After a three-year creation and approval process, the Ohio University Department of English will initiate a new undergraduate curriculum in fall 2005.
We hadn't updated the curriculum in 25 years; it was due to be revisited
said Tom Scanlan, English director of undergraduate studies.
Final approval by the OU Curriculum Council last week finalized the authorization of the new curriculum, which focuses on changes to English and creative writing majors.
(The new curriculum) went through a two-year approval process starting with revisions and voting among the department Scanlan said. It then went to the College of Arts and Sciences curriculum committee
who sent it back with more revisions before approving it. Lastly
it went from Arts and Sciences to the University Curriculum Council.
The English Department surveyed current and past undergraduates to try to provide a curriculum conducive to students' needs and desires, he said.
The research showed students wanted the curriculum to maintain small classes, to have more choice in undergraduate programs and to create a sophomore research course.
Major changes include higher-level introductory courses followed by a study of British and English literature at the freshman and sophomore level.
We didn't feel that the current gateway courses were adequately preparing students for upper-level classes
so we created newer courses to meet those needs
Scanlan said.
The new curriculum is not structured as a hierarchy, he said. Currently, for students to move through the English and creative writing majors, they must take a certain class within a list of two or three courses before moving to another level of classes offering the same requirement.
There was sort of a bottleneck within the old curriculum; students would get stuck in a hierarchy of prerequisites
Scanlan said. Students will find it easier to go through the curriculum.
Under the new curriculum the creative writing major reduces the number of credit hours required from 71 to 67, and the English major increases the required course load by three hours.
We've also made a new research and writing class available for sophomores to adhere to students' requests
Scanlan said.
Two senior seminars also were added and might be able to fill Tier III requirements, pending provost approval of a recent Faculty Senate resolution to allow student to take a capstone course -an all-encompassing course some departments require before graduation -in place of taking a Tier III course.
-Dwayne Steward
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