Knight Writer

Good questions – and candid answers – about the new core

by Jason | April 17, 2008

So I sat in last night on the Academic Forum hosted by SGA and the academic affairs office at Lynn. About 100 students (and 40 faculty, deans and staffers) were in attendance – which is a lot more, I’ll admit, than I expected on a Wednesday night (especially with the Yanks and Sox playing and another Idol hopeful going home on the tube).

The event’s focus was Lynn University’s new core curriculum. And presiding was the core’s principal author and faculty leader, Vice President for Academic Affairs Cynthia Patterson. Dr. Patterson took the stage at 7 p.m. only long enough to say “I’m happy to be here.” She followed that with (and I’m only slightly paraphrasing) “I’m getting down now” – after which she left podium, walked down the steps and took her place in the aisle of the Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall. Once unplugged and comfortable in the middle of the crowd she explained the new gen ed requirements and how they would (and would not) impact upperclassman.

Here’s some of what I heard over the event’s 90 minutes:

The new January term (”J-Term“) seemed to be the biggest question mark for students. What they (we) learned:

• The term will be required of everyone (and will be required for graduation)
• Upperclassmen will have some for-credit options
• Most students (and all freshman), however, will take the 2.5 week term for pass/fail credit, not as a substitute for a regular semester-long course
• There are going to be some really interesting options. J Term courses will include experiential learning trips (Hospitality Dean Mike Hampton mentioned a sports management Super Bowl class as an example), some study abroad options, individual internship experiences and major-focused projects/classes, among other opportunities
• J Term is tuition-free, but study abroad costs, trip expenses, course books (if needed), etc. will still cost extra, though most won’t cost anything 
• J Term catalogs will be distributed to all students for enrollment in the fall

Upperclassmen will have the option of taking some new core courses in the fall and spring to count towards their existing core requirements

Language studies will be a big part of the new core curriculum, with plans to add languages including Mandarin (and possibly Arabic – a language my fellow blogger Morgan expressed an interest in) to the roster 

The Institute for Achievement and Learning will be playing an even larger role in the life of the university as the core develops, Dr. Patterson said. The institute staff will be getting all professors teaching Z courses certified (through intensive training)

And Dr. Patterson also mentioned that Sheila Sheppard and the study abroad office are working on behalf of President Ross to examine more ways to make study abroad more affordable in the years ahead.

That’s just a few of the things mentioned. There were also questions about advising, costs associated with internship credits and tuition – all of which were answered by Dr. Patterson and/or another member of the audience (including me – I piped up to confirm that the university’s tuition has increased over the last two years at about half the national average, and below the rate of inflation).

Last bit of news from my notebook: SGA’s Mike Griffith ended the meeting by announcing that the university was committed to finding a way to expand library hours to 2 a.m. Monday-Thursday in the fall. Not that I’ll ever see the library at those hours (geez I’m getting old!) but it sounds like a great development for students – and maybe an opportunity for extra loot for another fellow blogger, Jana (not that she needs longer hours over there!).