Western Oregon University
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| Western Oregon University | |
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| Established: | 1856 |
| Type: | Public |
| Students: | Approximately 5,000 |
| Location: | Monmouth, OR, USA |
| Campus: | College town |
| Mascot: | Wolfie |
| Website: | www.wou.edu |
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Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public liberal arts college located in Monmouth, Oregon, United States. Originally established in 1856 by Oregon pioneers as Monmouth University, a private college, and later merged with another private institution, Bethel College, to become Christian College. It became a state college called Oregon State Normal School in 1882. Subsequent names include Oregon Normal School, Oregon College of Education, and Western Oregon State College.
Western Oregon University incorporates both the College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Enrollment is approximately 5,000 students.
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[edit] History
In the early 1850s, a group of pioneers crossed the Oregon Trail upon arrival they founded a church and school in the Willamette Valley. Monmouth University opened in 1856 with a a small number of students. This small step led to development from a private institution through an era as a prominent teacher preparation school to today’s diverse liberal arts university[citation needed].
Through the years, WOU has undergone seven name changes. In 1865, it merged with another private institution in Bethel and became Christian College. In 1882, the Oregon Legislature approved the college's bid to become a state-supported teacher training (or "normal") school, Oregon State Normal School, later named Oregon Normal School.
A period of growth in the 1920s more than tripled the school's enrollment to nearly 1,000 students. In 1939, the Oregon Legislature again changed the name to Oregon College of Education. The school entered an extended period of growth, except for a period during World War II when college enrollments dropped nationwide. The college's teacher education programs brought the school national recognition, and to compliment this growth new programs were added in the areas of liberal arts and sciences[citation needed].
By 1981, it was renamed Western Oregon State College to reflect the schools growing academic programs in the liberal arts fields.
In 1997, recognizing the institution’s broader role as a comprehensive public liberal arts institution, the school's name was changed to Western Oregon University.
[edit] The Western Tuition Promise
On 2006-10-06, the Oregon State Board of Higher Education approved the WOU Tuition Promise presented by David McDonald, Interim Dean of Admissions for WOU. This commitment is designed to help students and their families be able to effectively plan for and afford the cost of attending and graduating from the university. Beginning with the 2007-2008 academic year, WOU will guarantee that undergraduate students will have the same tuition rate for four academic years as the year they entered. Currently, WOU is the only public university in the western U.S. to offer this guarantee to students and their families[citation needed].
[edit] Western Undergraduate Exchange Scholars Program
The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) Scholars Program provides a reduced tuition level — 150% of resident tuition — for qualified students from participating western states. Students from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming are eligible to apply for the (WUE) program.
[edit] Academics
Western Oregon University offers bachelor's degrees (BA, BS, BM, and BFA) through its two colleges: the College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Master's degrees are available in Education (MAT and MSEd), Rehabilitation Counseling (MS), Criminal Justice (MA), Music (MM), and History (MA).
[edit] Departments and divisions
[edit] College of Education
Western Oregon University's College of Education contains an American Sign Language program and an ASL/English Interpreting program. Many deaf/hard of hearing students attend Western; a high percentage of students can sign.
[edit] College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
[edit] Creative Arts Division
The Creative Arts Division comprises departments in Art, Music and Theatre/Dance. The Music Department offers four degrees. The BA and BS in Music are liberal arts degrees with a third of all coursework in music. The Bachelor of Music in Contemporary Music is a professional degree with two thirds of all coursework in music. The Master of Music in Contemporary Music is perhaps the only degree of its kind in the US[citation needed]. Music programs at WOU are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.
[edit] Computer Science Division
The Computer Science Division covers the Computer Science and Information Systems majors, and offers both Majors and Minors in Computer Science and Information Systems, falling into BS and BA degrees.
[edit] Sports
Western Oregon University's sports teams are called the Wolves and compete in the NCAA's Great Northwest Athletic Conference at the Division II level. WOU sponsors 13 intercollegiate sports: football, women's volleyball, women's soccer, men's cross country, women's cross country, women's basketball, men's basketball, men's indoor track, women's indoor track, baseball, softball, men's outdoor track, and women's outdoor track.
Western Oregon has NAIA national titles in women’s basketball and three second-place finishes in women’s volleyball.
[edit] Jensen Arctic Museum
Jensen Arctic Museum at WOU is the only museum on the west coast of the contiguous states dedicated to the Arctic culture.
The Jensen Arctic Museum was founded in 1985 by Dr. Paul H. Jensen. The Jensen collection is a significant portion of the museum's collection of artifacts.
The museum's collections include art, animals, tools, apparel and information about indigenous Arctic people.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official University Web site
- Official athletic Web site
- ASWOU - Student Union Web page
- WOU's 150-year anniversary website
