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| "A blueprint to significantly
change the university’s undergraduate core curriculum
received critical support from the UT Austin Faculty Council
(fall ‘06), clearing the way for the most meaningful change
in the university’s undergraduate curriculum in 25
years," reported the university.
"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. |
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| For
more information, contact Don Hale, vice president for
public affairs, The University of Texas at Austin,
512/475-6869, donhale@mail.utexas.edu. |
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| After several years of deliberation
about curricular design, Case Western Reserve University
restructured its core course requirements for undergraduates
and introduced the Seminar Approach to General Education and
Scholarship, SAGES.
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." |
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| For more information, contact
Susan Griffith, senior news and information specialist, Case
Western Reserve University, 216/368-1004, susan.griffith@case.edu. |
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| The university "is in the
implementation phase of a new core curriculum, updating a set
of courses last reviewed and reorganized in 1984. The more
than 20-year lifespan for the previous core is ‘unusual,’
according to Dr. Marilyn Buck, associate provost and dean of
University College, though she believes the arrangement served
the university and students well during its time in
place."
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." |
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| For
more information, contact Kevin Burke, director
of university communications, 765/285-5948, kburke@bsu.edu;
or Marilyn Buck, associate provost and dean of University
College, Ball State University, 765/285-3716, mbuck@bsu.edu.
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| The university is overhauling its
core curriculum for the first time since 1991. According to
Paul Benson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the
ambitious revision is being done for several reasons. One is
that more than half of the faculty has been hired since the
current program was created, and "curriculum tends to be
vital and effective when faculty members have a hand in
creating it," Benson said.
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." |
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| For
more information, contact Cilla Shindell,
director of media relations, 937/229-3257, shindell@udayton.edu;
or Paul Benson, dean, College of Arts and Sciences, University
of Dayton, 937/229-2601, paul.benson@notes.udayton.edu. |
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| Students who entered Bates College
last September (2007) are the first working under new Bates
College General Education requirements. By the fall of 2010,
all students will be subject to the new requirements.
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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| For more information, contact
Bryan McNulty, director of communications and media relations,
Bates College, 207/786-6330, bmcnulty@bates.edu. |
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