with Sophomore standing must participate each semester in which they are enrolled except their senior year. Students entering with Junior standing must participate each semester including their senior year. Any shortfall in credit from the degree requirement of 126 credits as a result of not participating in six Academic Travel Programs must be made up by taking other courses.
Students with advanced standing or transfer credit must participate in Academic Travel as follows: one semester of advanced standing or transfer credit requires five consecutive Academic Travel Programs. Two, three and four semesters' credit requires four consecutive Academic Travel Programs. Students may not voluntarily skip participation in Academic Travel in a given semester in order to postpone completion of the Academic Travel requirement. Students must participate in Academic Travel each semester until they complete the required number of travels.
[edit] Admissions
Franklin College students come from varied backgrounds; thirty US states and approximately fifty countries are represented in the student body. Franklin College is nondiscriminatory.
FCS generally seeks students willing to have an education focused in Europe. Currently about 70% of applicants are admitted.
[edit] Application Schedule
Franklin College applicants are reviewed on a rolling admissions basis. Priority admission is given to applicants who apply by the deadline indicated below. Financial aid applicants must apply by these deadlines.
[edit] Fall Semester
Freshman Early Action - December 1
Freshman Regular Admissions - March 15
Transfer and Study Abroad Admissions - June 15
[edit] Spring Semester
Freshman Admissions - October 1
Transfer and Study Abroad Admissions - November 15
[edit] Campus
The main campus, acquired in 1985, is composed of a private villa, on which a library (which also functioned as the school bomb shelter), auditorium, and classroom wing are attached. It is surrounded by a wooded park. In May, 2005, the college acquired an additional campus immediately near by, adding administrative, educational, athletic, social and residential capacity. It is hoped that this acquisition will allow the student body to grow and also will create opportunity for curricular expansion.
[edit] Academics
Core studies begin with an interdisciplinary seminar designed to investigate contemporary issues through the use of classic texts. Many of Franklin's courses are interdisciplinary in nature, due to the teaching methods of its faculty.
While the College is based on a liberal education, Franklin also seeks to introduce students to the professional world through specific courses, guest lectures and co-curricular activities. Most majors offer enough flexibility for students to partially design their own plans of study.
Close faculty-student contact is essential to Franklin’s educational philosophy. The College is designed to ensure student-teacher interaction from the beginning.
[edit] Faculty
One of the key aspects of the Franklin educational experience is a close faculty-student interaction.
Franklin faculty are active scholars. A number of professors have recent books to their credit, most are published in leading scholarly journals, and almost all regularly present their research findings at annual conferences. Franklin also invites visiting dignitaries and scholars to share their views and perspectives with its academic community during the academic year and summer sessions.
[edit] Residences
Franklin College offers fully furnished apartments in addition to traditional-style residence hall rooms.
The residences are located in eight different buildings on or near campus. Each residence is supported by a trained Resident Assistant. All students living in Franklin residences are covered by an insurance policy for their personal possessions.
Residences:
- Residenza Airone - The Office of Student Affairs is located on the ground floor of Airone.
- Residenza Alba
- Residenza Ciliegi
- Residenza DaVinci
- Residenza Florida
- Residenza Giardino
- Residenza Girasole - One wing of this building is reserved for female residents.
- Residenza Panera - Panera is the newest residence on campus.
[edit] Webcam
Franklin College web-link to view webcams on campus:
Franklin College Switzerland Campus-cams
