The University of Alabama Faculty Senate will be presenting a new curriculum for General Education requirements on Oct. 19. They will be presenting and voting on the two proposed models.
In Fall of 2018, Kevin Whitaker formed the General Education Task Force to evaluate the General Education requirements and include skills like teamwork, problem solving, and communication.
The T.I.D.E. Model and the Pathways Model both require a total of 43 credit hours. The current model requires students to take 53 credit hours.
Essential Learning & T.I.D.E. Courses Model
The first proposal that will be given is the Essential Learning + T.I.D.E. Courses Model, this will include four different sections: Bama Beginnings, Foundations, Essential Learning + T.I.D.E., and High Impact Experiences.
Bama Beginnings, which has both proposed models, is two credit hours of required curriculum. In the first semester, it would require students to be educated on the Capstone Creed. The second semester would have students focusing on the implementation of the creed. Community Engagement would also be introduced during this segment.
The base of this will require 18 hours of courses, which will include six hours of written composition, three hours in quantitative or statistical-driven literacy, six hours in foriegn language and three hours in digital literacy.
Essential Learning + T.I.D.E. courses will include 20 hours of required courses in human cultures, physical and natural world, and creative arts.
Students will then be required to take courses in problem solving, teamwork, inquiry and analysis, digital and information literacy, and ethical reasoning. This will include one T.I.D.E. course from each category, then an extra course from a category of their own choice.
High Impact Experiences will be three hours that recommend diversity equity and inclusion, community engagement, and advanced communication courses.
Pathways Model
The second model that will be proposed is the Pathways Model, which also includes four sections: Bama Beginnings, Pathways and High Impact Experiences, and Foundations.
This model focuses to better serve minority and first generation students. University research shows that it is undeserved by the current general education model.
The Bama Beginnings part is identical in both models. The Pathway Models require almost the same courses for the Foundations section, with only 15 hours required.
The Pathways model requires 26 semester hours for the pathways section.
