Gen Ed Changes Approved

Carson-Newman faculty voted in favor of changes proposed to the Core Curriculum during October's faculty meeting. The changes, however, require other curriculum adjustments, as well as approval by discipline specific licensing agencies and will not take effect until the fall of 2008. "Every good curriculum is constantly assessed and revised to be sure that students are achieving the skills and knowledge that the faculty believes is important for well-rounded college graduates," said Dr. Tori Knight. "The general education program at C-N had not been significantly revised in nearly 20 years and had lost its cohesiveness. The groups that worked on the revision felt that the basic structure of the curriculum was sound, however it needed to be updated and revised in order to breathe new life into it and to revive excitement for the program."

Three separate groups were part of the process of revising the general education curriculum, which will be called the Liberal Arts Core First, a general education taskforce met for about three years. This taskforce was made up of faculty representatives from each division. The group talked with faculty and students about the current general education program and what they would like to see in a new program. The taskforce also looked at innovative programs at other schools and implemented an assessment program to gather information. The taskforce made recommendations for change to the general education program and brought them to the faculty.

The faculty voted to have the Academic Council, a group made up of the academic deans, the provost, the registrar, the vice president of enrollment and a faculty representative continue with the revision process. This group designed the Liberal Arts Core and brought it to the faculty in March, 2007 for consideration. At this point, the General Education Council was created and charged with the task of writing a mission statement for the Liberal Arts Core and fixing a few of the concerns with the proposed Core, as well as continuing the assessment of general education. The General Education Council members include Dr. Thomas Bass, Dr. Wade Bibb, Dr. Cathy Bush, Emaly Conerly, Dr. Ray Dalton, Dr. Jennifer Hall, Dr. Angela Holder, Dr. Peggy Hypes, Mrs. Sharon McAnear, Mr. Robert Terrell, and Dr. Tori Knight.

One of the most significant changes is the creation of a new Introduction to Liberal Arts course that every new C-N student will take. This course will introduce students to the Liberal Arts education that they will receive at C-N.

The Core curriculum is also streamlined, ensuring that students will have a very similar Core educational experience. Knight said the goals of the changes are to make sure that the general education program at C-N is preparing students for the challenges of life and work. Revising the curriculum allows the faculty to spend a time intensely considering the learning outcomes of the curriculum and whether those outcomes could be improved by changes.

Current students will not be affected by the changes unless they choose to move to a newer catalog that contains the changes. For some, that might be advantageous. All the courses that are in the current general education program will continue to be offered and the program supported until all students under those catalogs have graduated.