SFU will implement a new General Education Core Curriculum in the 2024 fall semester. The new curriculum will include revised Core courses and new applied learning and quantitative reasoning classes.
First-year students in the fall will start the new curriculum, while returning students will continue to follow the current general education paradigm.
Irene Wolf, Interim Director of Undergraduate Core Curriculum, said that the University has historically revised its general education program approximately every 10 years.
The administration began work on the new curriculum in 2018. Faculty members voted to approve the curriculum earlier this semester.
Working groups were formed during the curriculum redesign and faculty from all academic divisions were involved in creating guidelines and requirements for each course.
The new curriculum will retain general education courses in history, literature, the social sciences and the natural sciences. Changes include renaming the freshman Core 113 course (now Core 1); adding a new Core 2 course; and renaming the senior year Core 407 course (now Core 3).
Wolf said one of the primary goals of the redesign is to help prepare students for life after college. She noted that the curriculum will address the importance of life-work balance and financial literacy.
Not all high schools address these areas with students.
The new Core 2 course will focus on responsibility and citizenship. The Core 1 and Core 3 courses will include lessons on life-work balance, financial literacy and preparation for life after graduation.
Additionally, students will be required to complete an applied learning course, which may include an internship, research project or community service project, depending on the student’s major.
The quantitative reasoning course will teach various skills, such as using Excel and interpreting data.
Wolf also noted that the Core courses are designed to facilitate assessment, with established procedures in place to track students’ progress throughout their time at Saint Francis.
“It was fun to work with faculty and other departments across campus through the curriculum revision,” said Wolf.
“This is the first really big endeavor that I’ve worked on (as core curriculum director).
“I personally got a lot out of this and I am excited for the fall!”
