Does the Core need to change?

After 22 years, the Core Curriculum is up for reevaluation to determine what classes are still necessary for students to take and which are outdated.


Since every student at Seattle University must take Core classes to graduate, all students will be affected by any changes to the system. Since President Stephen Sundborg, S.J. called for "a new core, for the new student, of the new century," in a speech to faculty, professors have slowly been pushing for changes, including more Core classes focused on technology, leadership and global education.

On the other hand, some professors prefer that fewer Core classes be required and more electives be required instead.


Seattle U has a large Core requirement compared to most schools. On average, 73 credits out of the 180 needed to graduate will be Core requirements, more than one third of all credits. This means less electives on the whole for many students.


"Engineering majors have zero electives all four years," said Jeff Philpott, Seattle University's director of Core Curriculum and associate professor of communications. "Nursing majors have only one."

Rachel Yorkston, senior nursing major, was only able to take one elective—a fine art class—her final year. When told that some thought the Core should be bigger, Yorkston did not agree.


"I definitely don't think they should make it bigger," Yorkston said. "I think the Core is good for people who don't know what they want to major in so they can explore a bit, but for others who do know and want to choose their own electives I think it prevents that. More Core means even less electives."


Provost Isiaah Crawford has been working on an Academic Strategic Action Plan to tackle the issue of adapting a new Core. Crawford has spent the last year talking to faculty, leaders and students from across campus to get input on a first draft, which he has taken to the board of trustees for approval.

"We're at a place where we are wrapping up our planning for the Academic Strategic Action plan and beginning to implement it," Crawford said. "Part of the issue of Core curricular renewal is really to do what we can to promote academic excellence."


At this point, the draft calls for a review of Seattle University's Core Curriculum over the course of the next three years. The review calls for a closer inspection on how the Core is reflecting Seattle U's values.

The plan not only encompasses revitalizing the Core, but also faculty development, student success and enrollment management, facilities, programs and fundraising.

"Basically, we would be deciding what we want our graduates to look like," Philpott said. "What should they know? What should they value? What skills do they have? We would be very specific on articulating those goals."

If the review does happen, a broad committee would be selected to provide input and discussion for the process.

"We don't want this to be a committee that goes into a corner and designs a new Core curriculum," Philpott said. "We want broad buy-in on this. We want to be able to point to this and say that this is the flagship program of our university that really reflects our mission."


Students will likely have a voice in this process.

"(Students) spend a lot of time sitting in class," Philpott said. "And they have a lot of knowledge about what works for them and what doesn't work for them educationally. We don't want this to be a bunch of hoops they have to jump through."


Some students do in fact feel they have taken classes for reasons they didn't quite understand.


"I feel like I had to take a lot of courses I didn't really need," said Greta Stickney, senior creative writing major. "I wouldn't have taken biology if I weren't required to, and I actually really enjoyed that class."


Overall this will be a long process, due to begin more officially in three to four months, and according to Philpott it will be a very Jesuit process as well—full of reflection and analysis.


"The Jesuits have always been interested in adapting their mission to other cultures to best suit them," Philpott said. "We are going to have to do the same now, figuring out how do we best adapt this Core to suit this new generation."