Making Critical Connections |
The curriculum, international presence, and research experiences for undergraduates at The University of North Carolina at |
These areas demonstrate the University's commitment to interdisciplinary work, support for diversity, reliance on ethical behavior, and commitment to public engagement. The connections between academic and health affairs, between graduate and undergraduate students, and among research, teaching, and service for the faculty and staff, will all be examined before the visit by the SACS re-accreditation team in spring 2006. Beginning in fall 2004, committees. comprised of faculty, staff and students will study each area and make recommendations for ways to focus on and enhance these areas well into the future. |
Curricular Innovation: ' The revised undergraduate curriculum, effective fall 2006, includes a requirement to connect the foundations (composition and rhetoric, quantitative reasoning, foreign language, lifetime fitness) and approaches (physical and life sciences, social and behavioral sciences, humanities and fine arts) in ways that eliminate traditional boundaries and allow unrestricted movement from the campus community into other ones - local, regional, national, and international. Intended to help undergraduates understand that what they learn in a specific course is not knowledge in isolation but part of a larger construct, "making connections" also suggests an important strategy for the entire University. Plans to assess the curriculum would be created as would ways to evaluate its implementation. |
Internationalization: The range of activities throughout the entire University (health affairs, academic affairs, Continuing Education, etc.) devoted to global issues could be identified and long-term plans for enhancing the University's status as a leading international university would be created. In addition, short-term projects would begin, existing ones would be coordinated, and the resources necessary to fund international research, teaching, and service on a larger scale would be identified. |
Research: Enhancing the research experience for undergraduates is important for everyone in the University community. UNC's growth in extramural research funding is a valuable asset that might be drawn upon to provide additional opportunities to undergraduates whose strong pre-college preparation makes them eager for research opportunities and interaction with faculty and professional staff. Increasing the number of students involved in basic and applied research, with departmental honors programs, and who are attending and making presentations at national meetings are significant goals. In addition, the ethical considerations of using undergraduate students to conduct research must be evaluated and provisions for adequate resources made.
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Bobbi Owen, Professor Head, QEP |