The Highlander

Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: Feature

Media Credit: Highlander Editor Dr. Jean shares his positive experience with Regis faculty colleagues and perspective on the core review process.

On Friday, October 5, Regis faculty convened for the annual Fall Faculty Conference. This year, the focus was on revisiting the core educational experience, in hopes of better weaving the University's core philosophy statement and framework into the core curricula.

Over the past year, Regis College faculty gathered in interdisciplinary groups to brainstorm possible additions and revisions to the current core model. The proposals developed in those groups were then synthesized by a group of faculty over the summer, into three flexible models.

The first model maintained key concepts and strengths of the current "Traditional Core Model." In particular, this model is "designed to strengthen students' skills…., promot[e] literacy in the major academic disciplines," and "foster a critical appreciation of religious questions and spiritual experience."

For this model, classes such as EN210: Freshman Literature, COM210: Speech Communication, and a 200 level Philosophy elective will be emphasized more so than the current core.

The second revision, the "Modified Distributive Core Model," focuses on a more integrative core curriculum. "This model starts [students] out thinking in an integrated way, but also focuses on necessary skills for college success, gives them a common foundation for a broad liberal arts education, while providing opportunities for depth within a given discipline."

With this model, courses centered on the theme of "antiquity/modernity" may be added to the current core curriculum for all freshman classes, alongside the freshman writing seminars.

Finally, the third possible revision, the "Thematic Core Model," proposes to "change the distributive core in favor of a more integrative and interdisciplinary curriculum."

This model hopes to provide students with a "sense of direction and purpose-a map that facilitates their exploration and disciplined inquiry into contemporary complexities... This core curriculum will guide students to actively apply learning to contemporary, relevant issues, enabling them to imagine a range of possibilities, solutions, and courses of action."

Continued...

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