Mother Mary Agnes

A SELF PORTRAIT PAINTED BY MOTHER MARY AGNES BETWEEN 1904 AND 1905 PRIOR TO BECOMING A SISTER OF NOTRE DAME.

The first Coesfeld Sisters were formed in the catechesis and pedagogy of priest and educational reformer, Bernard Overberg. The Sisters in the United States today still value his educational principles summarized as:

  • The dignity of the teacher,
  • The worth of the individual student,
  • The thoroughness of instruction in all subjects, and
  • The centrality of religion in the curriculum.

Sisters of Notre Dame, http://www.sndchardon.org/ story-heritage.asp

Criterion Statement: Notre Dame College provides evidence of student learning and teaching effectiveness that demonstrates it is fulfilling its educational mission.

Consistent with its mission, the Notre Dame College curriculum is grounded in the liberal arts and prepares students for advanced study or careers.Notre Dame College also offers a Master of Education degree with various endorsement tracks.

Notre Dame College provides students with a liberal education through a general education component combined with mastery of at least one field of knowledge. To fulfill the baccalaureate degree, students must complete 128 semester hours of course work, including a General Education Requirement of 42 or 43 semester hours. The General Education Requirements “serve as a basis for students to share a common tradition of learning while pursuing an academic major. This core of liberal arts courses provides the means to strive for an integrated picture of the reality of God and humankind.” (Notre Dame College Catalog, 2006 – 2007 edition, page 19)

To ensure that the academic program is characterized by depth as well as breadth, each student is expected to pursue a major area of study. While career and professional preparation is the goal of the major field of study, the major is also central to the notion that the academic major “deepens the student’s knowledge in a particular field and provides the perspective from which to view a complex universe.” (Notre Dame College Catalog, 2006– 2007 edition, page 22)

Finally, it is significant that the final two General Education Requirements take place at the senior level, after such academic perspective has been gained. Every student must complete Social Justice: Issues and Action (Theology 450) and Current Ethical Problems (Philosophy 480). These courses survey the world in its complexities through the lenses of both theology and philosophy, and seek to connect the student’s deepened knowledge of the world to the great tradition of moral reasoning and informed action.

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