Through support of the National Science Foundation's Department Level Reform program, "Engineering Students for the 21st Century" (ES21C) has implemented a ten-course sequence designed to help students develop into engineers. Spread across the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) curriculum at Oklahoma State University, these…

Cites the Rockefeller Commission's findings regarding humanistic studies. Outlines steps for bringing humanism back to the humanities, e.g., by clarifying the humanities' substance and identity, elucidating a cogent and persuasive rationale for their study, and underscoring the importance of a cultural/humanistic context for vocational training.…

Offers six organizational principles for restructuring liberal education focusing on educational coherence and commonality, institutional commitment, alternative models, undergraduate educational needs, and political responsiveness. (DMM)

In response to enrollment declines, Dutchess Community College (DCC) has developed and implemented a Concensus Planning process to facilitate the responsiveness of its academic curricula. The new planning process is decentralized and faculty oriented, which has led to a stress on curriculum development through substitution and modification. The…

James Bryant Conant's book, "The Education of America" (1963), triggered a major change in physical education curricula. Formerly a (sports) skills and applied techniques oriented discipline, physical education has expanded to areas such as kinesiology and sports sociology. However, performance and performance courses are still an important aspect…

College reading programs can be designed for limited departmental budgets and integrate reading, writing, speaking, and thinking within content areas. To teach reading successfully within content areas calls for careful coordination with the students' other academic courses. A description and evaluation of a program used at Douglass College is…

Designed as a forum for the exchange of ideas on significant issues in the humanities, this journal presents articles written by two-year college faculty in the humanities disciplines. The 1989 annual issue includes the following: (1) "Popular Literature and the American Literature Survey Course: The Case of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," by…

Montclair (New Jersey) State College sought to develop a structure that would facilitate the strengthening of humanistic perspectives in its students and would enable students to see the connections between their academic studies and the complex aspects of the meaning of being human in a world that is increasingly fragmented. Six pairs of faculty…

The current study of death and dying is an example of constant change and development in academic disciplines. While the discussion of death in time of crisis is hard, if not impossible, youthful undergraduates find this topic to be of considerable interest. For them, a course can be organized effectively as a small and intimate seminar, which…

In search of a method to increase the power of the educational experience for integrating student experience, many scholars have turned to the idea of interdisciplinarity. Apart from philosophical questions of values and epistemology there are operational problems of some significance. To meet them many advocates have proposed modifications in the…

Describes the comprehensive approach to general education at Illinois' Black Hawk College, highlighting the program's rationale and history. Indicates that the college used a DACUM (Design A Curriculum) process to clearly identify the desired outcomes of general education for all degree graduates. Includes topics for further research. (MAB)

When designing a contemporary curriculum in communication, it is important to adapt the specific set of skills and knowledge to the needs of the marketplace. The change in the transformation from speech to communication to communication/information technology is reflected in the various names of university departments. Schools that have changed…

The character of academic disciplines profoundly influences the curricular organization and pedagogical practices of undergraduate education. A critical interpretation of liberal arts disciplines and their place in undergraduate education is discussed, with a positive rationale for a different approach to undergraduate education outlined.…

The Eighth Semester Program of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine reintroduces classroom-laboratory activities into the medical students' clinical years in an attempt to "round out" students' education. Topics include development of a medical practice, government and the physician, counseling skills, and nutrition inpatient care.…

Describes difficulties faced by faculty and administrators at Kentucky's Jefferson Community College in implementing the college's general education program. Highlights issues related to ensuring teaching competency, assessing the program's effects, and maintaining a balance between fidelity to the ideas of general education and accountability for…