CHAPTER 5: Accomplishment of Purposes

Curriculum

The University of Colorado at Boulder offers a wide range of major programs leading to the bachelor of arts, bachelor of fine arts, and bachelor of science degrees—and an almost equally broad variety of graduate programs leading to master's and doctorate degrees. Currently, the university offers more than 2,500 courses in more than 150 fields of study; degree programs include about 60 different bachelor’s degrees, 50 master’s degrees, and 40 different doctorates. These programs and degrees, along with their respective requirements, are detailed in the university catalog.

General Requirements

While requirements vary from program to program, all the major and degree programs are clearly defined, rigorous, and intellectually coherent. Requirements for the various bachelor's degrees offered by the university provide that graduates will meet certain common standards, whatever degree they pursue. In addition to completing their major, students must demonstrate that they have satisfied a variety of Minimum Academic Proficiency Standards (MAPS), taken at least 45 hours of upper-division course work out of the 120 or more total credit hours for the degree, and maintained a minimum overall grade point average of 2.00. Also, extensive core curricula, which include both content and skills areas, are required of undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the College of Business and Administration, and the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Undergraduate education within the various colleges is under the general supervision of the respective deans, who are aided by support teams that include assistant or associate deans for curricular affairs and advising. The advising system for the College of Arts and Sciences, perhaps the most important of the student academic services for the majority of the undergraduates, has been recently reviewed and extensively revised. Additional resources will allow for a number of new procedures and policies designed to make academic advising more professional, more easily available, and more helpful. Most of the advising functions of the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as preprofessional advising for the campus, are centrally located in the newly renovated Woodbury Hall. Each college and school also has a curriculum committee, made up of representative faculty, which has general responsibility for approving new courses and eliminating others not taught regularly.

Core Curriculum

The core curriculum of the College of Arts and Sciences, as noted above, directly shapes the education of the great majority of the undergraduate population at the university. First implemented in 1988, it has been extensively reviewed by a committee of faculty, administrators, and students over the last two years. A revised version of the core will be offered to the faculty of arts and sciences in Spring 2000 for discussion and possible approval. In its current form, it requires student proficiency in four skills areas: foreign language, quantitative reasoning and mathematical skills (QRMS), written communication, and critical thinking.

The content component of the core encompasses seven areas and totals 34 hours of course work; the areas include historical context, cultural and gender diversity, U.S. context, literature and the arts, natural sciences (including lab), contemporary societies, and ideals and values. Details, including lists of courses that fulfill requirements, are available in the catalog, and are reprinted each semester in the Schedule of Courses.

Proposed changes in the core curriculum are intended to simplify its structure and offer greater coherence. For example, one possible change involves the creation of multiple, but linked, tracks of three courses through each of the three disciplinary divisions (humanities and the arts, natural sciences, and social sciences). These tracks would begin with a broad overview of the ways of knowing, specific to each discipline, and then move on to more specific examinations of key ideas and issues. The revised core would continue to require proficiency in three skills areas: written communication, quantitative reasoning and mathematics, and foreign language.

Curricular Enhancements

Schools and colleges on the Boulder campus pay close attention to their respective curricula, implementing enhancements on an ongoing basis. For example, the successes of the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory (ITLL) have had a profound effect on the curriculum of the College of Engineering and Applied Science. The philosophy of ITLL — which emphasizes hands-on, interdisciplinary, team-based learning — has been integrated throughout the engineering curriculum. Also, the college’s new Discovery Learning Initiative is aimed at involving both undergraduate and graduate students in learning through research activities. Extensive revisions have been made to the undergraduate curricula in aerospace engineering and electrical and computer engineering. A new undergraduate degree program in environmental engineering has been established in response to faculty and student requests.

Another example is the work of the faculty in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication to implement a number of changes in the school’s undergraduate core curriculum. Enhancements include providing an earlier, tighter focus on writing instruction; a clearer emphasis on integrated new technology; smaller class sizes; and, beginning in 2000-01, sophomore admissions.

Review Processes

The examination of the arts and sciences core curriculum has coincided with campus program reviews of all the writing programs on campus and the QRMS program. Significant changes in these skills areas are expected to be proposed.

For example, one recommendation would continue a two-semester writing requirement (lower and upper division), but the number of students who are exempt from the lower-division requirement would be reduced or eliminated. It also is suggested that writing instruction on campus, currently spread among several entities, be integrated into one centralized body headed by a campus director of writing. Another recommendation is the establishment of a writing center and writing laboratory, equipped with up-to-date technology to enhance writing instruction. A faculty committee began work in fall 1999 to implement changes in the writing area.

Degrees and programs also are reviewed as part of the campus’s Program Review Process. The PRP, as noted elsewhere in this report, includes a self-study, a review by a campus committee, and an external review by distinguished faculty in the relevant field. Each of these review teams has, as part of its explicit charge, the duty to examine the curricula of the various programs and degrees for adequacy and rigor. Also, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) regularly reviews all degrees and programs and has the power to eliminate those it deems moribund.

All new degrees must undergo an extensive review process, both internally and by the CCHE. Among the recently approved degrees at CU-Boulder are a bachelor of arts in women’s studies, a bachelor of science in environmental engineering, a master of arts in East Asian languages and civilizations, and a Ph.D. in kinesiology. New doctoral programs in environmental studies and cognitive science currently are being developed.

In addition, several academic units undergo curricular review by external accreditation organizations, such as the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), which reviews the engineering curriculum every six years.

Certificate Programs

Degree programs are supplemented by a variety of certificate programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The campus has developed six undergraduate certificate programs that allow students to explore an area (usually interdisciplinary) not covered by a major. The programs include American Western studies; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender; peace and conflict; environment policy (Law School); jazz and music technology; and British studies. Two other campuswide programs are in the approval process: one in national defense and one in technology, arts, and media. A certificate program on leadership is in the early planning stages.

In addition, the Graduate School has helped create a set of 12 interdisciplinary graduate certificate programs that add interdisciplinary study, practical know-how, and state-of-the-art research technology to traditional degree programs. For example, the certificate program in oceanic and atmospheric sciences introduces students to technology used to model changes in the atmosphere and oceans. Other programs offered by the certificate programs are biotechnology, media and communication, neuroscience and behavior, remote sensing, behavioral genetics, cognitive science, environmental policy, molecular biophysics, optical science and engineering, population studies, and women’s studies.

Professional certificates that provide practical training in a specific field are offered in museology and several areas of engineering, such as electronics packaging and design manufacturing.

Graduate Curriculum

A graduate curriculum committee, administered by the Graduate School, helps ensure the high quality of graduate courses offered at CU-Boulder. The committee critically reviews proposals for new graduate courses or courses that have undergone substantial changes. Each proposal must be approved by the committee before the course may be offered to students.

All graduate student instruction and training are the responsibility of a designated graduate faculty, whose members are appointed by the Graduate School. Only those faculty members who are demonstrably engaged in research or creative work may be so appointed. In all instances, members of the graduate faculty possess the appropriate terminal degree in their field.

In recent years, the Boulder campus has developed several new education delivery methods that add flexibility to existing programs and enhance their offerings, making graduate students more employable in the marketplace. For example, an innovative degree option, called the bachelor’s/master’s (BAMA) program, has been added to the curriculum. The concurrent B.A./M.A. or B.S./M.S. requires five years to complete or one year in addition to the undergraduate degree program. BAMAs are intended to make efficient use of students’ time, emphasize excellent mentoring, and accelerate the pace of education for the talented student. Since 1996, 15 BAMA programs have been developed, including East Asian languages, economics, EPO biology, finance/accounting, and electrical engineering.

Another innovation in graduate curriculum is the development of professional master’s programs that offer graduate students a degree option and course of study that relate directly to the workplace. These reformulated degree programs provide more practical and applied training, leading to more marketable skills.

Entrepreneur Major Popular with M.B.A.s

Thirty-three percent of the incoming M.B.A. class of 2001 declared entrepreneurship as their major before they arrived at the College of Business and Administration. More than 74 percent of the second-year M.B.A. class of 2000 are majors in the growing field of study.

For five consecutive years (1994-98), the entrepreneurship program was ranked among the top 25 in the country by Success Magazine. Interest in the field is enhanced by the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, a joint program of the business and engineering colleges.