Overview
Ashland Is a Central Location for the Virginia Experience at Randolph-Macon College
The small town of Ashland is nestled in a scenic and historic region of Virginia. Randolph-Macon College (R-MC) has established a close-knit community in Ashland, where students bike on local streets or buy produce at a farmer's market. The town of Ashland goes by the nickname "The Center of the Universe," due to its central location and proximity to valuable experiences. The college relates this slogan to its own mission, describing Randolph-Macon as a central point from which students embark on their educational explorations.
With the city of Richmond just fifteen minutes away, Ashland students can easily access urban shopping, restaurants, and culture. At celebrated historical sites, they discover early settlement life as well as Revolutionary and Civil War history. Area whitewater rafting appeals to student adventurers who like their water a little wild.
After less than two hours of travel, Randolph-Macon students can step into Washington, D.C., for a view of the White House, the Smithsonian museums, and the National Gallery of Art. While in the capital city, they can experience famous monuments or a cherry blossom festival. An array of Virginia museums and parks are also ready for exploration by those attending Randolph-Macon. Surf activities at Virginia Beach and explorations in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains are only two hours from campus. Virginia is a state students can easily explore from their Ashland campus.
Randolph-Macon Liberal Arts Programs Set Students on Successful Paths
The liberal arts programs at Randolph-Macon College (R-MC) teach scholarship skills that students rely on for future success. The programs assist students with higher levels of communication, critical thinking, and research skills within classes with an average size of 15. Freshmen start out with their First-Year Experience¿a cross-disciplinary learning experience among fifteen students and two professors studying one topic. Then, as they continue their pursuit of a liberal arts degree, students enroll in courses from varied disciplines and continue to benefit from the relationships among different academic areas.
After choosing from extensive lists of nearly thirty majors and almost forty minors, students at R-MC become active learners in specific areas ranging from environmental studies to international studies and from computer science to political science. They explore their fields through course work and independent study. Within the broader perspective of their liberal arts degree programs, students take classes in civilizations, arts and literature, social sciences, natural and mathematical sciences, and foreign languages.
While obtaining their liberal arts degrees, students view winter in a new way as they take part in the special programs the college offers during a special four-week term "J-term" in January. During this period before the spring semester, students travel to countries for study, attend courses that address current issues, or develop workplace experience. An office of international education assists students with travel courses, as well as semester-long, study-abroad programs. Through international education, students directly learn about other cultures and languages. Randolph-Macon College's undergraduate liberal arts programs and degrees challenge intellect and promote creativity in classes sized for instruction that is more individualized.
Student Life and Community Involvement Encourage Leadership and Teamwork
Because strong connections are built among peers when students meet or take leadership roles in student life activities, Randolph-Macon College encourages student involvement with many campus groups, an active student government, and extracurricular activities. R-MC's students from about thirty states and fifteen countries find fulfillment and fun by coordinating academics with campus involvement.
The campus center serves as a meeting place where students snack, shop for books, learn about student organizations, play some pool, or just hang out. The campus activities board, made up of student representatives from freshmen to seniors, organizes on-campus programs such as choosing bands for performances, selecting campus speakers, and working on homecoming events
More than 100 student organizations on the Randolph-Macon campus, organized into such categories as club sports, special interest, spiritual life, service, honor societies, student government, media, Greek life, and arts and performance, are active on campus and provide a myriad of involvement opportunities. Leadership qualities are developed through participation in organizations and athletics.
Students and local fans support fifteen Division III NCAA teams within the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, with about one third of R-MC's students representing the college as athletes on the Yellow Jackets' teams. Intramural and club sports provide yet another way students come together in teamwork. Randolph-Macon College fosters a hospitable environment that encourages a high percentage of its students to participate in positive, student life experiences.
