By Eva Wilton
Executive Editor
The Liberal Studies Curriculum (LSC) is now adopted to an unnamed new curriculum which will take hold fall 2018. All current students will remain under the current LSC and will be able to drop one LSC requirement (except First-Year Seminar, the first semester of a second language, and 100-level RS and PH). New students will not have that option. For new curriculum see chart [below].
Because of “double dipping” there will be more opportunities for current students to have a course that fulfills more than one (LSC) requirement, said David Barrowclough, office of the registrar.
The Office of the Registrar anticipates adding more courses, making it easier to graduate. “Students will have more choice and more flexibility,” said Jeffrey Trumbower, dean of St. Michael’s College. “It will make it easier to fulfill requirements.”
In the course catalog and on Knightvision, “courses may have two designations, one from your LSC and one from the new core curriculum. Any course that has either designation will be able to count toward your requirements,” the dean said in an email to students.
“We want to help make the pathway to graduation more equal. We want bachelor of science students (starting in the fall 2018) to have more flexibility as they navigate the curriculum in order to double major or add a minor,” Barrowclough said.
He added that it might be in reach for science majors to study abroad as well. “As a biology major, I worry about how I can study abroad and finish on time. If this new curriculum helps with that, I’m totally for it,” said Lily Mello ’20.
The anticipated challenges include training the advisors on the transition time for all current students and a large percentage of students appealing courses to the dean, Barrowclough said.
New students entering in fall 2018, will need to fulfill some requirements that differ from current students such as Junior Seminar, a second language course (for Bachelor of Arts students), and two additional courses in Catholic intellectual tradition, and engaging diverse identities.
“This transition plan is to come with its challenges, but I am hopeful,” Barrowclough said.
