Changes to revise required classes

Future GC&SU students may experience a major change in the core curriculum in a few years.

The ad hoc curriculum committee has proposed more classes that focus on global issues, foreign language and liberal arts rather than traditional subjects such as mathematics, social sciences and science.

If the proposal is approved, English 1101 and 1102 could be no longer required for students to take.

“We have had many indications from students and faculty that the current core is ineffective,” said Jane Rose, professor of English and a committee member.

The curriculum committee held forums last week to hear feedback and suggestions from faculty members and staff on the proposal to change the core curriculum. The goal of the committee is to have the proposal ratified by Fall 2007.

The discussion of changing the core curriculum originated primarily from comments by students and faculty.

“We currently have all the state institutions following the template system of the University of Georgia,” said Michael McGinnis, associate professor of chemistry and chairman of the ad hoc committee. “We (GC&SU) are a public liberal arts university, and we need to have a distinctive core.”

If finalized, the proposal will call for students to take one seminar during their freshman year and one during their sophomore year. The seminars would be designed to focus on writing and critical discussion, rather than their major. Also, students can take up to 3 classes in the 11 emphases, which include writing, speaking and analytical thinking, instead of filling up courses in mathematics, fine arts and social sciences.

“We (GC&SU) want the faculty to develop some exciting classes (to teach) and for our students to take exciting classes,” said McGinnis. “The combination of the two would allow for a better learning process.”

In the new proposal, English 1101 and 1102, political science and economics would no longer be required but can still be taken. Rose says that in the students’ first term, they will take a basic course that combines writing and speaking in addition to several other courses that focus more on critical thinking and analysis.

“It is helpful to think about the core not in courses but in the competence of the courses,” Rose said.

While many members of the committee are in favor of the current proposal, other faculty members such as Dr. Mike Digby, professor of government and sociology, have their concerns with the proposal.

“My primarily concern is that we need to have a more specific foundation,” Digby said. “More subjects that our students just simply have to take.”

The committee will seek to revise the proposal before sending it to Academic Governance Committee in the fall. After approval from the committee, the proposal would then be sent to the University Senate to be ratified. Then the proposal must be endorsed by Dr. Dorothy Leland, president of GC&SU, who will then send the proposal to the Board of Regents for approval. While the hope of the committee is to have the new core begin in Fall 2007, current GC&SU students who are enrolled in 2007 will not be affected.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 7 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry