The General Education program’s cluster system could be eliminated if the Faculty Senate and the provost approve proposed changes to the overall program.
Eliminating the cluster system would mean that students would no longer have to take a 200-level course in the same cluster as their 100-level course for each of the five foundational areas, according to the Director of the General Education Program Patrick Thaddeus Jackson.
Other proposed changes include:
• Allowing some study abroad courses to go toward Gen Ed requirements • Allowing some honors seminars to meet new Gen Ed requirements • Adding new sophomore seminars as courses that fulfill Gen Ed requirements • Allowing some advanced foreign language courses to count toward Gen Ed requirements
For the changes to become official, a subcommittee of the Faculty Senate must first report to the full Faculty Senate, which will then vote on the recommendations and forward them to Provost Scott Bass, according to Jackson.
This proposed change would allow students to choose from more courses that meet the demands of the foundational areas, Jackson said. The current program offers only 150 courses for Gen Ed credit. If the changes are approved, the number of courses offered for Gen Ed credit could increase.
In addition, some study abroad and honors courses may meet new Gen Ed requirements, which Jackson said could take effect in fall 2012. Gen Ed courses must relate to one of the five foundational areas and at least two intellectual resources, such as reasoning, innovative thinking or diverse perspectives.
Other changes being considered include the addition of new sophomore seminars, which would count for Gen Ed credit, and applying certain advanced foreign language courses to Gen Ed credit.
“A lot of the changes that have been proposed are organizational changes, and some shifts in the way we go about achieving the same basic goals of providing people with a broad-based education that we always have,” Jackson said.
A task force composed of faculty and one undergraduate representative met last year to refine the language used to determine what it means to be generally educated, Jackson said.
“There needed to be more of an emphasis on integrative learning, on the ability of people to be able to pull different areas together,” he said.
Two of the five curricular areas may be renamed: “Global and Cross-Cultural Perspectives” could become “Global and Multicultural Perspectives.” “The Natural Sciences” would become “Natural Sciences and Mathematics” but would still require one of the two courses in the category to be a lab science, according to a task force report.
Andy MacCracken, last year’s Student Government president, represented undergraduates on the task force, which included faculty from each school and a library representative. MacCracken said his main concern was building a program students would consider an opportunity rather than a restriction.
“They definitely recognized that part of the failures right now with Gen Ed is simply with perception of the program,” MacCracken said.
Eric Goldstein, SG director of academic affairs, is the undergraduate member of the Faculty Senate subcommittee that will review the changes this semester.
Current students will most likely get to choose between the old or the new program if the change is implemented, Jackson said.
If the changes are approved, the incoming class of 2012 would likely be the first to start AU with the new Gen Ed program, Jackson said.
New students could still request credit for Advanced Placement test scores to replace up to four of the 10 required Gen Ed courses, according to the task force report.
“I think students are going to like the increased flexibility,” Jackson said.
kdakin@theeagleonline.com
