2008 Woodie Awards
General education changes approved
Rachel Davis, Opinion Editor
Issue date: 8/29/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
The faculty voted on new changes to the general education core in May that will take effect with the next one to three years.
Those changes, developed throughout the past four years, involve the addition of five new classes and several revisions to all departmental curriculums, said Dr. Nancy Shankle, chair of the English department and co-chair of the committee that presented the plan.
"We are very excited about these changes, and we think they fit in very nicely with the 21st Century Vision," Shankle said.
The first change is the replacement of University
Seminar with the new Cornerstone class, a three-hour class which will help students understand their liberal arts education.
"The class will be about 60 percent uniform and 40 percent teachers drawing on their own strengths," Shankle said. "There will still be opportunities for teachers to tailor their class to the needs of the departments and students."
Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, provost of the university, said Cornerstone won't be much like U100 at all. Instead of learning how to research at the library through workbook exercises,
students will receive assignments that require them to learn through research.
"In order to do well in the Cornerstone class, you'll have to learn to go to the library… there will be a lot more writing," VanRheenen said.
Also, three integrative courses will be required, and freshmen, sophomores and juniors will take one each year. They will progressively become harder and can't be taken out of order, Shankle said.
"They're interdisciplinary and will teach the students a different way of thinking and learning in the world when they leave college and go to work," Shankle said.
Seniors will finish off with the Capstone class, which will basically be one more chance for them to draw on what they've learned in their major and really engage the faith and learning they've experienced throughout the course of their education. Some departments already have a class similar to this, but Shankle said these changes would require every department to have a Capstone class.
Those changes, developed throughout the past four years, involve the addition of five new classes and several revisions to all departmental curriculums, said Dr. Nancy Shankle, chair of the English department and co-chair of the committee that presented the plan.
"We are very excited about these changes, and we think they fit in very nicely with the 21st Century Vision," Shankle said.
The first change is the replacement of University
Seminar with the new Cornerstone class, a three-hour class which will help students understand their liberal arts education.
"The class will be about 60 percent uniform and 40 percent teachers drawing on their own strengths," Shankle said. "There will still be opportunities for teachers to tailor their class to the needs of the departments and students."
Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, provost of the university, said Cornerstone won't be much like U100 at all. Instead of learning how to research at the library through workbook exercises,
students will receive assignments that require them to learn through research.
"In order to do well in the Cornerstone class, you'll have to learn to go to the library… there will be a lot more writing," VanRheenen said.
Also, three integrative courses will be required, and freshmen, sophomores and juniors will take one each year. They will progressively become harder and can't be taken out of order, Shankle said.
"They're interdisciplinary and will teach the students a different way of thinking and learning in the world when they leave college and go to work," Shankle said.
Seniors will finish off with the Capstone class, which will basically be one more chance for them to draw on what they've learned in their major and really engage the faith and learning they've experienced throughout the course of their education. Some departments already have a class similar to this, but Shankle said these changes would require every department to have a Capstone class.
Be the first to comment on this story