Despite efforts of both administration and faculty, the intent and the execution of new curricular initiatives are not always in alignment. To understand how the declaration of a campus-wide general education initiative was being implemented, this article combines analyses of syllabi and courses from across disciplines. In an initial review, the…

Linguistic diversity is part of Europe's DNA. It embraces not only the official languages of Member States, but also the regional and/or minority languages spoken for centuries on European territory, as well as the languages brought by the various waves of migrants. The coexistence of this variety of languages constitutes an asset, but it is also…

Potential students hoping to gauge the quality of courses at Portland State University might be forgiven for feeling confused. On the one hand, the University Studies program, which uses interdisciplinary seminars during the first two years to develop students' core skills, has been widely praised and emulated. The Council for Higher Education…

Prior to 2003, virtual universities were being created at a rate that would question the usual perception that higher education rarely changed, or changed (if at all) at a glacial speed. No comprehensive study of what was actually being created had been done; nor had anyone tapped the experiences of the developers in the states to see what was…

The Core Program replaces a 54-credit, distributive approach to general education with a 45-credit, integrative and interdisciplinary set of semester programs very evenly spread out over the four years of college education. In place of a required number of courses from several separate departments, Core involves a 6-credit interdisciplinary course…

Examines Adler's proposal to extend the teaching of a common core curriculum beyond colleges/universities into secondary schools. Fears an intellectual drift toward some mediocre mean and the deflation of academic standards. Warns that the rejection of pluralistic curricula overlooks individual needs. (DMM)

This article argues that liberal education instills a common understanding of past knowledge in students and warns against the pressures toward specialization. A core curriculum is recommended as a means of tying together various topics. (DB)

The belief that there should be a core of learning as part of the undergraduate program is overwhelmingly shared by the academic administrators. Chief academic officers at 1,310 four-year institutions were surveyed and they ranked their goals, objectives, and program effectiveness. (MLW)

Eighteen months after soundly criticizing a new Harvard general education that proposed to abandon the concept of a structured general education, substituting a minimum distribution requirement under which students could choose a few courses from hundreds offered by the faculty, the writer applauds the shift, encouraged by interim president Derek…

General education is the process of developing a framework on which to place knowledge stemming from a variety of sources. Its goals are to help students think critically, develop values, understand traditions, respect diverse cultures and opinions, and, most importantly, put that knowledge to use. Even though its goals parallel socially supported…

Offers an overview of Nigerian higher education. Analyzes three approaches being taken to introduce general education into the university curriculum (i.e., proscribed course of study, distribution-across-disciplines, and core general education courses). Discusses the difficulties being encountered, including faculty disinterest and rigid academic…

Considers the general education component of technical programs as a means of helping adults adjust to today's industrial changes in processes, machines, and management and thereby to hold jobs, move into new ones, and change careers. Reviews the literature on the general education needs of students in high technology programs and models for…

The current debate about the core curriculum is seen as focusing on "means" rather than the "ends" of general education. Unless the aims of education are debated and some consensus is achieved, it is thought the quality of undergraduate education is not likely to improve. (Author/MLW)