We wish to clarify some information in two recent Ithacan editorials regarding the Integrative Core Curriculum. Each article refers to 16 additional credits that students will complete. There are 16 credits in the Themes and Perspectives component of the program; however, they are not “additional.” All programs require coursework in the liberal arts, often framed as general education requirements or courses in the Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences or Fine Arts. New York state requires a minimum of 30 hours of liberal arts coursework for B.M. and B.F.A. degrees, 60 hours for B.S. degrees, and 90 hours for B.A. degrees. Thus, required liberal arts coursework is already a part of every student’s degree program.
The ICC provides a different structure for organizing this coursework to achieve greater coherence in the liberal arts components of an Ithaca College degree. In addition, the ICC seeks to engage students in a common set of intellectual experiences. The ICC specifically attempts to balance the needs for coherence, commonality and flexibility.
It has also been suggested that students will be unable to complete double majors when the ICC is implemented. Again, because the ICC does not add substantially to existing requirements, programs that accommodate double majors now will likely continue to do so.
We will be attending the Feb. 29 SGA session and encourage students to forward additional comments or questions to their SGA representative or to contact us directly.
