Xavier Newsire 4-20-16

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Published by the students of Xavier University since 1915 Fiat justitia, ruat coelum

Volume CI Issue 29

April 20, 2016

Newswire photo by Hannah Michels

Scholars program shifts gears

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BY HANNAH SGAMBELLONE Staff Writer Xavier students are no stranger to curriculum changes. From the addition of GOA and the First Year Seminar programs to the continual shifting of core requirements, students are expected to be versatile and patient as the university changes what it means to obtain a degree. Over the past year, the University Scholars core has fallen under the cosmetic knife of the University Scholars program (USP) Task Force that now emphasizes the Ă H[LELOLW\ RI WKH QHZ SURJUDP requirements. In the past, the HAB, PPP and University Scholars core has been intentionally rigorous; requiring

courses such as calculus and honors sections of theology, rhetoric and philosophy. According to the task force, the prestige and the intensity of the program will remain the same all the while making the curriculum easier for students to complete. The goal of the program thus far has been to provide students ZLWK DQ LQWHQVLĂ€HG FRKHVLYH OLEeral arts degree. According to Dr. Stephen Yandell, the new leader of the University Scholars program, the changes were made to make the Honors core more accessible to students while upholding the same standard of the previous program. ´,QFUHDVHG Ă H[LELOLW\ IRU VWX-

dents became the key mantra embraced by the Task Force,â€? Yandell said. “We wanted students to have greater choice in what they took and simultaneously double-down on the program’s greatest strength, the Honors courses. We wanted students to EHQHĂ€W IURP ZHOO FKRVHQ ORZHU HQUROOHG +RQRUV Ă€OOHG FRXUVes—those courses that pushed thinking, talking and working to deeper levels. We wanted no more upgrades or waivers.â€? These changes are, on paper, simple. Students who began schooling in fall of 2014 or earlier will need to complete a PLQLPXP RI VL[ FODVVHV Ă DJJHG as honors courses, with no speciĂ€FLW\ WR VXEMHFW

Students who entered in the fall of 2015 will need to comSOHWH DQ\ Ă€YH KRQRUV FRXUVHV DV well as an honors seminar labeled “HONORS 300.â€? This new seminar focuses on an interdisciplinary approach to a particular subMHFW DQG WKH JRDO RI WKH FODVV LV WR promote discussion and collaboration among a small group of honors students. This class will QHHG WR EH FRPSOHWHG LQ MXQLRU RU senior year. One of the biggest goals in developing this new curriculum was to make tracking and registering for these classes easier for students. ´,Q SXUVXLQJ WKLV Ă H[LELOLW\ the Task Force had to remind WKHPVHOYHV RI DOO WKH EHQHĂ€WV WKDW

came with a new core,â€? Yandell VDLG ´6SHFLĂ€FDOO\ ZH KDG WR WHOO ourselves ‘trust the Core; trust WKH PDMRUV WUXVW WKH Ă DJV¡ ZH ultimately had to pull back and UHDOL]H WKDW GLIIHUHQW PDMRUV DOready call on students to do these things. We had to let those programs actually do their intended work. We had to rest easy knowing that all Xavier students will, by virtue of participating in the core, achieve a wide range of learning outcomes already identiĂ€HG E\ WKH IDFXOW\ DV FUXFLDO IRU D Xavier degree.â€? With the new core implemented in the coming semesters, the university hopes that students ZLOO Ă€QG PRUH FODULW\ LQ UHJLVWHUing for classes.

'U 6WHSKHQ Yandell helps a student in the Honors Lounge located on the WKLUG Ă RRU RI $OWHU +DOO <DQGHOO LV the new director of the University 6FKRODUV 3URJUDP “A Bust of a Woman’s Headâ€? by an unknown artist sits in the Honors Lounge along with other works of art and a variety of ERRNV

Newswire photos by Hannah Michels


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