The new University Core Curriculum will support cognitive development over content, university officials said.
It will give students more direction with their major, while emphasizing how they learn. Students will progress through stages of information, knowledge, judgment and action, Sue Whitaker, associate director of family and consumer sciences, said.
The new UCC will be fully implemented in Fall 2010, Patrick Collier, interim chairperson of English, said. Next year's freshmen may choose to follow this new system.
"It will be in their best interest," Whitaker said. "It includes more critical thinking and problem solving."
Collier represents the undergraduate education committee on the UCC subcommittee.
"The new core curriculum is designed around cognitive transformation, meaning things your mind will learn to do," Collier said.
Two task forces of university faculty have been working for more than a decade on research for the new UCC, based on state of the art general education programs around the country. This extensive study led the UCC subcommittee to develop a three-tier system based on WISER+ designation.
WISER+ is an acronym that supports components of cognitive transformation. Some of these initiatives include environmental awareness, respecting diversity and technological literacy.
Tiers 1 and 2 will each include social and physical sciences, humanities and fine arts. Tier 1, which focuses on knowledge, should be ready to implement next fall, Whitaker said. Tier 2 focuses on judgment, and Tier 3 focuses on action. This final stage caters to students within their major, including capstone and service learning.
Most of the new UCC classes have been revised from their traditional structure.
"The subcommittee will be approving courses that are submitted through the regular means," Whitaker said.
Since implementation will not take place for nearly two years, the subcommittee has little information about the resources needed to implement the new UCC.
"We do not have a lot of information about it yet, but I'm sure it will affect the facilities and possibly number of faculty members," Kevin Burke, director of University Communications, said.
The effectiveness of these new standards can be seen after their gradual implementation with next year's freshman class, he said.
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