Depts. consider four-credit classes
Truman State’s English Departdecided this fall that upper-level classes will be four credit hours rather than three starting Fall 2014, and other departments might follow suit.
The decision came after a department assessment with the goal of increase ddepartment and student efficiency and decreased student stress, English Department Chair Cole Woodcox said.
The new four credit hour curriculums will not cost more than usual as long as the student is taking the 12-17 credit hours per semester, Woodcox said. Students who enter Truman during 2014 will take courses that help them with placing their texts in historical, geographical and theoretical context, he said.
University president Troy Paino and interim provost Richard Coughlin have indicated their support of the implementation, Woodcox said. Students will have to take one fewer course but spend more time homework and in class, Woodcox said.
It will take time to notice the budgetary benefits of this model, but it might be more efficient, University President Troy Paino said. Professors will teach 12 credit hours rather than the nine in some disciplines, with more time to go in depth, Paino said. Each department would need to look at its curriculum and assess whether they are getting the desired learning effect, Paino said.
“My hope though would be that the primary motivation would be because [the curriculum] improves student learning,” Paino said. “It shouldn’t merely be because of the money.”
Students have the opportunity to take fewer courses and still meet credit requirements, so they won’t feel as stressed, Paino said.
A majority of the faculty voted and decided to implement the plan, English professor Christine Harker said.
Budget cuts weren’t the reason for the switch, but the fact that the University is looking for ways to increase efficiency in light of potential state cuts made it a good time to do it, she said.
The History department is debating adopting this plan because it just implemented a revised curriculum, History Department Chair Thomas Zoumaras said. Some history faculty wondered whether this was a back door way to try to extract more work from the faculty, he said.
“I strongly favor this unabashedly,” Zoumaras said. “As it is now, students are stressed beyond belief.”
The budget cuts could be a part of why many people support this system, but the history department supported it during the ‘90s, he said.
“The English department did it because they wanted the students’ learning experience to be better,” Zoumaras said. “It’s not part of a hidden agenda.”
One downside of the change is if the student is taking four classes instead of five, they are being exposed to fewer ideas and the quality is reduced, he said. The students will be able to focus more, and it will create an environment for higher level learning experiences because students can focus more on one subject area, Zoumaras said.
“Some programs require certification, my response is that there are plenty of institutions — stellar institutions — that have the four credit hour model,” he said.
Another benefit of the four credit hour model is the expectation to sit down with a student and know they will be engaged more fully, Zoumaras said.
During the next few years more proposals like the English department’s are expected, Interim Provost Richard Coughlin said.
Coughlin said he thinks change will improve the English department, but it might not work for every department.
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