On Tuesday, Nov. 1, the EMU Core committee sent a proposal to the Academic Council that outlines changes to the Core curriculum.
The proposal includes changes to the current Core curriculum, while also adding a few new courses, a few of which are in response to direct student feedback.
Kirsten Beachy, Director of the EMU Core Curriculum, says she is quite excited about the proposal and that it has been “wonderfully collaborative” as the team has pulled in so many people to work on the proposal.
Maria Longenecker, a First-year student and SGA senator on the Core subcommittee, says that “these changes are important to the school because as a liberal arts college, the CORE curriculum is what impacts and connects students across all majors and interests. It is in the name, the ‘core’ of our education and a big part of the commonality of what shapes all students at EMU.”
It should be noted that, with a few exceptions to be noted later in the article, current students will not be affected by any of the changes, should they pass.
So what are some of the changes being proposed?
The biggest changes included creating two new classes, updating the Life Wellness class, changing the convocation point system, and creating a portfolio requirement for graduating seniors.
The two new classes are ABP 260: Questions of Faith and Ethics and CORE 300: Power, Systems, and Justice. ABP 260 will include voices from different faith backgrounds and be heavily discussion-based. Additionally, students will be required to take three semester hours of Bible, Religion, and Theology of their choosing. This will directly replace the current CIW and ABP requirements. CORE 300 was created in response to BSA demands in 2020 and was inspired by the current Race and Gender class.
In the new curriculum, CORE 201 Life Wellness will change to CORE 202 Living Well and will focus on mental health and provide a more holistic perspective than Life Wellness.
The proposed convocation point system will also be changing slightly to EMU Engage points. Students will need to get six EMU Engage points over six semesters, so one point per semester. This will directly affect current students. Ten convocation points will equal one EMU Engage point. Students who currently have 60-80 of their convocation points will not have to get any EMU Engage points, as they will translate directly to fulfill that credit.
Finally, another big change is the addition of a senior portfolio. New first-year students will take CORE 102 EMU Portfolio instead of Transitions and seniors will take CORE 402 Senior Portfolio.
Longenecker says that these portfolios will be “a place where each student will collect their work over their four years at EMU and will have it as a resource to show employers, graduate school, or in other next steps.”
There are also some changes being made to writing courses and Intercultural courses.
For the changes to take place, the proposal must pass the Academic Council, Provost’s Council, and the President’s Cabinet. Beachy is not sure of a timeline but hopes that it can be implemented starting in fall 2023.
Garret Nyce, Sophomore and SGA senator on the Core subcommittee, says that “the Core requirements need to change over time in order to better serve the needs of students and reflect the context of the world. It has been a few years since the last changes, so it was time.”
Questions about the new Core curriculum can be directed to Maria Longenecker, Garret Nyce, or the SGA presidents.
It should be noted that Kirsten Beachy, while the director of the Core Curriculum, is also the advisor of the Weather Vane.
