Students Can Still Make Suggestions to Curriculum

The Steering Committee on Curriculum Review has proposed replacing the system of perspective courses with three classifications of course requirements starting in 2004 or 2005.

The proposed changes also include doing away with the swim test requirement, replacing the physical education requirements with a wellness requirement that is a combination of physical education and health courses.

Also, more classes would be required, but because some classes could fill more than one requirement, students would not necessarily have to take more classes to graduate.

The undergraduate general education requirements have been in place since 1980.

"The steering committee has spent a long time researching everything that a public, liberal arts, undergraduate education is supposed to be in the 21st century," said Kim Sexton, the academic affairs chairwoman for student government.

A student forum and a newly proposed seminar course are some of the last opportunities students have to discuss the proposal before it is reviewed by the Faculty Council.

The forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. today in Student Union 212.

All students are invited to attend.

"I want the average student to come out and say what they think about this," Sexton said. "These are the people who it is going to effect."

At the forum, students will learn about the changes proposed to the curriculum through a presentation by Laurie McNeil, the chairwoman of the curriculum review, and Karen Gil, the senior associate dean for undergraduate education. Students also will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer suggestions on the proposed curriculum.

"We are really eagerly looking forward to hearing from interested students," Gil said.

The seminar on curriculum review is another opportunity students have to offer their opinion on the proposed changes.

"We thought that the best way to get informed student input was to create a seminar," Sexton said.

McNeil, Gil and Peter Coclanis, the acting associate dean for the undergraduate curriculum, will teach the course. Fourteen students are enrolled in the course, Sexton said.

Students participating in the seminar will discuss the fundamentals of a liberal arts education, as well as the specific proposals that have been made to the general education curriculum, Gil said.

Students also will work in small groups on two presentations, Gil said. The first will consist of students comparing the general education at UNC to other colleges and universities across the nation. Then students will examine the proposed changes to the curriculum in light of two major national reports that outline ideal aspects of liberal arts curricula in the 21st century.

"It will be important to hear students' thought on the specific draft proposal," Gil said, "so that we can think through ideas that we haven't thought about."

The seminar will meet from 2:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays starting Oct. 29. Enrolled students will receive one hour of pass/fail credit. Any students interested in participating should contact Sexton at kasexton@email.unc.edu.

Sexton said, "We are hoping to get as much student response as we can."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.