Star Tribune reporter Jean Hopfensperger and photographer Jerry Holt accompanied the group to chronicle how Minnesotans are observing the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in the “Land of Luther” in addition to the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” given that religious, arts, and cultural organizations across Minnesota are planning special events and exhibits to mark the occasion.

As Hopfensperger wrote, “Luther’s legacy is particularly deep in Minnesota, and not just because of his followers’ enduring embrace of hymn fests — often followed by Jell-O and hot dish. One in four residents trace their namesake faith to the monk from Wittenberg.”

In a Star Tribune story, Augsburg alumnae Carol Pfleiderer ’64 and Kathleen Johnson ’72 described their excitement with the trip itinerary and the ways it reflects and builds upon their understanding of their faith.

The Rev. Mark Hanson ’68, the College’s Executive Director of the , was among other alumni quoted in the article. He described some of the ways the Lutheran church is using the Reformation anniversary to foster Lutheran-Catholic dialogue and to make the church accessible to all people.

Read, “” on the Star Tribune site.

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What happens when you combine 50 first-year students, five professors, a gigantic problem, and no traditional grades? In the case of Augsburg’s Integrated Term, you get a pretty interesting story.

Here’s a quick primer on the iTerm.

For the students in the iTerm and the five faculty members teaching it—Phil Adamo, Lars Christiansen, Robert Cowgill, Lori Brandt Hale and Colin Irvine—this is their entire load of courses for the semester. The focus of the iTerm is on the Fate of the Earth: Food, Fuel and Consumption.

Students who complete the term will receive credit for either English 101 or English 111 (writing), Religion 100 (Christian Vocation and the Search for Meaning I), History 101 (Western Civilization), Sociology 121 (Intro to Human Society) and AugSem. They will also complete their Engaging Minneapolis requirement.

What the students won’t receive, however, is a traditional letter grade for the term. Instead, they will receive written evaluations from each of the faculty members teaching the class.

One of the goals is to get students out of the routine of simply working for a grade. Many students learn how to get a good grade rather than learning how to learn. The hope is that this term changes some of that.

“The hope is that students will develop a different attitude toward learning, and even some ability to evaluate their own work,” Adamo said. “Hopefully they get to a point where they say, ‘Wow, I get it.’ And then going into the second semester, they don’t retract back like a big rubber band. When you say no grades, students’ eyes light up. But no grades does not mean no evaluation.”

Because of the unique nature of the program, a reporter from the Minneapolis Star Tribune visited the Augsburg campus and the class several times this month. On Saturday, the story, entitled, “Learning for the sake of learning,” was published.

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