UAB Signature Core Curriculum The Long Way Round

Where we’ve been Faculty Senate curriculum committee

Open forums In the Spring of 2015, the Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee hosted 4 open forums across campus to engage faculty about the Core Curriculum. Approximately 20-40 people attended each session. The meetings held representatives from a number of different areas involved in aspects of the Core, including: Business College of Arts and Sciences Education Engineering Honors Joint Health Sciences Nursing Optometry Provost’s Office Public Health UAB Libraries

AGENDA Handouts: Discussion: Current UAB Core SACSCOC Guidelines Benefits for UAB Students and Community Purpose of the Core Curriculum Roadblocks Vision for Improvement

Results

Central Questions How do we integrate team learning/goals of the QEP? Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate…but, how? What methods do we use to build and allow for future adjustment in the Core? How do we build a Core that assures student engagement and retention What do we want our students to know, at a base-level, no matter the degree concentration?

What does it *mean* to be a UAB student? What makes us UNIQUE? How do we convey this through curriculum?

Comment Themes Basic Skills (“course content must benefit any student no matter what career they go into”) Communication Critical Thinking Ethical Reasoning Evaluation of Scientific Methods and Reasoning Information Literacy Quantitative Literacy Writing

“Perspective and awareness outside their area and methods” “Prepare you to be a contributing member of society (communication, ethics, teamwork, arts, sociology…)” “Perspective and awareness outside their area and methods” “Our job is to teach them how to explore the world and to be effective in the world.” “Paramount – students be exposed to other disciplines and modes of thinking.”

Thematic/Integrative Concepts Unique to UAB or Birmingham Innovation Multi-modal projects/assignments Team-teaching/collaboration between disciplines

Problems Budget limitations Collaboration and Innovation take funds “’faculty own the curriculum’ yes, but if the budget doesn’t support it then we really can’t control/develop it” Who receives the money from collaborative efforts? Concern: “figure out win-win, shift-not “get rid of people” or departments…get beyond, fix the turf wars” “recognize where turf wars came from and budget model issues…we will need to address these effectively in order to successfully develop a new Core guidance” Classroom design not always conducive to team- teaching/collaborative/innovative work Need for smaller class sizes “hard to give feedback and attention with large class sizes in Core” Need to have and articulate a clear PURPOSE to Core which aligns with Strategic Vision

Solutions?