The University’s proposed undergraduate curriculum changes will be delayed until fall 2012.
After Undergraduate Council voted against Connecting the Undergraduate Experience’s (CUE) proposed changes at the fall semester’s end, the CUE implementation committee decided to extend the original timeline by one year, said chair Neal Jesse.
“The committee started expressing reservation last November that the original timeline may have been too ambitious,” he said. “Now what we need to decide is what elements we like and what elements we don’t like. We may need to revise the timeline further, but it all depends on how much we can get done. For now the target date is fall 2012.”
The change was announced at Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting by Provost Ken Borland.
“CUE won’t be a requirement for incoming freshmen until fall 2012, but some components will still be available in fall 2011,” Borland said. “We’re in a process of listening, formulating responses and looking for a process that works better for the University. There’s a lot going on but not a lot to announce yet.”
Communication about CUE through the University’s website has been “on a hiatus” since November but will pick up in the near future, Jesse said.
“The reason we haven’t told anything is because for the better part of the last couple months there has been more listening,” he said. “To us, that was more important than telling people things.”
In addition to timeline problems, some faculty members’ concerns about CUE addressed curricular content and costs, Borland said.
CUE will implement “courses rooted in disciplinary content” and a “rigorous learning experience,” Borland said Tuesday to the Senate. He also said he will attend several budget hearings to determine what cuts may possibly be made after Gov. Kasich’s state budget is announced.
“CUE remains a top priority at the University and is one in which we will continue to work and allocate resources,” he said. “This is so absolutely important for students’ futures … This will give us an ability to raise the academic bar for every student at this institution.”
Undergraduate Student Government President Kevin Basch and USG Vice President Dan Caldwell have sat on CUE committee meetings as student representatives for eight months. Their role, Basch said, is to “solicit student voice and opinion to the administration.”
Although Basch will graduate in May and won’t be involved in the CUE committee’s 2011 planning, he said he is excited nonetheless.
“Something you have to understand with any project, initiative or issue is although you’re a part of it, you’re not always going to be around to reap the benefits,” he said. “However, it’s important to do the work anyway for the next generation of students. I know campus is moving forward and the next classes will enjoy things I couldn’t when this is finished.”
