During the 2023-2024 academic year we have continued moving forward with the re-design of the Kent Core. The Re-envisioning Kent Core Leadership Team has continued to provide oversight and input through each phase of this project. This academic year included the creation of the Model and Administrative Oversight Sprint teams. Additionally, the Budgetary Sub-committee also continued providing input to the overall re-design process. The following report documents the highlights of each of these teams as well as providing recommendations for the next steps in this process.
Three models were presented to the university community in Spring 2024 during a series of online forums. Participants were asked to consider the elements of each model that they liked (or that gave them reason for concern), and their feedback was captured in an online survey. A summary of the results can be found in the Resource tab below.
The models:
- Leading a Life of Impact: In this model students explore complex problems facing society today, engage in analyzing the problem, and posing solutions to it. These courses will fit within an OT 36 bucket (e.g. natural sciences, humanities, etc.) but will be taught using an interdisciplinary lens. Each course will explicitly require students to reflect on how they engage with the problem using skills, knowledge, and dispositions that are woven throughout the curriculum.
- CLICK Pathways: This framework was inspired by the four themes developed by the Distinctiveness Subcommittee. These themes include a) culture of care, access, and community, b) local to international partnerships leading to cross-cultural learning, c) innovative thinking to improve the world, and d) civic responsibility building from the past toward a future vision. Inspired by these themes, students would choose a “pathway” of connected courses from different disciplines that explored and proposed solutions for real world problems. Students would meet the requirements of the Ohio Transfer module as they select themes that interested them and their future endeavors.
- Pyramid Plus: Students follow a structured approach which builds from career and life skills into solving complex problems through interdisciplinary courses and themes. This model was inspired by feedback from employers that highlighted the importance of students developing “real world” skills. This framework provides opportunities for micro-credentials and a portfolio experience that allows students to document their educational growth at Kent State.