Experimental College (ExCo)
Scope and Contents
The Experimental College (ExCo) Records reflect the activities of a student-run academic department at Oberlin College. ExCo sponsors for-credit classes taught by Oberlin students, staff, or community members. It has offered courses outside the typical curriculum since the late 1960s, and its records show its influence on the College of Arts and Sciences and its departments.
The Experimental College's records span from ExCo's creation in 1968 to the present, with a notable gap in the 2000s as the earliesst born digital records were not retained. The collection is arranged in four series: Series 1. Course Catalogs and Lists; Series 2. Course Materials; Series 3. Administrative Files; and Series 4. Non-Textual Materials. Records include organization charters, syllabi, course proposals, evaluations, instructor information, financial documents, photographs, and posters or flyers.
Dates
- Creation: 1968-2026, undated
- Other: Dates acquired: 1988 October 5-2026 January 14
Creator
- Oberlin College Experimental College (Organization)
Administrative History
The Experimental College (ExCo) is both a student organization and a department of the college that sponsors for-credit courses taught by Oberlin students, administrators, townspeople, and faculty. The group was established in 1968 by the Educational Plans and Policies Committee as part of the national experimental college student movement. Its charter was approved in 1979. ExCo supplements the regular college curriculum by offering classes not typically available in traditional courses of study. These courses reflect the current academic, cultural, social, political, and intellectual trends of the Oberlin community.
As of 2013, students could earn from one to three credit hours for an ExCo course, and could apply up to five ExCo credits toward the 112 credit hours required for graduation. ExCo offered 63 courses in the Fall of 2013 covering an eclectic mix of sports, martial arts, dance, games, crafts, music, languages, sexuality and gender studies, activism and politics, cooking, meditation, popular culture and media, improvisational comedy, and letterpress printing.
Note written by Anne Cuyler Salsich, updated by Abby Fiedler.
Full Extent
11.21 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Method of Acquisition
Experimental College records were received in 1988, 1997, 2010, 2013, and 2026. Slides were received as part of a very large accession from the Office of Communications in 2009. Videotapes of trapeze shows, 2000-2002, were received in 2010 from Hannah Logan Morris.
Accruals and Additions
Accession Nos: 1988/097, 1988/128, 1997/008, 2009/052, 2010/010, 2013/037, 2026/003.
Bibliography
Sources Consulted for Administrative History:
Anita Buckmaster, “Learning by Teaching: The ExCo Experience,” Around the Square, November 1995, 4-5.
Experimental College website at http://new.oberlin.edu/parents/academics/experimental-college-%28exco%29.dot, accessed 27 February 2014.
Experimental College Charter, May 1, 1979, Experimental College Records (RG 09/18).
- Title
- Experimental College (ExCo) Finding Guide
- Author
- Cara McKibben, Anne Cuyler Salsich, Abby Fiedler
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2024: Finding guide prepared for migration by Emily Rebmann.
- 2026: Finding aid revised by Abby Fiedler. 2026 accession incorporated and entire collection revised.
Repository Details
Part of the Oberlin College Archives Repository
420 Mudd Center
148 West College Street
Oberlin OH 44074-1532 US
440-775-8014
archive@oberlin.edu