For years, Hillsdale College has been educating its students on the U.S. Constitution. Now, the college is teaching the Constitution to the country.
On Feb. 20, Hillsdale College is launching a 10-week online Constitution course titled “Constitution 101: The Meaning and History of the Constitution.” It is available for free to the public. The course features a series of lectures given by six members of the Hillsdale faculty, including President Larry Arnn.
Along with the lectures, the course includes selected readings from the new Constitution reader, study guides, outlines, and a weekly comprehension quiz. The lectures will be released on the Monday of each new week, and Director of the Dow Journalism Program John Miller will host weekly question and answer sessions with each lecturer. Although the course does not provide academic credits, the participants will receive a certificate of completion at the end.
“This online class is not the same as what we do in the classrooms,” said Marketing Manager Fred Hadra. “It is not the same as the highest and best form of learning that we do here at the college, but we do think it is good both for the school and for the country.”
The course follows a five-part lecture series by Arnn titled “Introduction to the Constitution.” This first course was an experiment by the college to gauge both enthusiasm and interest. Hadra said over 185,000 people signed up to view the series, proving that there is an audience for such a course.
Diane Schmitt, a resident of Kansas City, Mo., registered for the original course after hearing an advertisement on The Rush Limbaugh Show. She said she enjoyed the lectures and the format.
“It provided really good insight into the way the Founding Fathers thought and why they gave importance to things like the separation of powers when they were writing the Constitution,” Schmitt said. “I enjoyed the insight it gave.”
David Scott, a native of Atlanta, Ga., said he found out about the original course through Imprimis.
“I enjoyed the lectures very much,” he said. “It was a concise and macro look at the Constitution. It explained the practical effect that the document has on us today, and not just the political theory.”
Scott especially appreciated the flexibility of the course.
“It’s perfect for me because if I have to watch it at 11 at night because I’ve been working all day, I can,” he said. Scott loved the course so much that he is already registered for the new one.
Advertisement for the new course begins this week, but already there are over 10,000 people registered.
“Based upon the response we have, even before the radio advertising, we are confident that there will be a wonderful response,” Hadra said.
There is no registration charge for the course, but the “citizen students” are given the opportunity to donate to the college. Hadra said that many of the students in the first course donated money to the school, both in small and big portions.
“It shows people are hungry for this type of learning,” Hadra said. “And they look to Hillsdale for it.”
“The course gave me an even greater appreciation for the Constitution,” Schmitt said. “It’s not something you think about everyday, so it just reminds you of what an amazing document it is.”
Hadra said the college is interested to see how this new online course runs, and is confident that it will be successful.
“This is a service to the country,” Hadra said. “Hillsdale is seen as a source for learning about the Constitution.”
