May 14, 2010 8:41:18 AM

Colorado College has the athletics distinction of being a Division III school that sponsors two high-powered programs (men's ice hockey and women's soccer) at the Division I level.

But the school also has the academic distinction of being one of only a handful of NCAA member institutions (Cornell College, Salem International University and Tusculum College are among others) where students progress toward their degrees by taking just one course per month.

Sound different? It is. The unique and intensive "block" plan that the 2,000-student school in Colorado Springs adopted in 1970 has students take one four-credit-hour course over three and a half weeks (18 class days). Each block starts on a Monday and ends three and a half weeks later on a Wednesday at noon, leaving a four-and-a-half-day break between blocks. Four blocks per semester and two semesters per year put students on track to graduate. Each course covers the same amount of material that would be covered during a semester at another school.

The idea is for students to immerse themselves into one course and not have to balance multiple classes. A typical day for a humanities course would have instruction from 9 a.m. until noon and then an ambitious load of reading assignments to be completed by the next day. In the sciences, afternoon lab work typically follows the morning class.

While such a system is foreign to most college students, the block plan has become an attraction at Colorado College, even for student-athletes.

"As an athlete, it is attractive to be able to focus on a single area of study for an abbreviated time, especially because of the inherent block break that allows our team to travel during a time when most other programs still have scheduled classes," said sophomore ice hockey standout David Civitarese (right).

Dozens of other student-athletes share that opinion. Since most student-athletes are predisposed to manage their time well, the block plan – which carries a stiff penalty for missing even one or two days (the equivalent of a week at other schools) – doesn't intimidate them.

Even when travel does cause student-athletes to miss class, Civitarese said professors try to accommodate those schedules. "They are always willing to work with us to ensure that we learn the material we need to be successful," he said.

Colorado College Faculty Athletics Representative Ralph Bertrand is among those professors.

"Our athletes major in anything from biochemistry to art history, but they're able to take their more time-demanding classes when they're not in season," he said.

Bertrand said student-athletes meet with professors a week before the block to go over what days they'll be missing. If that interferes with their ability to perform, then the student can look for another course.

School President Richard Celeste (left) said the plan presents challenges for all students, since "the professors may cut them slack on time but not on content." But the benefits far outweigh the risks, say the participants.

Bertrand was a little intimidated when he joined as a faculty member in 1991. "I found it pretty strenuous to try to commit to every day just dealing with that one class," he said.

College officials selected the plan because they felt that a more intensive experience would be beneficial. They say it works to curb procrastination, and it services field trips particularly well. It's not unusual for art history classes to study museums in New York for two weeks, for example, since the time away doesn't compromise other classes. Other disciplines such as geology and language arts flourish in that environment, as well. That kind of experience wouldn't be possible in a regular semester system.

"It's actually a model some of the medical schools use," Bertrand said. "It is definitely self-selecting. The students know right away – usually within the first semester or year – if it's the right fit for them because the pace is so intensive."

Celeste said the plan fits most student-athlete personalities. "We attract a distinctive kind of student – one who is academically capable but also self-confident and adventuresome. It serves our programs well," he said, noting the regular competitiveness of the school's athletics programs.

Quick immersion

Civitarese said the school is well aware of the change in pace and organization necessary to succeed in the block plan. First-year students are required to take their first two classes in what are called "First Year Experience" courses, which range from forensic sciences to learning the intricacies of how a printing press works. They are usually writing- or reading-intensive to prepare students for the demands of the plan. Many students consider these classes some of the toughest of their undergraduate studies, Civitarese said.

Also, students are not required to plan their academic schedules for that first year until after they have settled into the FYE classes and are assigned an advisor.

"This allows first-year students to deal with the usual stresses of making the transition to college life before also having to navigate the enrollment process," said Civitarese, a physics major with a pre-med focus. "By the time we are required to choose our classes, we have a pretty good handle on how the system works. If you take time to adjust, you're probably falling behind."

Junior volleyball student-athlete Emily Perkins (left) cited the block plan as among the reasons she selected the school.

"Obviously, volleyball and academics came into play when I was deciding, but at the same time, the block plan offers a unique way to learn," she said. "I've found it to be successful in terms of learning and retaining information. It's a good way to take language classes especially, which works for me since one of my majors is French."

Civitarese said the biggest challenge student-athletes face is to resist the natural urge to procrastinate.

"When we are assigned papers or readings, they are almost always due the following day," he said. "For someone in the more reading-intensive departments such as history or political science, it is common for them to be reading upwards of 150 pages per night.

"In the sciences, though, the challenge is grasping a week's worth of new concepts in a day and then being tested on it shortly after that. It's not unusual to have a quiz in the afternoon on the material we learned in the morning."

Yet another distinction for Colorado College is that it is the only Division III school in the Mountain Time Zone, which amplifies the already challenging travel issues. In most sports, the school's closest competition is in Texas and California, which makes scheduling road trips during block breaks a priority. Sometimes it helps to be creative, too.

Celeste said several hockey players were taking a business marketing block that required a field visit to Denver to meet with the president of Frontier Airways two days before a rivalry game with the University of Denver. The professor told the players he would understand if they couldn't come, but the student-athletes didn't want to miss the important opportunity.

"So they made the visit and then even won the game," Celeste said. "I'm not sure if it was because of something the president of Frontier Airways said or not."

At any rate, the student-athletes at Colorado College don't seem to feel they're at a disadvantage because of the block plan. Bertrand said few choose to transfer because of it, and that student-athletes typically graduate at higher rates than the general student body.

Civitarese said while the plan presents challenges, learning to cope with those challenges puts Colorado College student-athletes a step ahead of their opponents.

"It forces us as athletes and students to be organized and responsible for ourselves in the class and on the ice," he said. "We are expected to excel in both areas, and that expectation makes us better as athletes and students.

"Whether we decide to enter the business world or play professional hockey, the maturation that the block plan and the support staff facilitates will be beneficial in either realm."