"Among the changes to the core curriculum would be requirements that all undergraduates take:

• Two interdisciplinary ‘Signature Courses’ taught by distinguished faculty members."
• Courses that include a focus on six skills and experiences needed by professionals and citizens in today’s world, including writing, quantitative reasoning, global cultures, cultural diversity in the United States, ethics and leadership, and independent inquiry."

The university "expects the changes to the undergraduate curriculum to be in place by 2010.

The university notes that "SAGES represents a bold new model for undergraduate education at a major research university. This signature program connects our newest students with the university's faculty and culture, and with other University Circle institutions in Cleveland, in a series of small, interdisciplinary seminars.

"Through SAGES, Case Western Reserve University students acquire the knowledge and analytical skills necessary to solve real-world problems, as well as the power to articulate their ideas effectively in both speech and writing. All of the university schools and colleges that grant undergraduate degrees—Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Nursing, and Management—participate in SAGES, and the program sequence extends through the entire undergraduate curriculum.

"During the first two years, students complete three interdisciplinary seminars. These are followed, in the third year, by a departmental seminar, usually in a student's major field; and, in the fourth year, by a capstone project demonstrating the intellectual agility and collaborative spirit that SAGES is designed to foster."

Buck explains the university's approach to redesigning the core is three-pronged: "improved content, increased integration of technology, and greater diversity of programs. Those guidelines established, the faculty, colleges and departments begin making specific proposals this fall."

The university reports, "The most exciting aspect of the coming change, in Buck's view, is the involvement of academic units not previously part of Ball State's core, particularly the College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) and Teachers College.

"Opening select CAP courses to more students introduces them to a new and wider array of design influences and experiences, expanding their points of reference and possibly leading to new ideas and perspectives. Buck expects an enthusiastic response from students when CAP classes join the core.

"Teachers College is the foundation stone of the modern Ball State. Though, ironically, it has been out of the "main stream" of curricular life on campus for some years (the largest college now being Sciences and Humanities). With the revision of the core, resources and opportunities within Teachers College also become available to more students."

The revised core curriculum will create an experience for students that reflects the unique Catholic, Marianist tradition that is distinctive of the University of Dayton, which is one of the top ten Catholic universities in the country. "We want them to take away from their common academic experience something that clearly marks that they have the University of Dayton's academic experience."

The new core curriculum will emphasize learning outcomes. "There is a focus on what students will take away. UD is stepping up and saying 'we'll be accountable.' We will be able to demonstrate that our students have met our seven learning objectives in a way that we can explicitly demonstrate."

An emphasis on experiential learning in the core: "Experiential learning is much, much more important to the Millennial generation. We are looking at all different kinds of experiential learning -- student research experiences, internships, retreats, student activities -- and we are clarifying how we can relate those experiences to learning outcomes. This will help us bridge experiential and academic course-based programs."

A Bates education is structured around a major, General Education requirements, and elective courses. There are no core courses required of all students, however, there is a structured menu of options allowing students to extend, focus and connect areas of interest.

The General Education requirements include three writing-attentive courses and three courses focused on scientific reasoning, laboratory experience and quantitative literacy; these courses may be taken from many offered across the curriculum. The first-year seminar satisfies the requirement for a first-level writing-attentive course.

Students also complete two General Education concentrations outside their major. Each concentration consists of four courses organized around a central theme and reaching across many disciplines.

The goals of the new General Education requirements are:

• To foster a comparative appreciation of how several disciplines function and what they can teach us. This goal is met through the two General Education concentrations each student takes in addition to the major.

• To help every graduate to meet the challenge of writing correctly and persuasively. This goal is met by a series of three writing-attentive courses taken at various points in a student's Bates career.

• To ensure that all of our students have had formal instruction at the college level in the methods and findings of the sciences and in quantitative analysis. This goal is met by taking three distinct courses that call for scientific reasoning, develop quantitative literacy, and provide a laboratory experience.

General Education requirements help students develop a range of skills across many disciplines and challenge them to think in complex, interdisciplinary ways. Courses and units that meet General Education requirements are taken throughout a student's career at introductory, intermediate and advanced levels.

Web link for further background: www.bates.edu/gened2011.xml

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