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Running head: CASE STUDY ONE

Case Study One: Core Curriculum in Higher Education

Katherine M. Knight
Loyola University Chicago

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Core Curriculum in Higher Education

The five institutions I chose for the core curriculum analysis include both private and
public institutions at various locations across the Midwest. These five larger institutions differ in
student body size ranging from 11,000 students to 30,000 students. With Chicago, Colorado, and
Iowa as three states I aspire to work in, I chose The University of Chicago, University of Illinois
at Chicago, The University of Denver, Colorado State University, and my alma mater, The
University of Iowa to complete my core curriculum comparative analysis.
Core Curriculum Descriptions
The University of Chicagos Core claims to provide a lifelong experience, bringing
undergraduate students and faculty together through wide ranging topics of conversation.
Students at The University of Chicago can expect to gain broad exposure to the arts and sciences
while strengthening reading, writing, and critical thinking skills (The Core, n.d). The Core
curriculum is broken into eight different categories. The first four categories include
Humanities, where students engage in philosophical texts, Social Sciences, where students learn
how societies are organized, Civilization, where students study the culture of an area of the
world, and a choice between Art, Music, or Drama for the fourth category. The final four
categories include courses in both Biological and Physical Sciences, and finish with Mathematics
and Foreign Language. Course requirements range from one to three courses in each category,
with the exception of foreign language, which requires a year of college study.
University of Illinois at Chicagos General Education Core curriculum allows students to
prepare for the world beyond college, claiming the skills needed for that world include thinking
independently, analyzing and evaluating arguments, and thinking critically about how individuals
influence and are influenced by outside forces (General Education: Setting the Foundations for

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University Study, n.d). The General Education Core is broken up into six categories, not
including the universitys writing requirement. The Analyzing the Natural World category
introduces students to science and math concepts, while Understanding the Individual and
Society points to the complexity of the individual or how that individual interacts with social
structures. Understanding the Past is a category designed to help students link today with
history, and Understanding the Creative Future contains courses in the arts, literature, and
philosophy to examine the creative mind. Lastly, Exploring World Cultures courses allow
students to appreciate an area of the world different from their own, and Understanding U.S.
Society courses study the diversities of America that unite and divide us as citizens. 24 semester
hours of coursework are required from the General Education Core, including at least one class
from each of the six categories. The course selections range from three to five semester hours
each.
The University of Denvers Common Curriculum is designed to prepare students to be
citizens and leaders in the world by introducing them to courses across a variety of knowledge
areas (Degrees and Degree Requirements, n.d). The Common Curriculum is divided into five
categories, where students will earn from 52 to 60 semester hours worth of credit between the
five. The First Year Seminar course allows students to engage with faculty on a unique topic of
their choice. The Writing and Rhetoric category consists of two courses that lay the foundation
for writing in future courses. Students are required to take one to three courses in the Language
category unless exempted for their previous academic experiences. The Ways of Knowing
category is 32 semester hours broken into four sections: Analytical Inquiry: The Natural and
Physical World, Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture, Scientific Inquiry: The Natural and
Physical World, and Scientific Inquiry: Society and Culture. Students finish the Common

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Curriculum with an Advance Seminar course on a topic of passion or expertise not related to
their chosen area of study.
Colorado State University presents the All-University Core Curriculum (AUCC) as a
shared learning experience between all students and faculty (All-University Core Curriculum,
n.d.). Students take courses in three different categories, starting with Basic Competency courses
in Mathematics and Intermediate Writing. The second category, Advanced Writing, builds on
concepts learned in the Basic Competency section to allow students to demonstrate
comprehension of knowledge at an advanced level. Finally, the Foundations and Perspectives
category offers courses in Biological and Physical Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Social and
Behavioral Sciences, Historical Perspectives, and Global and Cultural Awareness to give the
skills learned in the Basic Competency category purpose and life.
Last, but not least, The University of Iowas General Education Program is divided into
three categories that build students education, career, and life as educated people (College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences, n.d.). In the Communication and Literacy category, students take
one course each in Rhetoric, Interpretation of Literature, and World Languages. The Natural,
Quantitative, and Social Sciences category has students select a course each in Social Sciences
and Quantitative and Formal Reasoning, and two courses, including laboratory work, in Natural
Sciences. Third, students take one course each in Historical Perspectives, International and
Global Issues, Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts, and Values, Society, and Diversity in order
to complete the requirements for the Culture, Society, and the Arts category.
Similarities in Curriculum
Though the student body demographics and location of the five schools picked for
comparison differs, common themes and trends appear in how the curriculum is presented. All

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five schools have multiple subject areas in common. Writing skills and courses on mathematics,
global perspectives, historical perspectives, social sciences, natural sciences, and the arts are
subject matters that are present in all five institutions. In addition, all five institutions require a
similar amount of courses required, ranging from around 10 to 13 required courses per
institution. A final similarity of the five institutions is the stated commitment, worded a little
differently each time, that each curriculum is in place to prepare students to be well-educated
citizens of society.
Differences in Curriculum
Similarities aside, there are several differences between the core curricula of the five
institutions selected. One notable difference is the difference in requirement, or lack there of, of
a foreign or world language course. While the other four institutions require some form of world
language competency, University of Illinois at Chicago does not. Another significant difference
in the development of these core curricula is the presentation of the requirements. While this
may not pertain to the actual coursework, some institutions, The University of Iowa, The
University of Denver, and The University of Chicago, present the requirements in very clear,
easy to follow structures. University of Illinois at Chicago and Colorado State University
present requirements in very wordy, lengthy, and confusing documents. Finally, the largest
difference in the curricula of these institutions, and a difference that applies to the reading
material, is the presence, or lack of presence, of integration between subject matters. The
University of Denver has an Advanced Seminar that ties in all of the skills learned in the
Common Curriculum, and students cannot enroll in the course until they have completed all of
the other Common Curriculum requirements. Curricula at the other four institutions have
prerequisite courses and courses that build upon each other, however, it appears as though

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Denver is the only institution that requires a course that specifically tie the different subject
matters together to accomplish learning objectives.
Course Integration
As evidenced above, there are many differences in the core curricula of the five
institutions chosen for this analysis. While these programs appear to be well established,
according to Fink (2003), Bransford (1999), and Nilson (2010), there are components missing
that would make each program better at fulfilling the commitment to enhance the student as a
citizen of society. For example, Fink (2003), mentions service learning and community
engagement as ways to contribute to the significant learning of a student and preparing them
adequately for environments outside of the classroom. Individual courses may have community
engagement projects, but none of the five schools considered for this analysis had an overarching
service learning or community engagement component. Another gap in these curricula relates to
organization and structure highlighted in Bransfords (1999) chapter on Learners and Learning.
Bransford (1999) highlights that to effectively teach, knowledge must be organized in a
meaningful way. The University of Denver and Colorado State University both have core
curriculum that builds upon itself, connecting all parts of the curriculum in a way that is
meaningful and comprehensive. Bransford (1999) also highlights that people learn best when
they are able to form connections. Iowa, The University of Chicago, and University of Illinois at
Chicago all have comprehensive curriculum, however, the programs lack a course or common
link of prerequisites and sequential courses that foster the needed connection for significant
learning.
While there are gaps, as mentioned above, all of the institutions effectively hit a large
variety of subjects in their core curricula. Fink (2003) describes the importance of

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interdisciplinary learning, stating the world needs people who have learned how to look at
problems from the perspectives of two or more disciplines and who can interact effectively with
individuals who represent different perspectives and disciplines (p. 49). Fink (2003), Bransford
(1999), and Nilson (2010), all stress incorporation of different subject areas as an effective way
to prepare students for life outside of the classroom.
Finally, there are potential learning issues that could arise from the size and
demographics of the institutions that may not be illustrated on the main core curriculum
documents looked at for this case study. For example, all five institutions have enrollments of
over 11,000 students. These large numbers could lead to a number of courses presented in
lecture format, a teaching style that is not always conducive to fostering critical thinking skills
(Fink, 2003). Additionally, with the large size of the five institutions, it is easy to assume that
many students are of the traditional college age. The formats of curriculum may make sense to
these younger full time students. Many adult students may not benefit from these formats, as
many academic programs today do not cater specifically to the ever-growing older student
population (Nilson, 2010).
In conclusion, the five institutions researched for this analysis appear to have a wide
variety of coursework offered to aid in the commitment of developing students to be better
citizens of society. However, research shows that integration, community involvement, and
connected curriculum help develop more significant learning experiences in preparation for life
during and after higher education.

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References

All-University Core Curriculum. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from

http://catalog.colostate.edu/content/files/2012/frontpdf/2.3aucc.pdf
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.) (1999). How People Learn: Brain,
Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from
http://clas.uiowa.edu/students/general-education-program-requirements
Degrees and Degree Requirements. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from
http://bulletin.du.edu/undergraduate/undergraduateprograms/traditionalbachelorsprogram
/degreesanddegreerequirements/
Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to
developing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
General Education: Setting the Foundations for University Study. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20,
2015, from http://www.uic.edu/ucat/catalog/GE.shtml#c
Nilson, L.B. (2010). Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
The Core. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from
https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/academics/core