Current Progress

During the 2023-2024 academic year we continued to make progress Re-envisioning the Kent Core.  First, the Model Sprint Team was formed from volunteers that served during the previous academic year on either the Design, Distinctiveness, and/or Budget Subcommittees. These subcommittee members had advanced knowledge of the work associated with general education program re-design. This team created three distinct frameworks for the university to consider. These frameworks were shared with the larger community in t April 2024 through a series of community forums designed to gather input from participants.  The findings of these forums can be found in the “Recourses” tab near the bottom of this webpage. The Model Sprint Team will use this feedback over the summer and early fall of 2024 to create a more “final” draft version to be shared with the entire university community.  

The Administrative Oversight Sprint Team was created and met for a brief period during the Fall 2023 semester. Throughout this process, the re-envisioning teams have learned that the best models for general education are framed as complete programs, rather than series of disconnected courses. The Administrative Oversight Sprint Team was formed to investigate and plan for potential obstacles that may arise as we shift our approach to a more programmatic perspective. This group has proposed a structure that aligns with this perspective and will be examined this upcoming fall by the Office of the Provost and Faculty Senate. The proposed functions and responsibilities of this committee are outlined in Appendix B of the annual report which can be found in the “Resources” tab below.

The Budget Sub-Committee came together in Spring 2024 to discuss the scope of work for the remainder of the re-envisioning process. While the bulk of their work will entail aligning the current budget model with the final general education framework, there was an immediate need to begin discussions with other institutions who have either a) gone through a recent change in their general education offerings or, b) have an existing program that contains specific elements (staffing, assessment, etc.) that appeal to our current approach.  These conversations garnered some best practices to consider as well as things to avoid during the implementation process that will be utilized in the next phase of this project.