It's possible, but not likely, that the new Ball State University Core Curriculum will be implemented by Fall 2008, as subcommittees of University Senate are still discussing the changes.
The University Core Curriculum for the 21st Century proposal has been under review since Sept. 28 when it was submitted to the University Senate by the UCC Task Force. While it is unknown when university government will finish considering the proposal, it will take about two semesters to implement the changes after the Board of Trustees approves it, Juli Eflin, chairwoman of the task force, estimated.
UCC-21 is a three-tiered program designed to encourage students to focus their learning and apply it to make sound judgments, she said. Students would continue to take core curriculum courses throughout college, but the classes would be more in-depth and overlap with their majors.
If UCC-21 is not implemented by 2008, it might be launched in 2009 "mid-catalogue," either online or as a pamphlet separate to the standard university course catalogue, Eflin said. In that case, students entering their freshmen year in 2009 would be subject to the new curriculum, while students in the process of completing their core curriculum requirements would have the option of switching over to UCC-21, Eflin said.
A minority report raising objections to UCC-21 was submitted by Joseph Losco, chairman of the Department of Political Science. In his report, Losco said the proposal is based on theory and lacks empirical research to support it.
"It's interesting, but the overall approach is speculative, and it lacks content," Losco said. "If we'd taken more time, we may have been able to answer these concerns."
Losco said UCC-21's tiered structure would make it hard for students transferring in and out of Ball State to transfer credits.
"There's too much of an emphasis on process and not enough on content," Losco said. "Lots of studies show that students don't learn what they're not taught. We say we want students specifically engaged, but we don't say what our expectations are."
Eflin acknowledges the need to address concerns related to paying for UCC-21 and transferring credits, but she said she didn't agree critics who said the existing core curriculum doesn't need to be revised.
The UCC-21 Task Force studied more than 80 colleges nationwide when determining what changes need to be made to Ball State's core curriculum, Eflin said. UCC-21 is also based on what employers are looking for from students.
"Just like any research paper, it's based on all the studying we've done," she said.
Webster Newbold, chairman of the UCC subcommittee, said Ball State students have not offered enough input on UCC-21.
"Student government representatives have been present, but not at a majority of our meetings," Newbold said. "We would like student input in the appropriate channels. We welcome that, and we're hoping to see that continue as we go forward with the rest of the discussions."
Losco is concerned Ball State is rushing through the process of revising the UCC, he said.
"I would urge that we go back and we start looking at what content we expect students to know," he said. "That we start determining how to assess it at a program level, not a course level. I think we ought to take more time and to it right. I think it's important to get it right so we don't have to change it again."
The UCC-21 Task Force doesn't want many changes made to the proposed plan because it thinks UCC-21 will become convoluted, Eflin said.
"As it is, it's a coherent whole," she said. "If we meddle with it too much, it'll lose its coherence."
The subcommittee will meet at 8:30 a.m. today in North Quad Room 112 to discuss the UCC proposal.
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