6A
NEWS / THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
ACADEMICS
University requirements under review
BY STEPHEN GRAY
sgray@kansan.com
In response to the findings of Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little's retention and graduation task force from earlier this year, fundamental changes to the University's undergraduate curriculum could be on the way.
Currently, the University requires 30 percent to 50 percent more general education credit hours than neighboring universities. As a result, nearly one in five students who have met the goals of their majors are deemed ineligible for graduation each spring because they have not satisfied general education coursework.
To respond to this issue and others, a work group has been instituted by Provost Jeff Vitter to complete the first major update of the University's general education requirements in more than two decades to put it more in line with the needs of students today.
Ann Cudd, professor of philosophy and the co-chairwoman of the Energizing the Education Environment work group, said the current curriculum is an
obstacle to University efforts to retain students at a higher level and to maintain timely graduation. She said she thinks renewing it will only help students going forward.
"We're trying to streamline the process for students," Cudd said. But we want to do it in a way that still achieves the learning outcomes that are important and
essential for a KU graduate to have."
While the University requires between 71 and 72 hours for general education, schools like the University of Missouri.
"What is western civilization going to do for me in meteorology?"
MICHAEL WHISLER freshman from Andover
Iowa State University and the University of Oklahoma all require less than 50 credit hours. This situation leaves little flexibility for students as they pursue their major requirements, affording students with few opportunities to explore electives.
One of the suggestions from
the task force that the work group will consider is reducing the number of credit hours to something closer to 30 to 45 hours, the range typical of other universities that have recently revamped their general education requirements.
Michael Whisler, a freshman from Andover majoring in meteorology, said any reduction would be a good change.
"More classes based on our majors would be beneficial." Whisler said. "What is western civilization going to do for me in meteorology?
Christopher Hauffer, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and co-chair of the group, said such a high number of requirements could also negatively affect recruitment.
"If potential students are comparing KU to other institutions and seeing greater flexibility from other universities, that could be a deciding factor", Haulfer said.
Hauffer said the group is currently working on determining
what the new goals of general education should be through surveys, focus groups and discussions with faculty, staff and students. So far, critical thinking and written and oral communication have emerged as the most important by a wide margin.
Once this information is gathered and the new goals are determined, a new curriculum can be matched with student needs and put into place. For now, the provost has set a deadline for March on what the group's key strategic initiatives will be, so any major changes to the curriculum may still be a few years down the road.
Cudd said making this curriculum change is important for student success in more ways than one.
"Ultimately, we hope to improve the intellectual environment," Cudd said. We want to make it easier to navigate our system so students are more engaged in their classes and the expectations on them become clearer."
- Edited by Leslie Kinsman
Book club fosters discussion of race and social equality
CAMPUS
BY KELLY MORGAN kmorgan@kansan.com
The Black Student Union will kick off a new tradition tonight when it hosts its first official book club meeting.
The first meeting, which begins tonight at 6 p.m. in the Multicultural Resource Center, will focus on Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play "A Raisin in the Sun." The literary classic will provide students with the opportunity to openly discuss issues of race and social equality present in the world today.
"The reason why we chose to read 'Raisin in the Sun' is that it proved to be a book that we could get a lot of meaning from," said Vincent Cunigan, a junior from Chicago and vice president of the Black Student Union. "It kind of was a book that was easy to read and that a lot of people had already read which we thought would make it easier for them to participate."
The play tells the story of the Youngers, a black family living in Chicago in 1959. The family has recently come into some money, and decides to use it to move into a house in a white community. This move forces the Youngers to confront racism
and discrimination from their white neighbors, as well as deal with conflicts within the family.
While they do not deny that racism exists today, many members of the Black Student Union feel that racial inequality has decreased since the play was first published.
"Since it's an older book not all aspects of it are applicable to my life," said Amber Jackson, a junior from Kansas City, Kan. and president of the Black Student Union. "But it is applicable to the history of African Americans and that's what I like about it."
The book club's formation was fueled by the organization's desire to create programs with more substance and educational themes.
"It's open to anyone even if you haven't read the book or seen the movie, anyone is welcome to come out," Kameron Mack, a junior from Wichita and program chairman for the Black Student Union, said. "You can relate a lot of things from the book to today's society so if anyone wants to come give any input or just listen — it's perfectly fine to come and just be an audience member."
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