December 2, 2002
Final Version

Proposed College Degree Requirements

Preamble:

The Ad-Hoc Committee on the Curriculum was charged by the Faculty Senate with developing a proposal for curricular reform after two years of unsuccessful efforts by Academic Policy committees.  The Committee was appointed for two years, so as to allow time to complete the process without the disruption caused by turnover of committee membership.  Although different philosophies and departmental interests were represented on our committee, we managed to avoid most of the interpersonal conflicts that undermined previous efforts.  We did not attempt to "reinvent the wheel," but built on the work of the previous committees.  We also reviewed the curricula of comparable colleges for inspiration and guidance.

Our proposal builds on the College's traditional strengths in the liberal arts and recognizes strengths in diversity studies and global studies that were not part of the previous requirements.   It adds a real foreign language requirement. We added a writing requirement which provides opportunities for departments to add writing-intensive courses, and we made sure that the English department was prepared to provide sufficient writing courses in case the departments were unable to do so. We limited ourselves to ideas that could be effectively implemented by our faculty.  We dropped the Intellectual Heritage/Science, Technology and Society requirement because the College has not been able to implement it adequately.

This proposal emphasizes skills in writing and increased knowledge of cultural diversity and global issues.  Courses with a writing component that meet specific requirements will be marked (W) in the catalog.  Diversity and global studies have been combined into one category for practical reasons, even though they refer to somewhat different things.   For purposes of this curriculum, "diversity" means courses that focus on multicultural differences within the United States, including race, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnic and social class differences.  These courses will be marked (D) in the catalog.  "Global studies" refers to courses that focus on societies, languages and cultures outside the English speaking world, including continental Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.  These courses will be marked (G) in the catalog.  Once the proposal is approved, each department should specify which courses it will offer that could meet the writing or diversity/global studies requirements.  The Academic Policy committee will be responsible for administering the guidelines for the W, D, and G courses, and will decide which of the courses submitted to them by the departments should receive these designations.1


THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON THE CURRICULUM MOVES THAT THE SENATE ADOPT THE FOLLOWING PROPOSAL AND GUIDELINES (W, G, and D):
 

THE PROPOSAL:

A.  Language Skills - Students will learn to read and express complex ideas through written and oral communication, and to understand the nature of language and its role in the human experience.  9 credits, plus 3 (W) credits that may be double counted* for another requirement.

    1.  English Composition (350: 101, 102)  (6 cr.)
    2.  One course in a FOREIGN LANGUAGE. at the 102 {Elementary II} level  or above  (3 cr.)
    3.  One writing course offered by the ENGLISH Department (989:300, 301, 302, 303) or one writing-intensive course offered in another department and marked with a (W) in the catalog.  Credits earned in writing-intensive (W) courses may also be counted to fulfill other college or major requirements.  Departments are encouraged to offer (W) courses in the major.  English 102 will be a prerequisite for all "W" courses.
 

B.  Quantitative Skills - Students will learn to solve problems through logical and mathematical processes, and to interpret numerical and quantitative information.  6 credits.

    1.  One course from the Mathematics department (640 courses only).
    2.  One additional MATHEMATICS (640) course or one COMPUTER SCIENCE (198) course or a specified course in PHILOSOPHY (730: 201, 232 or 430) or STATISTICS (any 960 course or 790:301) or a specified quantitative methods course in another discipline (830:215 or 920: 301).

C.  Ancient and Modern Heritages - Students will acquire an understanding of culture through the study of the historical bases of the societies and world in which they live, including the multicultural and international dimensions of those societies and the philosophical, ethical and religious works of those societies.  9 credits.

    1.  World Masterpieces (090:238). This course will be administered by the English Department, but will be given an interdisciplinary number and will be taught by both ENGLISH and FOREIGN LANGUAGE department faculty.
    2.  Two courses from the disciplines of HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, or RELIGION (NOT including 730: 201, 332, or 430).

D. Literature and Fine Arts - Students will acquire an understanding of the culture of the world in which they live through a study of the artistic, literary, theatrical and musical works of those societies.  6 credits.

    1.  One course from the Fine Arts Department (not including speech courses).
    2.  One course from the ENGLISH (subject areas 350, 352, or 354) or FOREIGN LANGUAGE departments, not including courses devoted primarily to the accquisition of a language.

E. Social Sciences  - Students will acquire an understanding of the nature of social and individual behavior, of the political and policy-making process, of their role as citizens, and of the use of scientific methods of inquiry to answer questions and generate new knowledge in the social sciences.  6 credits

    1.  Two courses from the disciplines of ANTHROPOLOGY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE, ECONOMICS, POLITICAL SCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY, URBAN STUDIES.  [No more than 3 credits from any one discipline]

F. Diversity and Global Studies - Students will acquire an understanding of the multicultural diversity of American society and of the globalized world in which they live.  3 credits.

1.  One course that explores the philosophical, theoretical, empirical, and pragmatic bases of diversity in contemporary American society.    Diversity refers to multicultural differences within the United States, including race, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, and social class.  Courses that focus on diversity will be designated (D) in the catalogue. 3 credits.

OR:

2.  One course focusing on  "Global Studies"   (3 cr.)    "Global Studies" refers to courses that focus on societies, languages and cultures outside the English speaking world, including continental Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.  Courses that focus on diversity will be designated (G) in the catalogue.  3 credits.

G. Natural Sciences - Students will acquire an understanding of the physical and biological environment and the forces that have shaped it, of the impact of the natural sciences on society, and of the use of scientific methods of inquiry to answer questions and generate new knowledge in the natural sciences.  6 credits.

    1.  Two courses from the subject areas of  ASTRONOMY, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, CHEMISTRY, GEOLOGY or PHYSICS.  6 credits.
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1 The guidelines for the writing intensive courses appear below:

    Courses marked "W" should conform to the following guidelines:

    1. A required guide to writing and style (used college-wide).
    2. The equivalent of about 20 pages of finished writing, depending on  models of writing used in the particular discipline.
    3. An assignment that includes research and documentation.
    4. Sequenced assignments that build skills  (for example, response papers or journals leading to more finished writing).
    5. Feedback on writing from instructor and/or peers through paper comments and/or conferences.
    6. A process approach to writing, with opportunity to revise either informal or finished writing.
    7. Attention to specific writing demands in the discipline in which the course is taught (i.e., how to write a history paper in AHA style or a science lab report).

English 102 will be a prerequisite for all "W" courses.

The guidelines for G and D courses appear below:

For purposes of this curriculum, diversity courses explore the philosophical, theoretical, empirical, or pragmatic bases of diversity in contemporary American society.    "Diversity" refers to multicultural differences within the United States, including race, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity and social class.  Courses that focus on diversity will be designated (D) in the catalogue.  "Global studies" refers to courses that focus primarily on societies, languages and cultures outside the English speaking world, including continental Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.  These courses will be marked (G) in the catalog.  Once the proposal is approved, each department should specify which courses it will offer (if any) that could meet the writing or diversity/global studies requirements.

The Academic Policy committee will be responsible for administering the guidelines for the W, D, and G courses, and will decide which of the courses submitted to them by the departments should receive these designations.

Courses required for major programs may count toward completing both major and general curricular requirements, but, other than writing intensive courses, no course may be counted toward fulfilling two different categories of the general curricular requirements.



For your information:

Appendix 1:   Comparison of Current and Proposed Requirements
 
 
Requirements Current Proposed Paragraph
English Composition 6 6 A
Foreign Language Course (in the language--102 level or above) 0 3 A
A course from the offerings of the foreign language departments 3 0
Writing (may be double counted*; may be in English or another department) 0 (3)
Literary Masterpieces II, a Writing Course, or a Foreign Language Department Course (recategorized) 3 . .
English Literature or Foreign Language Department Course (new category) . 3 D
Quantitative Skills (unchanged) 6 6 B
World Masterpieces (to be taught by English and Foreign Language faculty) 3 3 C
History, Philosophy, or Religion 6 6 C
Fine Arts (unchanged) 3 3 D
Social Sciences (cut from 9 to 6) 9 6 E
Diversity or  Global Studies  . 3 F
Natural Sciences (unchanged) 6 6 G
Intellectual Heritage, STS or Approved Substitute 3 . .
Total Required (if writing is not double counted*) 48 48 .
Total Required (if writing is double counted*) . 45 .
Nine additional credits outside the major (cut from the new curriculum).. 9 . .

* "Double Counting" means that a writing course could meet both the writing requirement and another general or departmental requirement, e.g., a (W) course offered in a social science subject area could meet both a writing and a social science requirement.
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