Curriculum Implementation Committee
Goal
The objective of the Curriculum Implementation Committee (CIC) is to facilitate a process of building a meaningful and sustainable curriculum that distinguishes Macalester College through a process that is productive, thoughtful, collaborative and equitable.
As a community, we must collaborate to develop a curriculum that aligns with our values and prepares students for future challenges. This process involves trade-offs and difficult decisions, but our shared goal is the success of the College and its students. We aim to create an environment that creates possibilities, even when we disagree. Let’s approach this task with a spirit of cooperation, recognizing the importance of our collective effort in shaping the educational landscape of Macalester for the generation to come.
Charge & Responsibilities
In the spring of 2024, the Educational Policy and Governance (EPAG) Committee proposed a newly configured Curriculum Implementation Committee. The committee is charged with gathering community input and drafting recommendations that will be presented to EPAG, which will then coordinate bringing a proposal to the faculty. As outlined by EPAG, the functions of the Curriculum Implementation Committee include:
- Gathering feedback from academic departments and other offices across campus about potential implications of curricular models
- Making recommendations to EPAG about changes to current academic policies
- Iterating the models to address opportunities or constraints identified in discussion with departments
- Working through a range of logistical questions related to implementation such as identifying points of connection with non-course-based learning opportunities,
- Working with the Provost, Dean of the Faculty, and others to identify and address potential resources (e.g. time, financial, staffing, etc.) for course development.
The work of the CIC is informed by the 2022 Strategic Planning & Analysis Committee report, which notes that “Realizing the curricular goals of the new strategic plan – and doing so in a way that is consistent with Macalester’s mission, statement of purpose and belief, and [institutional] learning goals – will require purposefully organizing… an integrated academic and social curriculum that spans all four years of a typical undergraduate experience.”
The faculty elected 3 new members in April of 2024 to join appointed members with the goal of cross-divisional representation, continuity, and diversity. The term for all committee members began June 1, 2024 and runs 3 years to May 31, 2027, after which the CIC is expected to be sunsetted.
Members
The full list of members who began a 3-year appointment in the summer of 2024 can be found here.
Contact
Correspond with the committee by email: [email protected]
Submit a Question or Suggestion
Use this form to share anonymous feedback with the Committee.
Why Revise the Curriculum?
Revisiting the design of our curriculum presents a unique opportunity to ensure that our educational practices align with our mission and purpose. Some goals are set out by the Imagine, Macalester strategic plan, which calls for us to “foster teaching, learning, creative work, curiosity, and research that is challenging, energizing, and joyful, and engages students in discovery, growth, analysis, problem-solving, and communication relevant to the complex challenges of our time” while respecting fiscal responsibility, social responsibility and community well-being. Specifically in terms of curriculum, the plan calls for a robust first year experience, an integrated four-year developmental approach to education, updated academic pathways, and amplified opportunities for experiential learning. Revisions of the College Learning Outcomes currently underway should also be incorporated as appropriate.
Past Milestones
Upcoming Engagement Opportunties for Staff and Faculty
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Please refer to the call for proposals for Reimagined First-year courses that will be taught fall, 2025 for full detail about this opportunity. This second round of pilot courses expands upon the Experimental Introduction to the Liberal Arts First-year courses that are being taught this fall and next spring. The lessons learned from developing and offering these courses, along with feedback from students on their experience, provides insights to the educational models of faculty-staff partnerships. To apply, submit a proposal to EPAG Chair, Mario Solis Garcia, using this form.
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Tuesday, January 21, 2025; noon – 4 pm followed by a social hour; Kagin ballroom.
This half-day retreat will focus on potential curricular changes. This session will begin with a conversation about the design of different general education models, led by Dr. Paul Hanstedt, who has authored General Education Essentials. Informed by feedback collected from faculty, staff, and students, participants will work in groups to develop several alternative models for general education at Macalester for consideration by the wider campus community. Faculty and staff please RSVP using this form.
Related reports and Documents
- Feedback Gathered and Used by the Curriculum Implementation Committee
- Current Contemplations of the Curriculum Implementation Committee – September 2024
- Implementing the New Strategic Plan: Elements of a Developmental Four-Year Experience – Strategic Planning and Analysis Committee – November 2022
- Educational Policy and Governance (EPAG) ad hoc Curriculum Committee report – August 2023
Best Practices
As the committee progresses toward its objective, it will be guided by the following best practices on curricular design to ensure the development of a meaningful, sustainable curriculum that distinguishes the College. This process will be productive, thoughtful, collaborative, and equitable.
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Engage faculty, staff, students, and alumni in the curriculum revision process, intentionally including underrepresented voices to ensure diverse perspectives and equity in decision-making. Use evidence and information from faculty, staff, student feedback, and as well as other stakeholders to inform the curricular development.
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Prioritize student success by aligning curriculum with diverse educational goals, supporting students’ academic and post-graduation pursuits through intentional curricular design and advising.
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Communicate regularly with diverse constituencies to share up-to-date information concerning the process of curriculum revision. Ensure that the goals and purposes of general education requirements and other components are clearly communicated to students, enhancing their understanding and intentionality in navigating academic pathways.
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Prioritize equity by ensuring that all students have access to high-impact learning experiences.
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Use continuous assessment as part of an ongoing cycle to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum and incorporate feedback from multiple constituencies
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Ensure that the curriculum fosters interdisciplinary learning and problem-solving, promoting integrative thinking across various fields of study and preparing students to understand and engage diverse perspectives.
Design Principles
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- Focus on credit-bearing courses while still considering how they interact with the co-curriculum, that is, the learning that happens outside the classroom.
- Prioritize equity.
- Prioritize students and holistic student success. /
- Recognize, affirm, and assist students in pursuing their varied educational goals. (On the immense variety of student goals and how they may be out of step with an institution’s, see Lattuca & Stark, 120-122.)
- Seek to align with our updated mission and the college’s learning goals/outcomes.
- Utilize the strengths of our academic departments.
- Move away from transactional thinking (see Fischman & Gardner) and create a model where students assemble classes like blocks to build a meaningful and compelling whole curriculum. We have discussed the metaphor of encouraging students to ‘build a house.’ (See Lattuca & Stark, 146, 171). “Helping students organize their knowledge so that it is a coherent set of ideas rather than discrete bits of information further assists transfer and intentional learning” (Lattuca & Stark, 223).
- Center positive human connections and relationships (Felten & Lambert, p5. )
- Build in opportunities for innovation to keep it ever-fresh. Paul Hanstedt, paraphrasing Jillian Kinzie, observed “those who continue to innovate over-deliver.”
- Build curricular flexibility to adapt to emerging issues, student needs, and broader shifts in the global and local landscape.
- Continue with a teaching and learning philosophy toward assessment (NILOA), using assessment as a constant informative cycle that helps us do our job better (see Hanstedt, 164-169).
- Incentivize the inclusion of high-impact practices or “significant learning experiences” (Dee Fink, 2016).
Literature on College Curricula
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- Felten, P. & Lambert, L. (2020). Relationship-rich education: How human connections drive success in college. (2020). Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Fink, L. Dee. (2016) Five high-impact teaching practices: A list of possibilities. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching 9, 3-18.
- Fischman, W. & Gardner, H. (2022). The real world of college: What higher education is and what it can be. The MIT Press.
- Hanstedt, P. (2024). General Education essentials:A guide for college faculty (2nd ed.). Routledge.
- Kinzie, J. (2019) Taking Stock of Initiatives to Improve Learning Quality in American Higher Education Through Assessment. Higher Education Policy 32, 577–595.
- Lattuca, L. & Stark, J. (2009). Shaping the college curriculum: Academic plans in context (2nd ed.) Jossey-Bass.
- McNair, T. B., Albertine, S., Major, T., McDonald, N., & Cooper, M.A. (2022). Becoming a student-ready college: A new culture of leadership for student success (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
- Mintz, S. (2024). The learning-centered university: Making college a more developmental, transformational, and equitable experience. Johns Hopkins University Press.