THE NEW TEXAS CORE CURRICULUM (OCTOBER 27, 2011)

1. THE NEW TEXAS CORE CURRICULUM (OCTOBER 27, 2011)

2. KEY POINTS • BASED ON BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES • LIMITED TO 42 HOURS • CORE COURSES MUST ADDRESS ALL SPECIFIED OBJECTIVES FOR THE COMPONENT AREA • COORDINATING BOARD WILL APPROVE THE CONTENT OF OUR CORE CURRICULUM (DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTAL, 11/30/13) • MUST BE IMPLEMENTED IN FALL 2014 • THERE WILL BE A TRANSITION PERIOD WHILE STUDENTS WHO CAME UNDER A PRE-2014 CATALOG COMPLETE THE OLD CORE AND NEW STUDENTS WORK ON THE NEW CORE

3. KEY POINTS (CONTINUED) • EMPHASIS ON FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE LEVEL COURSES, UPPER-LEVEL COURSES DISCOURAGED OR DISALLOWED • CORE WILL BE MORE FOCUSED INTEGRATED COURSES COURSES DEVELOPED AS CORE COURSES GENERAL RATHER THAN FOCUSED ON NARROW TOPICS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL STUDENTS, NOT FOR MAJORS ONLY EMPHASIZE LIFE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

4. Foundational COMPONENT AREAS • COMMUNICATION (6 SCH) • MATHEMATICS (3 SCH) • LIFE AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES (6 SCH) • LANGUAGE, PHILOSOPHY, AND CULTURE (3 SCH) • CREATIVE ARTS (3 SCH) • AMERICAN HISTORY (6 SCH) • GOVERNMENT/POLITICAL SCIENCE (6 SCH) • SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES (3 SCH) • COMPONENT AREA OPTION (6 SCH)

5. CORE OBJECTIVES • Critical Thinking Skills: to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information (Must be addressed in all core curriculum courses) • Communication Skills: to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication (Must be addressed in all core curriculum courses • Empirical and Quantitative Skills: to include the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions

6. Teamwork: to include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal • Personal Responsibility: to include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making • Social Responsibility: to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities

7. COMMUNICATION • Courses in this category focus on developing ideas and expressing them clearly, considering the effect of the message, fostering understanding, and building the skills needed to maximize the potential for effecting change through communication. • Courses involve the command of oral, aural, written and visual literacy skills that enable people to exchange messages appropriate to the subject, occasion, and audience. • The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills Communication Skills Personal Responsibility Social Responsibility.

8. MATHEMATICS • Courses in this category focus on quantitative literacy in logic, patterns and relationships • Courses involve the understanding of key mathematical concepts and the application of appropriate quantitative tools to everyday experience. • The following three Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills Communication Skills Empirical and Quantitative Skills.

9. Life and Physical Sciences • Courses in this category focus on describing, explaining, and predicting natural phenomena using the scientific method. • Courses involve the understanding of interactions among natural phenomena and the implications of scientific principles on human experiences. • The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills Communication Skills Empirical and Quantitative Skills Teamwork

10. Language, Philosophy, and Culture • Courses in this category focus on how ideas, values, beliefs, and other aspects of culture reflect and affect human experience. • Courses involve the exploration of ideas that foster aesthetic and intellectual creation in order to understand the human condition across cultures. • The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills Communication Skills Teamwork OR Personal Responsibility Social Responsibility

11. Creative Arts • Courses in this category focus on the appreciation and analysis of creative artifacts and works of the human imagination. • Courses involve the synthesis and interpretation of artistic expression and enable critical, creative, and innovative communication about works of art. • The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skill Communication Skills Teamwork Social Responsibility

12. American History • Courses in this category focus on the consideration of past events relative to the United States, with the option of including Texas History for a portion of this component area. • Courses involve the interaction among individuals, communities, states, the nation, and the world, considering how these interactions have contributed to the development of the United States and its global role. • The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills Communication Skills Personal Responsibility Social Responsibility

13. Government/Political Science • Courses in this category focus on consideration of the Constitution of the Untied States and the constitutions of the states, with special emphasis on that of Texas,. • Courses involve the analysis of governmental institutions, political behavior, civic engagement, and their political and philosophical foundations. • The following five Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement Critical Thinking Skills Communication Skills Teamwork Personal Responsibility Social Responsibility

14. Social and Behavioral Sciences • Courses in this category focus on the application of scientific methods in the understanding of what makes us human. • Courses involve the exploration of behavior and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, and events, examining their impact on the individual, society, and culture. • The following five Core objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement Critical Thinking Skills Communication Skills Empirical and Quantitative Skills Personal Responsibility Social Responsibility

15. Component Area Option • Courses in this category focus on the development and application of knowledge and skills introduced in the previous eight component areas. • Courses used to complete the Component Area Option must meet the definition and criteria specified in one of the foundational component areas • The Core Objectives required in the corresponding Component Area apply to each course used to fulfill the Component Area Option. • Current TTU Institutional Options are Oral Communication (3 SCH) Mathematics and Logic (3 SCH)

16. TENTATIVE TIMELINE • November 18, Timeline finalized, guidelines for course proposals presented and discussed • December 16, 2011, Suspend acceptance of applications to add new courses to the core curriculum • January 31, 2012, Call for course proposals • May 4, 2012, Deadline for receipt of core curriculum course proposals. • Summer 2012, preliminary screening proposals by review committee. Problem proposals will be returned for revision. • September 7, Proposals approved by the review committee are forwarded to the appropriate Component Area Committee for final review. • December 3, 2012, Component Area Committees present their list of accepte, revisal needed and rejected core curriculum courses. • March 18, 2013 syllabi returned for revision are due. These syllabi will be forwarded immediately to the appropriate Component Area Committee for review. • May 3, 2013, provisional core curriculum is presented to the Core Curriculum Steering Committee for review and approval • September 2013, core curriculum is submitted to the Academic Council for review. • November 30, 2013, core curriculum sent to the Coordinating Board for its approval. • Fall 2014, new core curriculum is implemented.