Historical:

Learn more about the reviews of the Bacc Core over the past 30 years and Phase I of this current process.

Current: 

A team from OSU attended the Association of American Colleges and Universities summer Institute on General Education and Assessment in June 2021. Following best practices guidance from that experience, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee recommended the second iteration of our reform effort start with a high-level discussion of why we are reforming the Bacc Core and what we hope to achieve with general education at Oregon State University. While we are mindful of immediate needs such as reducing the credit load and improve transferability, we still need our new Bacc Core to focus on OSU’s values and strengths and ensure that our graduates successfully achieve the principles we establish. It is important for the committee to agree on these basic principles before diving into the details of the reform and how to achieve our general education goals. To that end, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee developed a comprehensive charge and commissioned the Baccalaureate Core Reform Committee. 

Charge:
  1. Review the work of the Baccalaureate Core Ad Hoc Review Committee and codify the requirements for the reform (credit maximum, transfer needs). (Fall 2021)
  2. Review the goals and values of our current Bacc Core and revise to meet the needs of our 21st-century learners and in accordance to our university’s mission and signature elements of the OSU experience. (Fall 2021)
  3. Determine how anti-racism should be incorporated into the curriculum, utilizing recommendations of the Provosts’ Anti-racism Task Force. (Winter 2022)
  4. Revisit the three templates developed by Bacc Core Revision 2.0 Committee and modify each to achieve the goals and requirements identified above. (Winter 2022)
  5. For each alternative, solicit input from the Office of Finance for potential changes to the budget model to create incentives and avoid large disruptions to the teaching community at OSU. Modify templates as needed for feasibility. (On-going)
  6. Develop a presentation and questionnaire that can be tailored for stakeholders including: Colleges, departments and programs, students, community colleges, as well as Faculty Senate, to explain the goals, requirements, and templates. (Winter 2022)
  7. Gather, summarize, and utilize feedback from stakeholders and maintain regular communication on the committee's progress through the Bacc Core website, Faculty Senate newsletters, and Senate presentations. (On-going)
  8. Recommend a plan for voting on a preferred template and recommendations to the Provost. Target date for a Faculty Senate vote is May 2022. (Spring 2022)
  9. Provide advice to the Bacc Core Director and Office of Academic Affairs on the development of a timeline and roadmap for implementation, utilizing faculty feedback. (Next 2 years)