Friday, November 9, 2001

Deadline for new UCR draft set back
By Jacque Petersell
Staff Reporter

The deadline for the draft of the new University Core Curriculum was pushed back until mid-November, allowing more time for assessing proposed classes, said Richard Enos, chairman of the committee.

Enos said the current committee is focusing on drafting a new core. The next committee will review the draft, look at ways to implement the core and find ways to assess what a student understands, he said.

The original deadline for the first committee was the end of October, Enos said. The deadline was pushed back, he said, because the committee had to review each class proposed for the new core.

Melissa Canady, director of assessment for the committee, said the new core could be implemented as soon as fall 2002.

The core would have to be “grandfathered” in, where it would only affect incoming freshmen.

Each core course will be given equal consideration when deciding which courses to keep, Enos said. No current courses will get placed in the new core because each must first be evaluated.

However, Enos said the committee isn’t looking to increase the current 124 required UCR hours.

“We want to work with the amount we already have,” Enos said. “The effort is not to lay on any additional work (for the students). We may just shift things around.”

The shape of the new UCR may include aspects other than just classes.

Along with grades in the course, Enos said there will be external assessment of a student’s performance. Enos said the type of external assessment hasn’t been decided yet. There haven’t been complaints about assessment but that there are no formal assessment rules.

Sharon Reynolds, a professor of educational psychology, said students can be assessed in class through tests and class participation, but it is up to the departments to decide whether to change that system.

An example, Reynolds said, would be instead of taking a test in a foreign language class, students could read an article in that language and be graded on comprehension.

Since the core has not yet been fully defined, no policies on how the students or courses will be assessed have been set, Canady said. Enos said the next committee will focus on ways to assess the students and courses.

Enos said the UCR will carry into upper-level classes. An example may be adding a writing across the curriculum requirement, which will implement a writing course in each major, he said.

Students should focus on rounding their education, not just seeking to get classes out of the way.

“It shouldn’t be what courses do (you) need to meet the requirement,” Enos said. “It should be what courses will help you understand (issues like) social diversity.”

Enos said students have told him they may have passed a class, but didn’t learn anything. Enos said the new core should test on what the student learns and understands.

Kelly Patek, a junior nursing major, said keeping her GPA up is more important than understanding the class she’s in. However, she said students shouldn’t pass a class if they didn’t understand the course’s concepts.

“Your grade should reflect what you learn,” she said.

Jeff Roet, a history lecturer, said, from his experience only a small number of students take a class just to get a grade.

“(Students) try to maximize the various aspects of the class (such as learning something new),” he said. “Generally, the best professors try to engage the whole class.”

Roet said assessment of student work by someone other than the professor is possible, but he does not see someone other than a professor grading students’ work.

“The professor is in charge of a class,” he said. “I don’t think there will ever be any second guessing. It will be very revolutionary if the students were assessed by an outsider.”

Jacque Petersell
j.s.petersell@student.tcu.edu