HISTORY

The University of Southern Colorado has served the changing needs of the citizens of Colorado for nearly 70 years.

In 1933, the institution was incorporated as The Southern Colorado Junior College. Classes took place on the top floor of the Pueblo County Courthouse. The “Class of 35” graduated 17 students. In 1936, the first building on the Orman Avenue campus site was donated by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation. One year later, local citizens decided to support the institution with county taxes; they organized the Pueblo County Junior College District, and the institution was renamed Pueblo Junior College. In 1951, PJC became the first accredited junior college in Colorado.

A decade later, Colorado’s General Assembly enacted legislation, effective in 1963, changing PJC to a four-year institution --Southern Colorado State College -- to be governed by the Board of Trustees of State Colleges. SCSC received accreditation in 1966.

By then, four buildings had been erected on the new campus north of Pueblo’s Belmont residential district.  On July 1, 1975, the state legislature granted the institution university status. Three years later, the State Board of Agriculture assumed governance of the university.  In 1986, USC, Colorado State University and Fort Lewis College joined to form the Colorado State University System.

MISSION

The University of Southern Colorado, in accordance with the mission defined by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education in 1978 and revised in 1985, provides a unique contribution to higher education in the state.  USC strives to become an excellent regional university with a polytechnic emphasis, continuing its tradition of teaching effectiveness and increasing its efforts in basic and applied research while maintaining a high degree of service to the citizens of Pueblo, the region and the state.

USC is an accredited institution with a specific mission:

1) to emphasize career-oriented, technological and applied programs, while maintaining strong pro­grams in the liberal arts;

2) to engage in basic and applied research for the benefit of society; and

3) to function as the major education resource for cultural, industrial and economic growth through­out the southeastern Colorado region.

The university accepts enthusiastically its role as a comprehensive regional university with a polytechnic emphasis.  We believe that our special commitment to applied research and career oriented education, embracing but not limited to the technologies of engineering, science, and business, and grounded in an unalterable commitment to the traditional liberal and fine arts, creates a unique opportunity to educate the whole person. We resolutely embrace the conviction that while our liberal arts programs must be predicated on preparing students to engage in productive and meaningful living as well as to earn a living, our professional programs must maintain a strong liberal arts component to guard against the obsolescence of purely vocational and topical learning in a rapidly changing world.

High-quality teaching is the number one priority at the University of Southern Colorado.  At the same time, faculty engage in scholarly activity to add to the store of knowledge in various disciplines and fields, and apply that knowledge to solving community and regional problems. Faculty involvement in research, as well as in scholarly and creative activities, substantially enhances the quality of teaching at the university. The University of Southern Colorado also places special emphasis on student development and success. To address this special emphasis, the university has made an unequivocal commitment to significantly improve the retention and graduation rates of all students.

In addition to the primary emphasis on teaching and the accompanying obligation to engage in scholarly endeavors, the university is committed to serving the surrounding community and region. The service obligation is fulfilled primarily through the processes of teaching and research, since the outcomes of those activities significantly address the needs of society. However, as a regional university which strives for excellence, we contribute to the overall quality of life and economic growth in our surrounding environment by sponsoring cultural events, clinical activities, student internships, research on community and business problems, and other special means of interaction.

To enhance its overall relationship with the city and region, the university is strongly committed to providing access for members of all minority groups, particularly the large Hispanic population within its service area, emphasizing and fostering cultural pluralism, enhancing the traditions of culture and language, encouraging the development of economic opportunities, providing appropriate academic support programs, and ensuring equal opportunity for all persons who are, or may become members of the university community.

Thus the university’s mission has three components: teaching (the primary emphasis), scholarly activity (necessary to the advancement of knowledge and to high-quality teaching) and service (contributing to the development of the city and region).

GOALS AND PRIORITIES

In fulfilling its basic mission, the university regularly establishes long-range and short-term goals. Students, faculty, staff and administrators actively work together to achieve such important goals and to establish priorities for the institution’s future. Copies of the most recent strategic plan are available for inspection in the Office of Finance and Administration.

GOVERNANCE

As part of the Colorado State University System, the University of Southern Colorado is governed by the State Board of Agriculture, which also governs Fort Lewis College in Durango and Colorado State University in Fort Collins. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the central policy and coordinating board for all public institutions, establishes policy on legislative, academic and fiscal matters.

ACCREDITATION

The University of Southern Colorado is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, 3030 N. LaSalle St., Suite 2400, Chicago, Il, 60602-2501, Phone (312) 263-0456.

Individual programs approved by accreditation agencies include; chemistry, the American Chemical Society; civil, electronics, and mechanical engineering technology, the Technology Accreditation Com-mission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET); industrial engineering, the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET; education, the Colorado State Board of Education; music, the National Association of the Schools of Music; nursing, the National League for Nursing; and social work, the Council of Social Work Education.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMITMENT

The University of Southern Colorado is committed to providing an environment free from unlawful forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment, against any person based upon race, color, ethnic background, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, or status of veteran of the Vietnam Era.

Also, the university provides affirmative action to ensure that protected class applicants are employed and that all employees are treated fairly during employment without any regard to the aforementioned protected groups, in accordance with the laws of the United States and the State of Colorado. Such action includes, but is not limited to, affirmative efforts with respect to employment, promotion, transfer, recruitment, advertising, layoff, retirement, or termination; rate of pay or other forms of compensation and selection for faculty development activities. The university posts in conspicuous places notices setting forth the provision of nondiscrimination policy, affirmative action plans and programs, and equal opportunity commitments.

The university prohibits discrimination based on the aforementioned criteria above in admission or access to, treatment of, or employment in its educational programs or activities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits any form of discrimination based on disability in admission to, access to, and the operations of programs, services or activities at the University of Southern Colorado. Inquiries concerning Titles IV, VI, and VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act Section 504, ADA, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 may be referred to Affirmative Action Director, University of Southern Colorado, 2200 Bonforte Boulevard, Pueblo, Colorado, 81001-4901, Phone (719) 549-2936 or Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Department of Education, Colon­nade Center, 1244 Speer Blvd., Denver, CO 80204-3582. Any questions, complaints and requests for additional information of ADA may be directed to the ADA Coordinator at (719) 549-2511.

THE CAMPUS

USC’s campus, spanning more than 275 acres, crowns the north end of Pueblo, a historically and culturally rich city of 100,000 located near the Greenhorn Mountains in the colorful Pikes Peak region of southern Colorado.

Fourteen of the 16 buildings on campus, as well as fountains and pathways, follow the grand and unusual architecture of the University Library complex, which received a national award for design in 1966 from the American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Office of Education.

Approximately 320 sunny days a year attract outdoor enthusiasts to a full slate of summer and winter recre­ational activities, encompassing water sports at Lake Pueblo, biking along Pueblo’s unique river trails, white water rafting, golf, tennis and skiing in the mountains to the west.

Enrollment exceeds 4,000 students from throughout southeastern Colorado, the state, the nation and several foreign countries, representing a diversity of age groups and backgrounds, both rural and urban.

EMERGENCY CLOSURE POLICY

Due to extreme weather conditions, energy resources reduction or other critical changes in normal operating conditions, it sometimes becomes necessary to curtail university services. USC’s emergency closure policy, updated February 25, 2002, will be followed in all emergency closure situations:

1. The process of emergency closure consideration shall be initiated by the University Police.

2. The University Police shall be responsible for making all internal and external contacts with departments and agencies who could have an impact on the decision-making process (i.e., physical plant and Colorado State Patrol).

3. The officer in charge of the University Police shall provide to the Vice President for Finance and Administration a verbal report including a general review of conditions, impending developments and a recommendation for action. If adverse conditions develop during nighttime hours, the Vice President for Finance and Administration shall be notified no later than 5:45 a.m.  The Vice President for Finance and Administration shall notify the President who will make the decision. Decisions on evening classes shall be made by 3:30 p.m.  The University Police shall be responsible for notifying those previously designated as having individual building responsibilities for any official closure. The notification will be conducted by telephone. If necessary, however, a police officer will be dispatched to the appropriate building to insure proper notification.

4. Based on the Presidents decision, the vice president for Finance and Administration shall notify the Provost and the Director of Communication Services of such closure and specify the following:

a. staff to report but no classes to be held

b. no staff to report; no classes.

5. Regardless of the nature of the closedown, all essential personnel (BRH personnel, food service, police and physical plant, environmental health and safety, and those persons designated as essential operating personnel by the following persons: the Director of Information Technology Services and the Director of Auxiliary Services) will report to work.

6. All other employees should be notified by their supervisors on whether or not to report (i.e., vice presidents should notify deans and directors, who in turn should notify department heads, and/or office managers, who in turn should notify department heads, and/or office managers, who in turn will notify faculty, classified staff and work study students in their respective areas). Therefore, those responsible for telephoning others should have an updated list of their staff’s home telephone numbers available 24 hours a day. (On the other hand, employees who have not received direct notification within a reasonable amount of time should contact their supervisors if unsure about whether or not to report.)

7. The Director of Communication Services shall be responsible for notifying students of any closedown via radio and television stations with priority given to KCCY (FM 96.9), and KCSJ (AM 590); KILO (FM 94.3) and KRCC (FM 91.5) in Colorado Springs. Notification shall include the Pueblo Transportation Company and any non-law enforcement organizations that may be unique to the situation.

8. Situations may arise in which handicapped students or employees may require special assistance. In such cases, please contact the Director of the Belmont Residence Hall, 549-2601, who will attempt to provide student volunteers as escorts.

9. Decisions on evening classes will be made by the President and Provost.  Decisions on outreach classes located outside Pueblo (e.g. Colorado Springs and Canon City) will be made no later than 3 p.m. on the day classes are scheduled. The Provost will be informed by the Director of Continuing Education once the decision has been made.

10. Despite improving conditions, any decisions for closure will remain in effect for the period of time originally specified.

TERMS OF THIS CATALOG ISSUE

Students graduate under the catalog requirements noted in the Academic Policies section of this catalog. The 2002-03 issue becomes effective fall semester 2002.

Information contained within the catalog is current as of April 2002, but is subject to change without notice and therefore is not to be regarded as an irrevocable contractual commitment. Modification may occur at any time during the student’s term of residence in the interest of lawful missions, processes and functions of the institution. The university will make reasonable efforts to inform students of any modifications occurring prior to publication of the 2003-2004 catalog issue.