Many community college students plan ahead for their transfer to a prestigious four-year college or university. This spring, students from Harold Washington College have the opportunity to test the waters at Shimer College, known for its reading- and discussion-intensive approach to the liberal arts. And all they pay is City College tuition - a small fraction of Shimer's cost - to take classes that intrigue them.

The two colleges have a good deal in common. Each has a Great Books Program —which means both offer classes that, instead of relying on lectures and textbooks, use discussion and original texts. The particular texts constitute what these colleges have determined to be Great Books. Shimer, a small college south of the loop, defines these as books that are foundational to our culture and so rich that readers continue to find new insights whenever they read them, whether they were written decades or millennia ago. According to Harold Washington’s program website, “Great Books courses should increase your skills in reading, analytical thinking and cultural literacy. These are vital to your success in advanced college courses, your job and your personal life.”

Some examples of Great Books? Plato, Dante Alighieri, W.E.B. Dubois, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, Virginia Woolf, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Albert Einstein all show up on both schools’ reading lists.

At Harold Washington College, many students take Great Books versions of standard General Education classes in areas like Composition, English, and History. Students who have done well in these classes are eligible to take a Shimer class at Harold Washington tuition. Harold Washington and Shimer started this program in order to encourage students interested in Great Books and conversation-based classes to transfer to Shimer to complete their bachelor’s degrees.

The partnership has been a resounding success. Of the students who have taken advantage of the colleges’ partnership this semester, half have applied to become full-time Shimer students next fall. According to one Harold Washington student taking a course at Shimer, Krista Anderson, “Shimer classes provide a one-of-a-kind experience where students are able to fully explore and hash out their ideas. Students are given the tools and environment to thoroughly grasp subject matter.” Other Harold Washington students echo Ms. Anderson’s enthusiasm.

Shimer students are excited about their Harold Washington classmates, too. Says Erik Boneff, a first-year student at Shimer from the Detroit area, “It’s a breath of fresh air to have a Harold Washington student in my class. I’ve been really impressed with what she’s brought to the table.”

Harold Washington students will be able to take Shimer courses under the same arrangement this coming fall. The colleges are also working on expanding their relationship to build a stronger bridge between their Great Books programs. In the meantime, both colleges look forward to sparking great conversations among their students.

For more information, please contact Cassie Sherman at 312-235-3505 or cassie@shimer.edu