The discipline of education is a multi-faceted system that must constantly integrate new strategies and procedures to ensure successful learning experiences. Enhancements in education provide learners with greater opportunities for growth and advancement. "Open Learning and Formal Credentialing in Higher Education: Curriculum Models and…

The beginning of modern science is marked by efforts of pioneers to understand the natural world using a quantitative approach. As Galileo wrote, "the book of nature is written in the language of mathematics". The traditional undergraduate course curriculum is heavily focused on individual disciplines like biology, physics, chemistry,…

This study presents a process used to assess the general education component of the undergraduate curriculum, focusing particularly on the components of the methodology that provided the data used to suggesting changes in the program. The study was undertaken at an urban institution with an undergraduate population of 6,000, and involved analysis…

Reported is a profile of nonmajor instruction determined through a nationwide survey of college and university professors who teach introductory courses to non-science majors. The purpose of the survey was to identify the critical issues and problems that exist related to this population of students. (KR)

This book proposes a broad view of the college curriculum, suggesting that it be defined as an "academic plan." The plan included decisions about what, why, and how students learn; ways to determine whether students have learned what they are supposed to learn; and methods of using this information to improve the plan. Taking both a macro and a…

This study investigated the constraints students in an alternative education program encountered when attempting to implement their individualized curricula in the Independent Study Program (ISP) at the University of Illinois. The study used in-depth interviews with an informant sample of 10 ISP students to gather data about curriculum…

This study investigated the effects of corporate financial support on the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) curriculum. The study evolved out of growing concerns that many university educators have related to the mushrooming of university efforts to secure corporate financial support…

This paper briefly presents a history of comprehensive examinations in higher education in the United States, characteristics of comprehensive exams, and the use of such exams in assessing program quality. This paper then focuses on the experience of 11 program faculties at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville), that developed and used exit…

Describes different methods used to represent learning schemata with an emphasis on the clues for effective instruction that can be found in both the process of representing and the representation produced. It is argued that all representations offer direct or indirect suggestions for organizing instruction and student learning. (RP)

These papers were presented as a symposium on the revision of the general education program at the University of Montevallo (UM) in Alabama. The first paper, "Introduction to Evaluation of General Education at the University of Montevallo," by Patricia S. Ernest and Elizabeth H. Rodgers, describes the core curriculum study and the 13…

This study examined curriculum deliberation and decision-making in higher education through selected interviews with 11 university teachers in 11 different disciplines. All were full-time and tenure-track or already tenured. After completing individual interviews the participants gathered for a culminating discussion. Examination of the data found…

In response to recently raised concerns about the effective integration of general education into community college occupational programs, this report offers a review of the literature on general education and its place in the vocational curriculum. First, definitions of general education are presented and synthesized into the following…

A study was conducted to examine relationships between community college transfer and curricula by analyzing course offerings at the remedial and advanced levels. The study analyzed the Center for the Study of Community Colleges' National Curriculum Database, containing data on 1991 liberal arts course offerings for 164 representative community…

The publication summarizes a report on gerontology instruction in American institutions based on a 1985-1986 survey of over 3000 campuses. The summary examines previous knowledge of gerontology instruction and explains the purpose for the national survey, its design and goals, the questionnaires used and the data derived from them, and how the…

During the past two decades, there have been several highly visible developments in education, including behavioral objectives, criterion-referenced test interpretations, the mastery model in instruction, performance-based instructional programs, competency testing, and accountability. This paper is an attempt to weave these various developments…