Introductory college courses in science and mathematics are largely ineffective in either instructing students on the nature of science and mathematics or introducing students to further study. Legitimate introductions to mathematical and scientific literacy must engage students in the disciplines and equip them for further study. (MSE)

Ethnic studies' interdisciplinary nature and attention to race, ethnicity, gender, and class offer the scholarship and teaching necessary to a field of study appropriate to the liberal arts curriculum. The discipline sheds light on the nature of Western and American experience, and its development can help transform liberal studies. (MSE)

An interdisciplinary arts curriculum at Columbia College (Illinois) offers young arts professionals an opportunity to deepen creative exploration while preparing for administrative and teaching careers. The program offers collaborative teaching and classes that include students with many individual specialties. Five studio courses concentrate on…

Multiculturalism is the best approach to helping higher education in the United States make the most of recent demographic changes. Multicultural curricular reform is the cornerstone to successful multicultural education. Isolationism by discipline, interest, or ethnic group, when temporary, is not intrinsically wrong but should be balanced with…

Cites the shortcomings of the traditional educational experiences of chemists. Focuses on their training in engineering and concludes that training is lacking in the areas of mass balances in flow processes, heat balances, reactors, separation processes, and scaleup. (DDR)

Challenges the accepted view in America that the modern undergraduate student takes longer to graduate than the traditional four years. Evaluates a 10-year record of geoscience students who graduated from three programs. Contains 17 references. (DDR)

Describes a course designed to teach students the fundamentals of coastal oceanography and the scientific methodologies used in studying this field. Business applications of this information also play an important role in the course. (DDR)

Describes the importance of becoming engaged in the process of mission review and construction in these days of program accountability and institutional assessment for reaccreditation at colleges and universities. Discusses how the study and practice of theater includes many of the principles of good education and relates to many general education…

Analysis of documents from 19 college home economics/family and consumer sciences programs demonstrated the evolution of health core curriculum from emphasis on sanitation, nutrition, and food preparation to hospital-related health care. Today's emphasis on health care costs and wellness has shifted emphasis to home health care and prevention. (SK)

With help from National Association of Scholars, 11 colleges have begun programs using the Great Books curriculum, designed to expose students to the best of Western civilization. The programs vary in the degree to which they adhere to Western works; some faculty are including non-Western civilization. Securing campus approval for the programs has…

Describes changes at Wesleyan University (Connecticut) since 1997 to foster curricular coherence in the liberal arts without imposing a curricular core. Changes include an on-line registration system, a curriculum plan for the first two years which helps students create sequences of interdisciplinary study in addition to the major, Web-based…

Describes a course that focuses on the practice of science as it is done by professionals in specific disciplines and offers opportunities to communicate the connections and relationships among the scientific disciplines. (DDR)

A marketing approach to higher education, viewing students as customers, can erode the quality of education. In such an approach, curriculum may be negotiated based on customers' self-perceived needs rather than academic standards. (SK)

At least 50 colleges offer courses on hypertext fiction, a genre in which readers click on key words to follow various narrative threads according to individual interests and instincts, rather than following a single, predetermined sequence of passages. Supporters are surprised at how slowly the genre has caught on; critics see signs of trendy…

In the current economic climate, the arts and liberal arts, traditionally closely linked, are struggling separately for survival in higher education. The arguments made for them tend to be linked to practical issues. However, a liberal arts education provides students with a foundation on which to build the capacity to create and appreciate…