The University is working to update the current general education and core curriculum, which could include shifting classes to be three credit hours rather than four.
Last year, a task force was created to conduct a general review of the current general education curriculum and to propose updates. David Cimbora, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs says that their office will be spending the next year deciding which specific changes to implement.
Although no final decisions have been made, the provost assured that many curricular changes will occur through a roll-out period. The students currently enrolled will not necessarily need to go back and take classes added to the general education curriculum.
“Fairness is an important value for faculty as administrators about students,” said Cimbora.
The possibility of three credit hour classes also can help as the University grows and assist in transferring credits.
“It opens up some scheduling options for us, so we have more slots for classes, so we have a little bit more flexibility in terms of our scheduling and then of course, the transferability of credits,” said Marci Johns, Senior Associate Provost.
Although individual classes have been updated, this is the first time in years that the general education package as a whole has been reworked.
“It has been many, many years since the Gen. Ed curriculum has been revised, and I think we owe it to our main stakeholder group, which is our students, to always make sure curriculum is up to date,” said Cimbora.
On Sept. 12, the faculty of the Howard College of Arts and Sciences were informed that the University would soon be switching the credit hour model from four the three hours.
Jason Wallace, professor of religious and intellectual history, is hesitant about the proposed changes.
Wallace suggests that a three-credit hour model would significantly reduce the amount of time professors have to mentor students and conduct their own research, as well as increasing workload for both students and faculty.
Professors would have to teach four classes a semester, and students would generally take an extra class to be taking the proper number of hours.
Attached to these concerns is his larger concern that the product and experience Samford provides will be significantly altered.
“The Samford experience as we know it will change,” he said. “Students come to Samford because they’re seeking the unique education and experience we provide that differs from the large university experience, and with the new schedule, this would change.”
Wallace says faculty are feeling confused and uncertain about the proposed changes, and that communication regarding the changes has not been clear.
“Many faculty including myself don’t understand why these changes are happening in this way, or why they are even necessary,” he said.
Wallace desires that the University will not immediately put the proposal from last year into action, but rather use the procedures outlined in the faculty handbook.
“My hope is that the administration will consider slowing decision making, involve faculty voices as the handbook states and provide clarity and answers to faculty as to why these changes are needed in this way,” he said.
The Associate Provosts have also received questions from faculty.
“There definitely have been people inquiring all the main questions why, what, when, where and how,” said PJ Hughes, Associate Provost for Faculty Success. “It’s going to be the job of this committee this year to refine that exploratory process that was conducted last year to help answer some of those questions. So yeah, those questions are out there. There are people that run the range of the feeling spectrum from being upset, confused, to excited and optimistic for the future.”
The only college that currently functions on a three hour credit model is the Brock School of Business.
“All of those feelings come from a place of passion for general education and for Samford and for Samford students,” Johns added. “It’s the legitimate passion that faculty, staff and students have for making sure that what we offer is the very best educational experience we can.”
Faculty from the Howard College of Arts and Sciences have drafted a resolution expressing concerns towards the proposed plan of revision. At the time of publication, it is awaiting approval to go to the Office of Academic Affairs.
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