Faculty Senate passes part of new curriculum

The Faculty Senate approved five of the six components of the Heritage, Mission, Values and Vision portion of the new core curriculum at its meeting Thursday.

Language, grammar and punctuation were the major topics of debate.

This portion of the curriculum will include classes in religious, historical and literary traditions, as well as cultural and global awareness, and citizenship and social values.

“Getting five out of the six things approved was a great accomplishment considering the new way we are looking at things,” said Daryl Schmidt, member of the Core Implementation Committee.

The process the Senate wants students to go through to meet the goals of the curriculum was the center of the debate.

The written language the literary traditions proposal uses is a concern for some Senate members, Schmidt said. The implementation committee wants to ensure people in the future will be able to understand the new curriculum, he said.

The curriculum is for all faculty members and students, therefore the Senate has to ensure they will understand what the intention of the curriculum is, said Nadia Lahutsky, Faculty Senate chair.

— Crystal Forester