The Board of Trustees Academic Affairs, Student Life and Research Committee announced in a Tuesday meeting that six of 12 undergraduate colleges have approved the new general education curriculum slated to take effect fall 2021. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Former Managing Editor for Multimedia
The Board of Trustees Academic Affairs, Student Life and Research Committee announced Tuesday that six of Ohio State’s 12 undergraduate colleges have approved the new general education curricula slated to take effect fall 2021.
Bruce McPheron, executive vice president and provost, said the new curriculum will allow students to pursue an additional major or minor by decreasing the demands of general education courses. Under the current general education curriculum, only 43 percent of students’ coursework is devoted to specialized studies with the rest reserved for general education.
McPheron said that the new curriculum will include bookend courses taught at the beginning and end of a student’s undergraduate career as well as foundational courses that have common themes in allowing students to “engage in deeper study.”
“Two years ago, our faculty, in envisioning this general education curriculum, created a focus on citizenship for a diverse and just world and we feel that the time is right for us to be the thought leader across the nation in support of our motto ‘education for citizenship,’” McPheron said.
The colleges to approve the changes are the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Dentistry, Education and Human Ecology, Pharmacy, Public Health and the John Glenn College of Public Affairs. The remaining six colleges will vote on the curriculum change early this fall. If a majority vote is reached, McPheron said existing courses and new courses will begin integration into the curriculum.
“Despite the challenges of COVID, we fully expect the first courses under the new general education curriculum to be available in fall of 2021 with the curriculum fully available to students starting in the fall of 2022,” McPheron said.
