Oakland University’s Senate and faculty are pushing to improve General Education courses and pathways for current and future students through a new reform that is being workshopped to seek better success for all Golden Grizzlies.
The reform came to be through the need for modernization, as the committee acknowledges in the opening lines of the “Model Walk” reform, stating that they “have not revised OU’s General Education curriculum in 20 years.”
The Model Walk is a proposal to reform general education structures at OU and turn it into the rebranded “Grizz Core.” Put together by a special committee, the project proposes three different models of general education the university can implement in the future.
“[The university] charged this committee to research new models for general education and propose recommendations for revising the general education curriculum,” The General Education Program Revision Ad Hoc Committee (GEPRAHC) website says. “This committee includes faculty representatives from across the college and professional schools, staff members from advising and other OU offices, and a student representative.”
On Wednesday, Dr. Brandi L. Newkirk-Turner from Jackson State University (JSU) presented to Oakland University’s faculty, staff and students about improving one’s institutional curriculum structure and general education requirements.
The presentation was sponsored by the GEPRAHC. The committee was established in May of 2022, and it works to “stay relevant to the needs of our students and society we must undertake regular evaluations of our General Education curricular program and revise it as needed,” the official biography states.
The presentation included food and refreshments as a light breakfast for the attendees. It kickstarted with an introduction by GEPRAHC Co-Chair Maria Paino, who introduced the topic and presented Newkirk-Turner as a Communicative Disorders professor, a Doctor of Communication Disorders, and an associate provost for Academic Affairs.
Newkirk-Turner went on to discuss the matters in which the issue of Gen Ed classes came to be, how a committee was created, how the proposal was brought to the various boards at JSU, which marketing techniques worked best and who was included in the process of reform.
She noted how integral students were in understanding what systematic imperfections were stopping them from completing necessary major-oriented courses at proper times. Videos of students in the Gen Ed reform committee were shown to showcase a first-person perspective on this.
Newkirk-Turner also included links to marketing videos that were created to properly explain ‘Thee Pathway,’ the new curriculum plan that helps students better prepare and understand the pathway to their future careers.
The entire JSU Quality Enhancement Plan began in July of 2020, through Covid years, and became solidified in the Thee Pathway proposal about two years later. It started due to student complaints, but also a noticeably decreasing graduation rate.
The people involved in this process were a mix of faculty, staff, and students, as is seen in their committee. Throughout the first two years of planning Thee Pathway, however, many consultations were had with those — other than students — who were directly affected by changes in curriculum.
Meetings were held with advisors from each department to map out proper career plans, athletic advisors for student athletes, success advisors, administration and recruitment offices, etc.
The presentation delivered by Newkirk-Turner was a perfect map and insight on how Oakland University’s own GEPRAHC can improve Oakland’s curriculum and provide our students with the most effective and productive measures to succeed in their education and careers.
For future information on the GEPRAHC’s news on the Gen Ed reform here at OU, check out their website for updates at https://ern.oakland.edu/gened/.
