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Approaching the challenge of education from different, though complementary, vantage points, the goals of the University and its students are similar; both seek a learning experience which will match the resources of students to the needs of the community.
At Hofstra, students will find commitment to the belief that college is not merely preparation but rather an actual part of adult life. They come here, not to find an agreeable retreat, but to actively, energetically and enthusiastically shape the values, interests and talents that will give their lives direction.
Hofstra students are assisted in this purpose by teachers highly proficient in their fields, by strong counseling and guidance services and by a sound physical fitness program. They are free to choose between such varied educational modes as Hofstra’s New College ¡V with its own progressive style ¡V and nearly infinite interdisciplinary possibilities presented by the University’s extensive curriculum.
Students come to Hofstra as freshmen from their high schools, as transfer students from other colleges and universities and as adults seeking new meanings and/or careers. Noteworthy, in terms of the University’s educational quality, is the fact that about 35 percent of new students entering Hofstra each year have completed some previous college study.
Hofstra welcomes students without regard to race, creed or national origin and extends the opportunity to develop the initiative and responsibility required for effective participation in a democratic society.
First dedicated to providing a firm foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, Hofstra today offers more than 2,150 undergraduate courses in 130 possible majors, plus distinguished graduate programs in law, business, education, and the liberal arts and sciences.
Founded in 1935 as Long Island’s first coeducational college, Hofstra has evolved into a major independent university. Significant indicators of its excellence may be seen in the fact that, among private Island colleges, Hofstra is currently the only one deemed worthy of granting the Phi Beta Kappa distinction; and it is the Island’s private school with the most students going on to earn graduate and professional degrees ¡V an important yardstick for rating the academic capabilities of a university’s graduates.
The wise applicant should remember that when all rhetoric and stereotypes of something called ‘college life’ are removed, education comes back to the basic, ‘did you learn anything?’ not ‘did you make the grades?’ or ‘did you take the required courses? ¡V but, ‘did you learn?’
At Hofstra, that means the emphasis is on developing judgment, flexibility of mind, powers of self-education and insight into human behavior as opposed to mere acquisition of skills. The University’s administration and faculty believe these are the most hardy and permanent seeds to sow in the rapidly shifting environment of the present and future. |