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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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| 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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