Edgar Estrada
Contributing Writer
Students starting at Dominican this fall will only have to take three liberal arts seminars instead of the traditional four after a core curriculum proposal submitted by the Core Review Committee was accepted unanimously by the University Curriculum Committee and passed by the Senate.
Dominican started discussing possible changes to the core curriculum concerning its effectiveness as far back as 2010 and worked on many drafts that lead to this new proposal. The new proposal aims to offer students more flexibility, while still teaching students valuable skills that they can take into the real world.
Other changes from the proposal include more emphasis on critical reading, writing, and speaking in the English 102 course, an emphasis on sustainability and the environment for the sophomore/junior seminar, and a reduction in the total number of core credits from 49 credits to 46 credits.
Tim Milinovich, chair of both the theology department and the University Curriculum Committee, said he hopes that the new core curriculum will show students the benefits of a liberal arts college.
“There’s this whole range of communication that’s included that’s a great skill set for anyone going on in the workforce,” he said. “To be able to read something clearly, understand it, and being able to speak clearly to it…that’s just a fantastic skill set to have as you’re starting college and that can build as you’re going along throughout your work here.”
The freshman seminar – The Examined Life – and the senior seminar – The Good Life – will remain. The big change comes in the sophomore and junior years, where students will have the option to take the Life in the Natural World Seminar in either year. Tim Milinovich is a big fan of the reinvented sophomore/junior seminar that will cover topics such as rights of people and how they relate to the rights of the environment.
“It brings up whole ranges of not just the environment, but other ethical issues that include healthcare, social justice, equity, race, gender, ethnicity, the whole gamut of different challenges come about,” he said.
The seminar changes piqued the interest of current students, who will still need to complete all four seminars. As shown in the graphic above from the 2017-2018 academic year graduating student survey, students valued seminars the least in comparison to other areas of study, with a value score of 2.9 out of five. The lack of popularity of the seminars may help explain the decision to cut out one seminar requirement.
John Robinson, a senior corporate communication major, was very intrigued by the changes to the seminars. He acknowledged the great impact that his freshman seminar had on his overall Dominican experience. However, he did like the idea of being able to have more options.
“I really appreciated seminars, especially my freshman seminar. I felt like it helped get me on the right track for school,” he said. “But towards my junior and senior year, I wish I could have taken more major and or minor related classes instead of seminars.”
Lesley Arroyo, a junior psychology major shared similar opinion to John.
“Seminar may be good for freshmen so they can meet other students once they start college, but for other students they may be a pointless class,” she said. “There are other classes that I would prefer taking instead of a seminar. I think it would be beneficial to take three seminars instead of the four, so that I could explore other courses or even make room for an internship or study abroad.”
While these adjustments had some positive feedback from some students, not everyone supports the changes.
Seminar Professor Bruce Zimmerman likes the four-seminar model, and dislikes the change.
“The seminars, to me, afforded students the opportunity to really think, to really discuss as opposed to just sitting in lectures,” he said. “There aren’t that many opportunities for students to have a voice and to share their backgrounds. Seminars give students a safe space to talk, share, and to think about themselves and what goes on in their lives.”
Milinovich explained that the qualities from the seminars could be replicated across other parts of the core, which is why the university felt that a fourth seminar was no longer needed. The new core proposal will offer Dominican a fresh start moving forward.
“The previous core was a good core, I just feel this structure gives us an opportunity to convey the story better and offers new opportunities,” he said.
