In November of last year, the General Education and University Curriculum committees approved changes to the Foundational Studies Program. Based on feedback from the colleges, deans, faculty, students and staff, a new program name takes effect in fall 2018, including course name changes across the curriculum.
The program will change its name from Foundational Studies to University Foundations. Also, the designation “foundations” will be used throughout the curriculum, a change that signals the breadth of the program. Students often did not understand the full scale of Foundational Studies because of the variety of course names in the previous model. The registrar’s office has made all catalog and degree box name changes, to take effect fall 2018.
The UF 200 course name change to Foundations of Ethics and Diversity reinforces the learning outcomes of “ethics” and “diversity” that shape the content of the course.
Redesigned UF 100 courses will emphasize the foundational categories of arts, humanities, mathematics, sciences and social sciences. Courses in UF 100 address central disciplinary questions or themes. This disciplinary focus maps to the university’s organizational structure, which is based on majors. These courses also focus on answering the most common student questions about general education: What is this course? Why do I have to take it? How will it help me now and after college?
There will be an increase in full-time instruction supported by a budget increase to more adequately compensate colleges and academic departments who release top faculty to teach 100 and 200 level courses.
A new General Education Committee under the auspices of the faculty senate ensures strengthened and expanded faculty oversight and review of the program and its courses.
In addition, Communication in the Discipline courses will change to Foundations of Oral Communication to align with revised State Board of Education statewide general education policy that includes oral communication in general education curricula.
Please contact foundationalstudies@boisestate.edu for additional information.