Core Problem 2: Course Sufficiency
Closely related to the problem of scarce resources has been a persistent shortage of courses, sections,
and staffing in the University Core Curriculum. Enrollments in Foundation Skills, in the Natural Sciences,
in the Humanities (Group II), and in Integrative Studies are particularly tight (where more than 95 percent
of seating capacity is reached before the semester begins). For many courses, classes are closed within the
first week of registration. In other courses, classroom space is too small for the number of students
enrolled, a facility issue as well as a scheduling concern. There is considerable pressure each Autumn to
enlarge sections of English 101, now set at 20 students each.
It is worth noting, however, that sufficiency is not just a matter of more money. Enrollment is unevenly
distributed; some areas are in greater demand than others, as indicated above. Part of the problem can
therefore be addressed by scheduling, registration, and curricular initiatives that would have the net
effect of redistributing enrollment more evenly without incurring additional costs to the University.
Moreover, responsibility for instruction can be shared by senior faculty and administrators whose example
encourages others to participate in the Core.
Of particular concern is the administrative mechanism for ensuring that there are enough sections of all
Core courses, so that students can fulfill their degree requirements in a timely fashion. Although the
number of sections has actually increased 19 percent in the past four years, they have not been scheduled
at the most convenient hours for students to take. Nor have they been offered by a predictable corps of
instructors, many of whom are identified at the last moment as a budgetary expedience. In short, there
needs to be better coordination of both staffing and scheduling.
Possible solutions to the Course Sufficiency problem are:
- formation of a cadre of 25 long-term faculty whose teaching would be primarily (but not exclusively)
in the Core, to be appointed by the academic unit but accountable to the Core director for their
participation in the program -- at least until more research faculty are recruited to replace them.
Cost: Subject to instructional needs
Responsibility: Core, Academic Affairs
- closer coordination of course scheduling (and cross-listing), semester by semester, by the participating
academic units in each Core curricular area to make more efficient use of all available staffing.
Cost: None
Responsibility: Core, chairs and directors of participating academic units
- an increased number of more flexibly scheduled evening and weekend sections and part-semester modules
for each Foundation Skills course and for at least one course from each Disciplinary area, from
Multicultural Studies, and from Interdisciplinary Studies, with well-targeted advertising to ensure that
all student markets are informed about these courses and others in the Core.
Cost: Subject to University advertising budget
Responsibility: Core, Academic Affairs
- guaranteed seats in selected Core classes up to a specified deadline for student registration, to be
worked out in consultation with Scheduling, Advisement, and New Student Orientation.
Cost: None
Responsibility: Core, Student Affairs
- a curricular initiative to permit two foreign language courses at any level to satisfy the Humanities
(Group II) two-course requirement, subject to appropriate checks on international students already
fluent in another language, adequate placement based on proficiency exams, high school background, and
overseas language study, and coordination with requirements in the College of Liberal Arts.
Core: None
Responsibility: Core, Foreign Languages & Literatures, Faculty Senate, College of Liberal Arts Council
- another curricular initiative to permit undergraduate research in University facilities, like the
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility, funded by National Science Foundation grants and the Undergraduate
Research Fellowships, to satisfy the laboratory requirement for selected Core science courses.
Cost: Continuation of Undergraduate Research Program
Responsibility: Core, Academic Affairs
- still another curricular initiative to expand to three hours the Multicultural Applied Experience Option
in the Core to allow service-learning experiences, internships, and overseas study, with rigorous
faculty oversight, to satisfy up to six hours required in Integrative Studies.
Cost: None
Responsibility: Core, Student Affairs, Faculty Senate
- expansion of the Integrative Studies area, where student demand is greatest, by internationalizing the
context of domestic diversity in the Core.
Cost: None
Responsibility: Core, Faculty Senate
Acknowledgment
The generous assistance of Todd Bernhardt and Brenda Yucas in the Core Curriculum office is
gratefully acknowledged. |
