Talk:New College Plan

New College of Florida really an implementation of the New College Plan?

Does anyone have a source for the claim that the New College of Florida was an implementation of the New College Plan? I'll admit it seems likely that New College was influenced by the New College Plan, but I'm currently doing research on New College's history and I have yet to see a direct reference to the New College plan.-Nsb3000 21:52, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

I added the mention of this to the new college page originally. I don't unfortunately have a reference. I'm currently a student at Hampshire, and it's just something I've always heard, including from people who've transfered from here to there, but I've never seen or looked for an actual reference. What I do know is that the academic structure (contracts, evals, idependent studies, senior thesis (Div III at hampshire)) fits, the dates fit, and the name fits. I'd never questioned it beyond that, myself. I hope you find a reference.Arturus 06:35, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Okay, so I did some quick checking to see if I could find anything on hampshire's website, and I've got two references for you from there. They're not of the most rigorous quality though.

The first is here (pdf). It's the transcription of a speech given by Hampshire's curent president: "'Strategic Seer and Sweet-talking Soothsayer' - remarks delivered at the Harvard Club of Chicago, January 31, 2007". On pages 4-5 he's talking about the new college plan and then says, "The published manifestoes energized many readers in the 1960s. Getting a new institution off the ground is no easy task, and in fact it was not in the Pioneer Valley that the seed first bore fruit. That honor actually goes to a group in Florida who made the common name a proper one and created “New College,” still in existence though at one point absorbed into the Florida State University system."

The second is here (also pdf). This is a book which was at one point distributed to all new hampshire students as background and orientation. Page 8 contains: "All across America, educators read all about it. Parts of the plan were adopted by others and in one known instance, extensively (New College in Florida, 1960)."

I've also found an online copy of the new college plan, here, which can hypothetically be used to show that New College does in fact fit the new college plan, or to whatever extent that it does in truth. I don't have the time to go through this right now and do so.

So none of this is really great, but combined I think it's pretty good. Whether this is really strong enough, I don't know. I'd say it is. It all fits, and I've got some references that it's there.

Alternatively, all I've done is document that there is a widespread belief in such at Hampshire, if you want to read things pessimistically. What do you think? Arturus 07:08, 6 April 2007 (UTC)