Like the Little Engine That Could, the curriculum review committee is slowly chugging toward a plan for change.
The members of the curriculum review committee have been meeting with a variety of student and faculty groups to discuss their current proposal-considered a work in progress-since the end of January. These discussions were designed to gauge the merits of the proposal and allow committee members to receive input from those most affected by the new curriculum. Committee members said they are in the process of incorporating these suggestions into their proposal.
"People may see things in the proposal that we don't see," said committee chair Peter Lange, professor of political science.
Although committee members would not discuss the details of the current proposal, Lange did say that "it combines... the breadth of choice [in the current system] with somewhat more structuring."
Committee member and Trinity sophomore Ben Kennedy, Duke Student Government Vice President for Academic Affairs, said the new curriculum will force students to look differently at their classes.
"This [committee] is hoping that students not only acquire the raw knowledge but that they also acquire the skills necessary to continue learning after they leave Duke," he said.
Kennedy added that he has discussed the new curriculum with members of his DSG academic affairs committee.
"The curriculum is an update," said Trinity sophomore Carolyn Struthers, a committee member and West Campus legislator. "It's a totally different framework."
The curriculum review committee plans to reshape its proposal and have an initial draft completed by the end of this academic year. Committee members will continue to work on the proposal during the summer, and they will conduct a full discussion after the summer holiday.
Because many students and faculty are not on campus during the summer, Lange explained, a discussion during those months would be unproductive. "We really don't want to get in the position in which we're... not able to have a thorough discussion," he said.
Additional meetings and discussions as well as the fine tuning of the proposal will occur during the fall, Lange said, adding that a the proposal should be presented formally to the senior administration by early November.
Although the committee was originally expected to present its proposal at the end of this academic year, Lange said the new timeline is in keeping with discussions he had with Dean of Trinity College William Chafe, who selected the committee's members and developed its charge.
During last fall's State of the Arts and Sciences annual address, Chafe outlined different areas for committee review. Although encouraging the incorporation of diversity into the curriculum, he also encouraged the committee to question whether the University should adopt a foreign language requirement or stress scientific thought processes even for humanities majors.
Although the committee has certainly reviewed those areas, Lange said, it has gone well beyond Chafe's original plan. The new curriculum, he explained, should ensure that students "have good coverage across the sciences, social sciences and humanities."
Reviews are performed consistently at the University, but this committee's particular charge-a comprehensive reassessment of the curriculum-is the first of its kind in more than 10 years.
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