November 01, 2004

A curriculum and calendar proposal (#33)

This proposal is designed to give added flexibility in student course requirements, and hence to provide some relief from the present GER by a reduction in the number of courses required, and to largely use the present course structure that is in place today. This does not exclude the possibility of new courses being added. The key feature here is that we would have a core curriculum that would consist of 11 to 13 courses. With respect to the total curriculum all students would be expected to complete 30 courses divided into three major groups: Core Curriculum, Electives, Major requirements.

Using the current Degree Requirements Checklist designations, the Core Curriculum proposal is as follows:

Composition - one course, Eng 11

Combine History, Religion , Literature , Upper –level humanity and African-Asian courses into one group from which students must choose and complete three courses.

HES 10- one course

Foreign Languages – Students would complete two courses up to the intermediate level or place out of the requirement. Zero to two courses.

Mathematics - one course.

Physical Science two courses.

Social Science - two courses.

Fine Arts one course.

The total here is between 11 and 13 GER courses depending on language placement.

With respect to the major we would maintain a standard ten courses to meet the major requirement, some of which could also be counted as GER courses. This is our present situation. These changes are intended to allow students the option to take more electives, including some in the major department.

This would leave at least 7 to perhaps 11 courses that students could take as electives.
We are sure that many of these choices would be used to support major requirements; however, we believe that this arrangement would offer more degrees of freedom for the students.


Finally with respect to the calendar, we believe that our current three term academic year should be retained largely because it provides more opportunity for student choices with respect to entry into and exit from programs and to make career adjustments. If there would be a change in the calendar we would recommend the adoption of a standard quarter system of say 10 weeks per term. This would shorten our current academic year by 2 weeks, and hence allow students to engage in exterior summer internships and employment opportunities at an earlier point in time.

Posted by love at November 1, 2004 10:54 AM
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