Dynamic Half Block
Registrations for non-credit Half Block will open at 8:30 am on October 11th, 2021, and will close on December 31st*. Register for January's non-credit offerings in SUMMIT: Student Life via Single Sign-In
The non-credit offerings of Dynamic Half Block provide a unique opportunity for students to explore interests and gain professional knowledge and skills. Participation in many of these offerings will increase your competencies, making you more competitive for internships, graduate/professional schools, and full-time jobs. Build your resume, complement your transcript.
*Note: Many courses are designed with complementary schedules. Students are encouraged to take more than one course so long as the schedules do not interfere with one another.
*Kaplan registration will close on November 26, 2021
*Wall Street Prep registration will close on December 3, 2021
2022 Non-Credit Half-Block Courses
Dates & Time: Jan 11-20th (No class on the 14th), 9am-12pm MT
Delivery: Online
Class limit: 30 students max
Description: You’ll find three types of sections on the GRE as you begin your test prep: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing. Kaplan offers ways to customize your GRE prep around the sections where you need to focus most. This Half Block consists of seven three-hour sessions to prepare you for every aspect of the GRE. Registered students receive twelve months of free access to Kaplan’s online test resources, which include 180+ hours of content, 7 full-length computer tests, and over 5,000 practice items. With 21 hours of live virtual instruction and 35 hours of elective online instruction, this in-person experience would cost over $1,300 if taken on your own. It is offered for a $250 deposit through Dynamic Half Block. Upon completion of the entire course, you will be reimbursed $245.
Students are eligible to take the KAPLAN GRE Half Block offering once during their Colorado College Experience. Seniors and Juniors who are applying to graduate school in 2022 will receive priority, followed by Seniors applying a year or more post- graduation and then Juniors. Sophomores and First Year Students are not eligible. Must be committed to enrollment at CC for Spring/Summer 2022 Blocks.
Dates & Time: TBD
Delivery: Online
Class limit: 10
Description: You’ll find four types of sections on the GMAT: Analytical Writing Assessment, Integrated Reasoning, Verbal, and Quantitative. Kaplan offers ways to customize your GMAT prep around what is on the test. This Half Block consists of six three-hour sessions to prepare you for every aspect of the GMAT. Registered students receive 9 full-length computer adaptive GMAT practice tests and over 5,000 practice questions that drive personalized recommendations based on your performance. With 18 hours of live virtual instruction and 30 hours of elective online instruction, this in-person experience would cost over $1,500 if taken on your own. It is offered for a $250 deposit through Dynamic Half Block. Upon completion of the entire course, you will be reimbursed $245.
Dates & Time: Jan 11-20th, 9am-1pm MT
Delivery: Online
Class limit: 20 students max
Description: As you begin your LSAT prep, you’ll find three types of multiple-choice questions on the exam: Reading Comprehension questions, Analytical Reasoning questions, and Logical Reasoning questions. Kaplan offers ways to customize your LSAT preparation around the sections where you need to focus most.
The course will comprise of an eight-session 32 hours of Core instruction and Personalized instruction: The LSAT Channel = 120+ hours of supplemental, elective instruction Half Block focusing on strategies for each test section. The course includes a strategy review to prepare for exam day. Registered students receive twelve months of free access to Kaplan’s online test resources, which include a complete PrepTest library (80+ exams) and every released LSAT question (7,500+) with detailed explanations for each question and every answer choice. This course would cost over $1,400 if taken on your own. It is offered for a $250 deposit through Dynamic Half Block. Upon completion of the entire course, you will be reimbursed $245.
Students are eligible to take the KAPLAN LSAT Half Block offering once during their Colorado College Experience. Seniors and Juniors who are applying to law school in 2022 will receive priority, followed by Seniors applying a year or more post- graduation and then Juniors. Sophomores and First Year Students are not eligible. Must be committed to enrollment at CC for Spring/Summer 2022 Blocks.
Dates & Time: Jan 11-20st, 9am-12 pm MT; 1pm-4:30pm MT
Delivery: Online
Class limit: 30 students max
Description: Build the stamina and skills necessary to tackle the MCAT. The MCAT has 4 sections: Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems; Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS); Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems; and Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior. Kaplan offers ways to customize your MCAT preparation around the sections where you need to focus most.
The course will offer a Half Block comprised of twelve sessions, including a diagnostic exam (which will be a full length (7.5 hr.) exam), instruction on how to best tackle the four test sections, and strategies to prepare for the sit-down exam. Registered students receive twelve months of free access to Kaplan’s online test resources, which include 14 full-length exams and over 10,000 MCAT practice items. With 36 hours of live virtual instruction, this course would cost over $2,500 if taken on your own. It is offered for a $250 deposit through Dynamic Half Block. Upon completion of the entire course, you will be reimbursed $245.
Students are eligible to take the KAPLAN MCAT Half Block offering once during their Colorado College Experience. A student must be registered or planning to take the MCAT in the spring or summer of 2022. Seniors and Juniors who are applying to medical school in 2022 will receive priority, followed by Seniors applying a year or more post- graduation and then Juniors. Sophomores and First Year Students are not eligible. Must be committed to enrollment at CC for Spring/Summer 2022 Blocks.
Dates & Time: 2 days - Jan 13th and 14th, Thursday, and Friday. 9am-5pm MT
Delivery: In person
Class limit: 30 students
Description: Accounting & Financial Statement Modeling Liberal Arts Seminar:
2-day intensive training program where liberal arts students learn financial accounting, financial modeling in Excel, and technical interview prep using a hands-on, case-study approach. This course would cost over $1899 if taken on your own. It is offered for a $100 deposit through Dynamic Half Block. Upon completion of the entire course, you will be reimbursed $95.
Curriculum/Wall Street Prep Advantage:
- Pre-Seminar: Excel and Accounting online crash courses
- Day 1: Accounting & Financial Statement Analysis; Financial Statement Modeling
- Day 2: Financial Statement Modeling (continued); Introduction to Valuation; and Technical Interview Prep
Innate Mindfulness: Exploring our Inner Ecology for Thriving on a Changing Planet
Dates & Time: 9 day - January 11-21, 2022, 11am to 1pm MT each day
Delivery: Hybrid format, in person, when possible, virtual attendance available.
Instructor: Myra L. Jackson
Description: We all hold basic – although often unconscious – assumptions about the very nature of reality, including our relationship with what is commonly called “nature” or “the environment.” As well, we have assimilated a variety of sensorial habits or filters that affect the way we perceive the world. These assumptions – together with sensorial and cognitive habits – may influence our ability to perceive the problems we face and also limit our imagination, making it more difficult to conceive of a path toward ecological sustainability and social well-being. As Albert Einstein noted, “the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” We may need a new vision of reality, or even a new modality of consciousness – a more ecological worldview – in order to address our most urgent crises and to create a more just and sustainable human society.
This experiential course is an introductory exploration into Mindfulness as innate within humans. Through it, students will discover the innate somatic sentient intelligence within every human that is the rudimentary basis of Mindfulness. In this workshop, exposure to one's own sensorial doorways are utilized to open into the innate power within to explore the corresponding ecology within that connects every human to the ecosystems in which they live.
With Nature as a companion, students will learn strategies to skillfully work with thoughts, emotions, and sensations, while developing their capacity to enhance mind-body awareness of present-moment experience to enhance connections to self, community, and the Earth.
Global Health in a Local Context: Systemic Racism, Structural Oppression, and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dates & Time: 9 day - January 11-21, 2022, Morning, approximately 9am-12pm MT
Delivery: In person
Instructor: Vanessa Voller
Description: In this course, learners will be immersed in the study of health justice, the social and structural determinants of health, and the principles of global health delivery as it relates to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Learners will be introduced to and explore major health problems facing BIPOC and low-income communities both locally in Colorado Springs and globally and examine how and why systemic racism and other forms of oppression are contributing to a disproportionate COVID-19 infection and case mortality rate in BIPOC communities and low-income communities. The course considers the social, structural, and political determinants of health and the need for public health programs to address the root causes of health inequities as well as poor health itself. Attention will be given to major indicators, recent trends, policies, and metrics for monitoring progress. Learners will participate in several workshops throughout the semester to develop their skills as future public health professionals and leaders. The COVID-19 case study will be used as an applied analysis throughout the module.
The Wondrous Sustaining Power of STORY in Life and Learning
Dates & Time: 4 day - January 11-14, 2022, Afternoon, approximately 1pm-4pm MT
Class Limit: Online
Instructor: Cherie Karo Schwartz '73
Description: STORY is at the center of our human experience, coloring, informing, and expressing all that we are and all we do. Come experience the nourishing and sustaining power and magic of Story, from folk, historical, inter-cultural and time-related sources, and also from personal and family sources.
Cherie Karo Schwartz (CC ’73) is a Storyteller, Author, Poet and Educator with nearly five decades of experience, offering performing, teaching, workshops, keynotes, training sessions and scholar-in-residence programs throughout the country and abroad for organizations, schools, museums, libraries and congregations. Author of three books and numerous articles, Cherie has worked with such groups as educators, lawyers, major companies, national/international conferences, Mizel Museum of Judaica and many others, sharing spirit-filled tales, workshops on storytelling techniques, and Torah teaching. Cherie counts her golden years with CC and Block Plan as seminal to setting the course of her lifework.
Business and Customer Insights with Data, Analytics, & Metrics
Dates & Time: 4 day - January 11-14, 2022, Afternoon, approximately 1pm-4pm MT
Delivery: Online
Instructor: Rob Adkisson
Description: Data & analytics skills are increasingly important for driving insights and decision making in many areas (e.g., sports, science, politics, business, etc.). This will be an overview of the role of data and analytics providing customer insights in support of services and software subscriptions. We will explore how data and analytics: 1) supports general business management; 2) underpins organizational compensation and goaling; 3) provides customer insights and leads; 4) closes the loop with development/engineering teams for better products. Additionally, we will explore the types of roles integral to teasing insights from data wrangler—to analyst—to decision maker.
Intro to Machine Learning in Biotech and Healthcare
Dates & Time: 4 day - January 11-14, 2022, Morning, approximately 9am-12pm MT
Delivery: In person
Instructor: Hunter Elliott
Description: There's a ton of hype around machine learning and "artificial intelligence", especially its current and prospective applications in the biomedical sciences. But what *is* machine learning/AI anyways? And what can (and can't) it do for healthcare, drug development and the biomedical sciences at large? This gentle introduction will address these questions as well as strategies for working with the tools and people in this emerging field, or how to become one of those people yourself!
Don’t Stick to Sports: Digital Storytelling and Sports Journalism
Dates & Time: 9 day - January 11-21, 2022, Afternoon, approximately 1pm-4pm MT
Delivery: In-person
Instructor: Henry McKenna
Description: There's no way to keep politics and current events out of sports. Though some have argued athletes "shut up and dribble" and media members should "stick to sports," the truth is that sports are a crucial part of our culture. So don't stick to sports. Explore how the sporting world intersects with issues of race, gender, and politics.
In this introductory journalism course, we’ll focus on sports writing, with a particular focus on how the world of sports extends beyond the field. We will also focus on how to break into the competitive industry. Initially focusing on how to write and interview, we eventually move on to developing students’ news judgment. Students will get an opportunity to work on written journalism, podcasts and/or on-camera storytelling. They will also engage in reflection and discussion to think critically about the current state of sports journalism in 2021. This course will focus on answering the following questions.
- How do we write sports news? How do we offer stories that bring greater context to the news? And how do we develop informed opinions about current events?
- How do we most effectively tell a story, whether through audio, video, or written word?
- How do we see sports intersect with greater storylines in culture and politics?
- Where might we pursue a career in sports journalism and what skills should we build to get there?
Developing Strategy in Circular Apparel
Dates & Time: 5 day - January 17-21, 2022, 9am-12 pm MT; 1pm-4:30pm MT
Delivery: In-person (Afternoon will take place outside of class/fieldwork)
Instructor: James Repenning
Description: Globally, a garbage truck of apparel is dumped in landfills every second of every day. What’s more, much of what you think is being recycled is sent to third world countries where they sort out high-value name brands and discard the rest. In this class you will help a circular apparel startup develop its strategy to design & sell recyclable garments, recapture them, then recycle back into fiber to make new garments. You will be tasked to research your project and make a presentation to the company leadership team on your strategy in one of the following areas:
- Develop sales and marketing strategy for college students
- Develop recycling/return strategy
- Develop corporate apparel/swag strategy
This is a rare opportunity to participate in strategy development for an early-stage company aiming to disrupt the apparel market. That means there will be roadblocks, dead-ends, seemingly impossible problems to solve. No business training or background necessary, just a passion to help solve this global problem and the will to work through difficult problems that have never been solved before.
Deep Narrative: Multi-Platform Reporting from the Book to the Documentary
Dates/ Time: 9 day - January 11-21, 2022, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday classes will meet in the Mornings, approximately at 9am-12pm MT; Tuesday and Thursday class will meet in the Afternoon at approximately 2:30pm-5:30pm MT
Delivery: In person
Instructor: Julian Rubenstein
Description: This course will take students through how to work in multimedia formats to create memorable and impactful nonfiction storytelling at a time of social change and upheaval. Emphasis will be on identifying important stories, building memorable scenes and characters, creating a narrative structure, and utilizing classical reporting techniques to give students a full toolbox to work in challenging circumstances from reporting on social justice movements to digging for documents.
This class is taught by award-winning journalist Julian Rubinstein, author of the new book, The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood. Special guests will share their successful experiences.