Changing to the core

University Senate prepares to vote on core curriculum revamp

On Sept. 27 the University Senate will vote to approve a new core curriculum for GCSU students. The core curriculum is a complete shift in standards for GCSU.

“We’re moving from a curriculum that’s based on courses to one that’s based on student learning outcomes and hours,” Julie Metzker said. “That’s much better because we get away from taking a course that you don’t really know why you’re taking.”

Area B, Area C and Area E of the current core will be the most affected by the change.

Currently, Area B students are required to choose two, two-hour classes relating to understanding society and the arts. Under the current Area E curriculum, students take classes in economics, historical perspectives and social science.

According to Metzker, with the new curriculum, three credit hours from Area E will be added to Area B, leaving nine and seven hours in each area respectively. Area B will now contain two classes: one on critical thinking for three hours and on global perspectives for four hours.

“Basically, we have those two hour classes (in Area B) and those are going away,” Metzker said. “The three-hour class is for freshmen and the four-hour class is for sophomores.”

The freshman class will focus on critical thinking, which is defined by the Board of Regents as being able to use effective search strategies, evaluate sources for relevance, authority and format, analyze evidence in support of an argument, and form logical conclusions. The sophomore class will prepare students to evaluate diverse responses of peoples, cultures, societies and groups to global issues.

“Both are supposed to be very small, like 25 to 30 (students), and it’s going to be writing intensive in where writing is really (a) part of the class, not just a few essays,” Metzker said.

The two Area B classes will fulfill some of the student learning requirements called overlays, the Board of Regents mandates. The flexibility of the new curriculum allows departments to offer a wider variety of themed classes. Different departments can teach classes in the core that fulfill the critical thinking and global perspectives objectives as well as a major class, according to Metzker.

Students will need one exposure to U.S. perspectives and three exposures for global perspectives to meet the BOR requirements. GCSU students will need one to two exposures for writing and speaking to meet GCSU guidelines. Any class with the correct learning objectives can meet these requirements.

Other changes in the curriculum include the addition of classes in many of the other areas. Area A will require students to take English 1101 and another communication course. Area C will include new classes that can be taken to fulfill the humanities and ethics or fine arts requirement. Area D will now include the option of a technology course, such as computer science, to be taken. Only one class in Area D must include a lab, down from the two required now.

Despite all the changes, many current students will be unaffected.

“All (of the changes) will only be to the core, so juniors and seniors, we hope, will be done with that,” said University Senate Chair Ken McGill.

According to Metzker, the changes should only affect new students in Fall 2011.

“Students are not going to end up not graduating because we changed the core. Typically you stay in the (curriculum) catalog you enrolled in,” Metzker said.

If the changes are approved at the Sept. 27 meeting, the next step in the process is for the departments to prepare a schedule and faculty list for the Fall 2011 semester. All schedules must be finalized by Feb. 1 when incoming freshman will be allowed to use the P.O.U.N.C.E. system to register for fall classes. The tight timeline leaves little room for setbacks or errors.

“I don’t even know what will happen if it doesn’t pass, hopefully it will pass,” Metzker said.

The process began in Fall 2009 after the BOR approved a core curriculum revision and prompted GCSU to launch a committee to rework the core.

“We’ve been working on this since November of last year; they gave us a super tight timeline,” Metzker said.

During the 10-month process, GCSU faculty and staff have been meeting and discussing how to meet the changes mandated by the BOR. Some faculty members even worked through the summer to ensure the deadline is met.

“These were faculty donating their time…it’d be like you taking a class in the summer for no credit,” McGill said.

The process has included feedback and suggestions from numerous departments and offices, as well as the University Senate.

“We’re one of two in the university system that’s involved university governance in the process…so that speaks volume for this administration,” McGill said.

in each area respectively. Area B will now contain two classes: one on critical thinking for three hours and on global perspectives for four hours.

“Basically, we have those two hour classes (in Area B) and those are going away,” Metzker said. “The three-hour class is for freshmen and the four-hour class is for sophomores.”

The freshman class will focus on critical thinking, which is defined by the Board of Regents as being able to use effective search strategies, evaluate sources for relevance, authority and format, analyze evidence in support of an argument, and form logical conclusions. The sophomore class will prepare students to evaluate diverse responses of peoples, cultures, societies and groups to global issues.

“Both are supposed to be very small, like 25 to 30 (students), and it’s going to be writing intensive in where writing is really (a) part of the class, not just a few essays,” Metzker said.

The two Area B classes will fulfill some of the student learning requirements called overlays, the Board of Regents mandates. The flexibility of the new curriculum allows departments to offer a wider variety of themed classes. Different departments can teach classes in the core that fulfill the critical thinking and global perspectives objectives as well as a major class, according to Metzker.

Students will need one exposure to U.S. perspectives and three exposures for global perspectives to meet the BOR requirements. GCSU students will need one to two exposures for writing and speaking to meet GCSU guidelines. Any class with the correct learning objectives can meet these requirements.

Other changes in the curriculum include the addition of classes in many of the other areas. Area A will require students to take English 1101 and another communication course. Area C will include new classes that can be taken to fulfill the humanities and ethics or fine arts requirement. Area D will now include the option of a technology course, such as computer science, to be taken. Only one class in Area D must include a lab, down from the two required now.

Despite all the changes, many current students will be unaffected.

“All (of the changes) will only be to the core, so juniors and seniors, we hope, will be done with that,” said University Senate Chair Ken McGill.

According to Metzker, the changes should only affect new students in Fall 2011.

“Students are not going to end up not graduating because we changed the core. Typically you stay in the (curriculum) catalog you enrolled in,” Metzker said.

If the changes are approved at the Sept. 27 meeting, the next step in the process is for the departments to prepare a schedule and faculty list for the Fall 2011 semester. All schedules must be finalized by Feb. 1 when incoming freshman will be allowed to use the P.O.U.N.C.E. system to register for fall classes. The tight timeline leaves little room for setbacks or errors.

“I don’t even know what will happen if it doesn’t pass, hopefully it will pass,” Metzker said.

The process began in Fall 2009 after the BOR approved a core curriculum revision and prompted GCSU to launch a committee to rework the core.

“We’ve been working on this since November of last year; they gave us a super tight timeline,” Metzker said.

During the 10-month process, GCSU faculty and staff have been meeting and discussing how to meet the changes mandated by the BOR. Some faculty members even worked through the summer to ensure the deadline is met.

“These were faculty donating their time…it’d be like you taking a class in the summer for no credit,” McGill said.

The process has included feedback and suggestions from numerous departments and offices, as well as the University Senate.

“We’re one of two in the university system that’s involved university governance in the process…so that speaks volume for this administration,” McGill said.

Posted by Matt Chambers on Sep 24 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.