Faculty Council members met for the first time under new Faculty Council Chair Chris McNamara to discuss new developments in the college’s plan to revise the Integrative Core Curriculum (ICC).
The plan provided a detailed timeline for ICC changes from September 2018 to August 2021. The timeline starts with the initial program review from the Middle States review team and ICC Program Review Committee and outlines revisions to the ICC beginning during the 2021-22 academic year. The plan relies heavily on feedback provided from both review teams, the college’s internal self study, and feedback provided by the campus community who attended open forums Spring 2019.
Jeane Copenhaver-Johnson, associate provost for academic programs, presented the timeline to Faculty Council and encouraged Ithaca College faculty to get involved in the revision process.
“It’s something that we have to continue to do, and that relies on transparency, granting things and evidence and making sure that there’s a process that’s inclusive,” Copenhaver-Johnson said.
Based on the feedback the college received on the ICC, Copenhaver-Johnson said the e-portfolio is no longer a viable assessment of the core curriculum.
“It is also pretty clear to see in the evidence from the external reviewers, from our internal self study, from the feedback of people who showed up at meetings and who responded in the multiple ways written responses were collected that the e-portfolio has not lived up to what our hopes and dreams for it were,” Copenhaver-Johnson said.
Copenhaver-Johnson said the task force plans to establish a process for campus-wide updates and feedback starting in October 2019. By March 2020, the task force hopes to work with individual schools on their curriculum and hold regular meetings.
Beginning in April 2020, the task force hopes to have proposals vetted and approved by the Committee for College-Wide Requirements. During the 2020-21 academic year, any gaps within these proposals will be addressed and the task force plans to launch initiatives.
Copenhaver-Johnson said all revisions to the ICC will be implemented by August 2021.
Multiple Faculty Council members stressed the importance of creating student-centered strategies moving forward with the ICC and the college’s strategic plan, Ithaca Forever.
La Jerne Cornish, provost and vice president of academic affairs, and Jason Freitag, associate professor in the Department of History, presented updates on Ithaca Forever at the meeting.Freitag said the strategic plan steering committee wants to create a year round campus for living and learning opportunities, as well as form a better relationship between the Ithaca community and the college. Freitag said he hopes the college will become a national model for other universities committed to the values of diversity, equity and inclusion.
