A new general education curriculum has been launched at Oregon State University that will prepare students to be proactive members of society who are ready to build a better world.
In the early 1990s, when Oregon State’s Baccalaureate Core was first implemented, it was considered visionary, and was even featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education for its unique and thoughtful approach. But as the world changed, the core didn’t quite keep up.
“As the needs of employers and society changed, and as the use of technology, the profile of the university and the demographics of students have shifted over time, we ended up with an outdated curriculum that didn’t embed high-impact practices shown to improve outcomes for students,” explained McKenzie Huber, director of Core Education at OSU.
In 2018 work began on a significant overhaul of the Bacc Core, including the hiring of Huber to direct the effort. The work quickly moved into researching general education at other institutions as well as journals and organizations that outlined best practices. The research unveiled some immediate holes in the existing Bacc Core that needed to be addressed in the new plan.
“As a land grant university, OSU’s mission is to provide access to the state, nation and world, and we were realizing that where we were really falling behind was in supporting transfer students,” Huber said. “Over 30% of OSU students are now transfer students, and we really have a responsibility to honor transfer credits and create a welcoming community for this population of learners.”
The state’s Core Transfer Map, which designates eight courses (30 credits), that should be transferable from community colleges to state colleges. But the work group found that OSU’s Bacc Core didn’t match up to the transfer map, and reaching alignment became a priority so OSU could honor those commitments.
Additionally, input from students and employers indicated that there was work to do in making OSU students truly prepared for future employment and success. So the university crafted a plan to address those concerns.
The new curriculum, now known as Core Education, is split into two parts. The first is a lower-division focus known as Foundational Core, which aligns with the state’s Core Transfer Map, and which includes fundamental skills, creative problem-solving and career readiness.
The second part, intended for upper-division students, is the Signature Core. This includes classes that encourage critical thinking, writing intensive courses and skill building to prepare students to transition either into a career or a graduate degree.
The signature section of curriculum is intended to home in on the unique attributes OSU students take with them after they graduate, Huber said.
In the old system, Huber said, students often viewed core curriculum as simply a box they had to check to graduate, and didn’t make the connection between core classes that weren’t in their major, and building essential skills and competencies for their future careers.
“They really weren’t connecting the dots, and we weren’t doing a good job articulating why these courses are relevant,” Huber said. “If they think their major is the only thing that’s going to help them with job prospects, we have missed the mark.”
The transitions courses in Core Education are an attempt to address that gap in understanding, so students can connect what they’re learning with what they’ll experience out in the world.
“It’s the skills, knowledges and competencies of Core Ed that are going to help you with career changes, or prepare you for jobs that don’t even exist out there in the world yet,” Huber said.
Career readiness is a key skill embedded throughout the curriculum, as are teamwork activities. The writing components have been expanded to build a mid-level writing course on top of Writing 121, which will then prepare students for writing intensive courses later in the Signature Core portion. That was the direct result of speaking with employers, who said disciplinary writing and communication could use improvement from incoming employees across the board.
Another adjustment is including Difference, Power and Oppression courses in both the Foundational and Signature portions of the curriculum. The Foundational courses expose students to systems of oppression that exist and their historical contexts and in the Signature portion, they’re taking a similarly themed course embedded in their major.
A major overhaul of the Bacc Core meant that many different people had to come together to provide input and then create the new curriculum. And that process was long and occasionally fraught. Huber said in addition to committee work, the committee met with 700 stakeholders through 35 hour-long listening sessions in the span of a month to hear from faculty, staff, students alumni and employers. The committee leads also presented frequent updates to the Faculty Senate and at special senate meetings. Throughout the process, the committee took an iterative approach to the drafted curriculum.
“It’s a really good example of shared governance in action at OSU,” Huber said. “While people might have disagreed on specifics, this was a faculty-led effort with administrative support. It was not all smooth sailing, but in addition to listening to everyone’s input, by centering this on student success, we were able to get people on board.”
Faculty across the university were responsible for developing new courses for the curriculum, and were given support and training through the Center for Teaching and Learning. They were also compensated for the time taken to develop the new courses.
Now that Core Education has finally been implemented, it’s time to gather input on student learning and course correct where necessary. There is a five-year assessment cycle, with updates being made when needed. Student and faculty input will be used to determine if learning outcomes are being achieved.
“This was a huge institutional undertaking, and it was thousands of hours, hundreds of faculty, it spanned all campuses and modalities, and everyone worked together,” Huber said. “Everyone was phenomenal in coming together for this shared purpose, a shared passion for education in the 21st century. Despite many challenges, people are doing the work and I think that’s pretty magical.”
~ Theresa Hogue
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