Open curriculum colleges

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

Wes is not open curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

Wes is not open curriculum.

OK, look. I get that you have a bone to pick with Wes on this. But every open curriculum school interprets it differently. There is no professional accreditation agency validating that a school is or is not open curriculum. Wes says it is, and it is widely acknowledged to be.

Your objection is duly noted, however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know lots have mentioned Wesleyan: they call themselves an open curriculum school — and I thought they were too — but they are not one. They have gen ed “expectations” that a student take 3 courses each in three areas — so a total of 9 courses, or over a year of coursework. What if those “expectations” are not met? Well, first off, some majors require that these gen ED credits are met.

For all other majors, they punish you: no graduating with honors if you don’t do the gen ed’s, no thesis allowed, and no double major with a minor — let alone a triple major.

Never saw such a two-tiered, gen-ed system system before where students who truly want an open curriculum are treated as second-class citizens. It’s bizarre, and, to me, smacks of poor leadership: either have an open curriculum or don’t. Wesleyan is trying to have its cake and eat it, too.

If a student really wants an open curriculum, and might want to do a thesis or graduate with honors, stay away from Wesleyan’s 9-course gen ed requirements. Plenty of other open curriculum options to choose from….

This is silly. I went to Wes and the expectations are super easy to meet. It’s three classes in three different areas. Science and math, humanities, and social science. It’s no big deal. If you don’t do then you can get phi beta kappa and maybe some major specific honors. Wesleyan doesn’t have Latin honors like cum laude so that’s a relevant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

Wes is not open curriculum.

OK, look. I get that you have a bone to pick with Wes on this. But every open curriculum school interprets it differently. There is no professional accreditation agency validating that a school is or is not open curriculum. Wes says it is, and it is widely acknowledged to be.

Your objection is duly noted, however.

9 required courses for some majors, to do a thesis, or to graduate with honors is not open curriculum. No school making that claim is even close to those requirements. No rational individual can call that an open curriculum. We can argue about where to draw the line with 2-3 courses; not 9.

[Anonymous]

Trypophobia - you CANT get phi

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

Wes is not open curriculum.

OK, look. I get that you have a bone to pick with Wes on this. But every open curriculum school interprets it differently. There is no professional accreditation agency validating that a school is or is not open curriculum. Wes says it is, and it is widely acknowledged to be.

Your objection is duly noted, however.

9 required courses for some majors, to do a thesis, or to graduate with honors is not open curriculum. No school making that claim is even close to those requirements. No rational individual can call that an open curriculum. We can argue about where to draw the line with 2-3 courses; not 9.

LOL, I can and will call it open curriculum—because there is no formal definition, and (most importantly) you can graduate without completing this requirement. So, we’ll agree to disagree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know lots have mentioned Wesleyan: they call themselves an open curriculum school — and I thought they were too — but they are not one. They have gen ed “expectations” that a student take 3 courses each in three areas — so a total of 9 courses, or over a year of coursework. What if those “expectations” are not met? Well, first off, some majors require that these gen ED credits are met.

For all other majors, they punish you: no graduating with honors if you don’t do the gen ed’s, no thesis allowed, and no double major with a minor — let alone a triple major.

Never saw such a two-tiered, gen-ed system system before where students who truly want an open curriculum are treated as second-class citizens. It’s bizarre, and, to me, smacks of poor leadership: either have an open curriculum or don’t. Wesleyan is trying to have its cake and eat it, too.

If a student really wants an open curriculum, and might want to do a thesis or graduate with honors, stay away from Wesleyan’s 9-course gen ed requirements. Plenty of other open curriculum options to choose from….

This is silly. I went to Wes and the expectations are super easy to meet. It’s three classes in three different areas. Science and math, humanities, and social science. It’s no big deal. If you don’t do then you can get phi beta kappa and maybe some major specific honors. Wesleyan doesn’t have Latin honors like cum laude so that’s a relevant

I don’t think the argument is whether gen ed requirements are or are not a big deal. That is not what this thread is about. Please check the thread title. Regardless of whether 9 classes are a big deal, Wes is engaging in false advertising saying it is an open curriculum school. That ain’t cool.

By the way, you seem to not know about honors and thesis requirements of your own school, let alone that several majors require these gen eds. Educate yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

Wes is not open curriculum.

OK, look. I get that you have a bone to pick with Wes on this. But every open curriculum school interprets it differently. There is no professional accreditation agency validating that a school is or is not open curriculum. Wes says it is, and it is widely acknowledged to be.

Your objection is duly noted, however.

9 required courses for some majors, to do a thesis, or to graduate with honors is not open curriculum. No school making that claim is even close to those requirements. No rational individual can call that an open curriculum. We can argue about where to draw the line with 2-3 courses; not 9.

LOL, I can and will call it open curriculum—because there is no formal definition, and (most importantly) you can graduate without completing this requirement. So, we’ll agree to disagree.

Let applicants decide if this is open curriculum and compare it to schools that really are, if that’s what they value. The majority will find there is no comparison between 9 de facto required courses and schools that require 1. Many will conclude, like I have, that Wes is being disingenuous. You value things differently. Something tells me you did not do a thesis. And that’s OK — I would not have recommend that path for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know lots have mentioned Wesleyan: they call themselves an open curriculum school — and I thought they were too — but they are not one. They have gen ed “expectations” that a student take 3 courses each in three areas — so a total of 9 courses, or over a year of coursework. What if those “expectations” are not met? Well, first off, some majors require that these gen ED credits are met.

For all other majors, they punish you: no graduating with honors if you don’t do the gen ed’s, no thesis allowed, and no double major with a minor — let alone a triple major.

Never saw such a two-tiered, gen-ed system system before where students who truly want an open curriculum are treated as second-class citizens. It’s bizarre, and, to me, smacks of poor leadership: either have an open curriculum or don’t. Wesleyan is trying to have its cake and eat it, too.

If a student really wants an open curriculum, and might want to do a thesis or graduate with honors, stay away from Wesleyan’s 9-course gen ed requirements. Plenty of other open curriculum options to choose from….

This is silly. I went to Wes and the expectations are super easy to meet. It’s three classes in three different areas. Science and math, humanities, and social science. It’s no big deal. If you don’t do then you can get phi beta kappa and maybe some major specific honors. Wesleyan doesn’t have Latin honors like cum laude so that’s a relevant

As you can see from this link, you are wrongly bloviating about honors at your own alma mater:
https://catalog.wesleyan.edu/academic-regulations/honors/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

Wes is not open curriculum.

OK, look. I get that you have a bone to pick with Wes on this. But every open curriculum school interprets it differently. There is no professional accreditation agency validating that a school is or is not open curriculum. Wes says it is, and it is widely acknowledged to be.

Your objection is duly noted, however.

9 required courses for some majors, to do a thesis, or to graduate with honors is not open curriculum. No school making that claim is even close to those requirements. No rational individual can call that an open curriculum. We can argue about where to draw the line with 2-3 courses; not 9.

LOL, I can and will call it open curriculum—because there is no formal definition, and (most importantly) you can graduate without completing this requirement. So, we’ll agree to disagree.

Let applicants decide if this is open curriculum and compare it to schools that really are, if that’s what they value. The majority will find there is no comparison between 9 de facto required courses and schools that require 1. Many will conclude, like I have, that Wes is being disingenuous. You value things differently. Something tells me you did not do a thesis. And that’s OK — I would not have recommend that path for you.

Good lord. I did two theses—undergrad and grad (but don’t believe theses are a necessary part of an undergraduate education). And I attended a non-open-curriculum school and am looking at open curriculum schools for my kid, so have a good sense of how open and non differ, as well as how the open schools differ in their interpretations. We’ve toured Brown, Vassar, and Wes (twice), and I can confirm that Wes does, in fact, explain the distribution and says it’s recommended but not required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

Wes is not open curriculum.

OK, look. I get that you have a bone to pick with Wes on this. But every open curriculum school interprets it differently. There is no professional accreditation agency validating that a school is or is not open curriculum. Wes says it is, and it is widely acknowledged to be.

Your objection is duly noted, however.

9 required courses for some majors, to do a thesis, or to graduate with honors is not open curriculum. No school making that claim is even close to those requirements. No rational individual can call that an open curriculum. We can argue about where to draw the line with 2-3 courses; not 9.

LOL, I can and will call it open curriculum—because there is no formal definition, and (most importantly) you can graduate without completing this requirement. So, we’ll agree to disagree.

+1

IMO, Open curriculum is anywhere that the student gets to pick the specific courses to take to meet the "core curriculum". Wes sounds like that. Just like URochester---your major covers one area, then you need 3 courses each (or 3 and 2 in engineering) for the other two areas. Only "required course" is freshman writing. Otherwise you get to pick the specific courses you take outside of your major reqs. Nobody is going to have a truly open curriculum where you get to just take whatever courses you want and graduate (or at least not anywhere meaningful). You will still need to meet reqs for your major. But this is open. Unlike most schools where you are told: take 1 Eng, 1 Writing, 1 math, 1 science, 1 theology, 1 philosophy, 1 Psychology, 1 X, 1 Y, 1 Z, etc. Or you have to pick your courses for core curriculum from a specified list. That is not open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

Wes is not open curriculum.

OK, look. I get that you have a bone to pick with Wes on this. But every open curriculum school interprets it differently. There is no professional accreditation agency validating that a school is or is not open curriculum. Wes says it is, and it is widely acknowledged to be.

Your objection is duly noted, however.

9 required courses for some majors, to do a thesis, or to graduate with honors is not open curriculum. No school making that claim is even close to those requirements. No rational individual can call that an open curriculum. We can argue about where to draw the line with 2-3 courses; not 9.

LOL, I can and will call it open curriculum—because there is no formal definition, and (most importantly) you can graduate without completing this requirement. So, we’ll agree to disagree.

Let applicants decide if this is open curriculum and compare it to schools that really are, if that’s what they value. The majority will find there is no comparison between 9 de facto required courses and schools that require 1. Many will conclude, like I have, that Wes is being disingenuous. You value things differently. Something tells me you did not do a thesis. And that’s OK — I would not have recommend that path for you.

Good lord. I did two theses—undergrad and grad (but don’t believe theses are a necessary part of an undergraduate education). And I attended a non-open-curriculum school and am looking at open curriculum schools for my kid, so have a good sense of how open and non differ, as well as how the open schools differ in their interpretations. We’ve toured Brown, Vassar, and Wes (twice), and I can confirm that Wes does, in fact, explain the distribution and says it’s recommended but not required.

You still don’t get it. It is required at Wes to do a thesis. It is required at Wes to graduate with honors. It is required to do the 9 credits for several majors. Required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

Wes is not open curriculum.

OK, look. I get that you have a bone to pick with Wes on this. But every open curriculum school interprets it differently. There is no professional accreditation agency validating that a school is or is not open curriculum. Wes says it is, and it is widely acknowledged to be.

Your objection is duly noted, however.

9 required courses for some majors, to do a thesis, or to graduate with honors is not open curriculum. No school making that claim is even close to those requirements. No rational individual can call that an open curriculum. We can argue about where to draw the line with 2-3 courses; not 9.

LOL, I can and will call it open curriculum—because there is no formal definition, and (most importantly) you can graduate without completing this requirement. So, we’ll agree to disagree.

+1

IMO, Open curriculum is anywhere that the student gets to pick the specific courses to take to meet the "core curriculum". Wes sounds like that. Just like URochester---your major covers one area, then you need 3 courses each (or 3 and 2 in engineering) for the other two areas. Only "required course" is freshman writing. Otherwise you get to pick the specific courses you take outside of your major reqs. Nobody is going to have a truly open curriculum where you get to just take whatever courses you want and graduate (or at least not anywhere meaningful). You will still need to meet reqs for your major. But this is open. Unlike most schools where you are told: take 1 Eng, 1 Writing, 1 math, 1 science, 1 theology, 1 philosophy, 1 Psychology, 1 X, 1 Y, 1 Z, etc. Or you have to pick your courses for core curriculum from a specified list. That is not open.

By your definition, Chicago has an open curriculum: you pick from several courses to satisfy the Core there. Now we have come full circle, and have fully entered silly school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you everyone. Rural is really not her vibe ! But the open curriculum colleges seem to be in rural places. We have to think about priorities.

Rochester (UofR), Middletown (Wes), Poughkeepsie (Vassar): not rural

Wes is not open curriculum.

OK, look. I get that you have a bone to pick with Wes on this. But every open curriculum school interprets it differently. There is no professional accreditation agency validating that a school is or is not open curriculum. Wes says it is, and it is widely acknowledged to be.

Your objection is duly noted, however.

9 required courses for some majors, to do a thesis, or to graduate with honors is not open curriculum. No school making that claim is even close to those requirements. No rational individual can call that an open curriculum. We can argue about where to draw the line with 2-3 courses; not 9.

Major requirements don't negate open curriculum. I don't think you understand what open curriculum means in higher ed context. It's not a total free for all.