GSU develops freshmen curriculum

With an estimated 270 freshmen coming to Governors State in 2014, there are many academic accommodations that need to be made.

To prepare for this, the faculty senate at GSU has appointed a general education task force of faculty and administrators to develop a plan. "We have to have limited choices," said Provost Terry Allison "With that small a number of students we can't offer 15 different classes."

The task force, headed by Physical Therapy professor Ann Vendrely, has come up with a plan of cohort classes. "We are working hard on a general education plan that is fun and everything fits together," said Vendrely.

The freshmen class will be divided into three cohort groups. These groups will attend the same classes together, usually built around a common theme. The task force sees this as a way for students to get to know each other and learn together early on.

"The cohort model will allow students to choose a theme and link their classes. It'll create a learning community for them, which is an exciting part of the program," said Allison.

The university also hopes that its older students will become role models for incoming freshmen.

"We plan on assigning students to help teach and serve as mentors to help the new students get used to the campus and their courses," said Vendrely.

All of the classes in the general education program will be part of the Illinois Articulation Initiative, which is a set of courses covering
particular content that can be transferable to any other public university in Illinois.

"We obviously hope that all our students will stay with us after their first two years," said Vendrely. "But if they do decide to leave, their credits will transfer."

Teaching these classes is going to be a mix of new staff and current faculty. The university is currently looking at faculty to help write and develop new course based on their expertise.

"We already have a hiring plan for next year," said Allison "And we're hiring new people to specifically develop courses for the following year."

The university is also adding a two credit course for second year students in which they will explore different majors. At the start of their third year, students will also take their introduction to their major classes.

"This will help them to form a new learning community with other students in their field," said Vendrely.

These fields will also expand with the addition of freshmen. With a six-year plan, Governors State plans to add more than 30 new majors. This fall, the university has already added a few, including Anthropology, Sociology, and Information Technology. Among others, History and Economics will be added in the fall of 2013.

As for accommodating for time and space around campus, freshmen students will attend full time daytime classes.

"We have plenty of space in the mornings," said Allison. "We also really underutilize our Fridays and Saturdays."

The University is also discussing expanding it's extra-curriculars, adding more clubs, sports, and different activities.

"We're trying to work with student life to give freshmen the college experience," said Vendrely.

Along with majors and extra-curricular activities, GSU would like to expand in other areas as well.

"Assuming that the demand is there after the first 300, we would like to build a larger bookstore, dining commons, recreation center, and meeting rooms to have that multi-activity space," said Allison.

"We want to start small to make sure that it's a success," said Allison "We want to make sure that our plans work well and we are a success at keeping students. If all those things work out, then we can expand."