Ample resources on hand for switch to WMU Essential Studies

Female teacher and student looking at a geological map on a computer screen.

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Faculty are encouraged to take advantage of an upcoming workshop as well as a variety of other resources that are available to prepare them for the University’s move to a new general education curriculum.

The new curriculum, WMU Essential Studies, will go into effect at the start of the fall 2020 semester. It comes with a more focused set of educational intents, learning outcomes and assessment criteria for faculty that will result in new and updated courses for students.

WMU Essential Studies will apply to all new undergraduates who are covered under the 2020-21 Undergraduate Catalog.

Available resources

Among the helpful resources already available is a workshop called Navigating WMU Essential Studies: Design, Assess, Submit. The workshop will be presented from 1 to 3 p.m. Fridays, Sept. 14 and 28, Oct. 12 and 26, and Nov. 9 and 30, in Sangren Hall’s Swain Library. It features three concurrent breakout sessions:

“Understanding the WMU Essential Studies Design: Where Does My Course Fit? What Is Needed for a Successful Review?”
Assessing WMU Essential Studies Student Learning Outcomes: What Assessment Evidence Is Needed?”
“Electronic Submission: A Tutorial.”

Information about the new general education curriculum also is available on the Faculty Senate’s WMU Essential Studies website, which is being updated on a regular basis.

An interactive webpage showing the program model and student learning outcomes with assessment rubrics was recently added there. A user guide for the electronic course submission process and a template for the course assessment piece will be added within the first couple of weeks of the fall 2018 semester.

In addition, a variety of academic committees, councils and other campus groups will have the opportunity to hear presentations on WMU Essential Studies in coming weeks.

Administration and process

The University has tapped Mervyn Elliott, a master faculty specialist-lecturer in the College of Aviation, to direct WMU Essential Studies. Elliott joined WMU’s faculty in 1999 and teaches aerodynamics and performance.

He and multiple committees comprised of faculty and administrative staff have been working with the Faculty Senate for the past two years to design the new curriculum and ensure that the necessary policies and procedures are in place in time for its 2020 launch.

They began the course development process last spring, and the course approval procedures and forms were finalized this summer. This semester, faculty across campus will be configuring their planned course offerings so an essential studies committee can review the courses during the spring semester.

Elliott notes that the University’s college curriculum units must submit their WMU Essential Studies courses by Monday, Dec. 31.

For more information, visit the WMU Essential Studies website. To sign up for the Navigating WMU Essential Studies workshop, visit login page. Direct questions to Elliott at wmu-essentialstudies@wmich.edu.

For more WMU news, arts and events, visit WMU News online.