Ad Hoc Committee on Degree Requirements: Weinberg College

Ad Hoc Committee on Degree Requirements

After the Ad Hoc Committee on Degree Requirements concluded their work (see timeline below) the faculty voted in Spring 2019 to update the Weinberg College degree requirements. In preparation for the launch, four working groups were convened in Fall 2019 to develop learning goals, resource depositories, policies, and guidelines for the new elements of the Weinberg degree requirements:

College Seminar Working Group
First-Year Writing Seminar Working Group
Advanced Expression Working Group
Curriculum Transition Committee (serves as the working group on Foundational Disciplines and ‘When Cultures Meet’ overlay)

New Weinberg College Degree Requirements Working Groups Membership and Updates

The primary tasks of the working groups were concluded in 2020 and the transition was paused during the early stages of the pandemic. The subsequent transition work on curricula and policies were taken up again in 2021 by the Curriculum Review Committee (CRC) and Curriculum Policies Committee (CPC). This work included endorsement of the final title and learning objectives for the overlays (Perspectives on Power, Justice and Equity), and endorsement of the Pass/No Credit policy for Foundational Disciplines. In Fall 2022 the CRC and CPC committees began the detailed work of considering department and program proposals to map particular courses to the new degree requirement categories for an implementation in Fall 2023.

Timeline

Quarter	Notes
Spring 2019	The proposed modifications to the Weinberg degree requirements were approved at the spring meeting of the Weinberg College faculty. Approved modifications to the Weinberg College degree requirements.
Winter 2019	First reading at the Weinberg College faculty meeting (March 12th, 2019)
Fall 2018	On December 4, 2018, the Weinberg College Curriculum Policy Committee (CPC) unanimously approved the proposed modifications to the Weinberg College degree requirements. Preamble to the proposal to the Weinberg College Curriculum Policy Committee Proposal to the Weinberg College Curriculum Policy Committee (CPC) Memo of endorsement from the Curriculum Policy Committee (CPC)
Spring 2018	Foundational Disciplines Convention (FDC) held in June 2018 to articulate learning goals for each of the six foundational disciplines Foundational Disciplines Convention (FDC) Delegates and Staff Proposed names, Descriptions, and learning goals for foundational disciplines
Fall 2017	Final report of the Weinberg College ad hoc Committee for Degree Requirements, submitted to Dean Adrian Randolph on September 25, 2017 CDR Final Report
Winter and Spring 2017	The CDR met with groups of faculty in the college (organized approximately along department and program lines) to share a preliminary statement of our vision and first draft of our recommendations. These department/program meetings involved a prepared presentation of about 20 minutes by a designated CDR member, followed by an open discussion. Interim report: Slides for Printing Narrative List of Meetings Summary of concerns, notes, clarifications, and suggestions for revision to the interim report: in no particular order, not weighted by frequency or strength of response, and excluding general expressions of gratitude, support, or disdain. Summary of responses to the interim report
Fall 2016	The fall quarter was devoted to developing an interim report and preparing for presentation of the first draft of our proposals to colleagues across the college.
Summer 2016	The sub-groups continued their discussions and began to articulate recommendations. On September 8, 2016, the full committee came together for a day-long meeting at the Chicago Botanic Garden to discuss and synthesize the outcomes of the sub-group deliberations.
Spring 2016	The CDR divided into three sub-groups, each charged with reviewing and recommending changes to one of the three major components of the current Weinberg degree requirements: (1) the writing requirement, (2) the foreign language requirement, and (3) the distribution requirements. The sub-groups met regularly and conducted interviews with colleagues who play key roles in the current curriculum. Notes from CDR Meeting 3
Winter 2016	Notes from CDR Meeting 2 Notes from CDR Meeting 1 Early meetings included discussion of: general education systems (i.e., core versus distribution systems) as portrayed by Louis Menand, in The Marketplace of Ideas, Chapter 1 current Weinberg degree requirements in the context of broad trends in higher education in the USA and at Northwestern (See What Students Studied, a series of three articles by W. Haarlow for Weinberg College’s Crosscurrents magazine) examples from four other institutions (Carleton, Duke, Washington University, and Harvard). Current Weinberg College degree requirements: Weinberg College Degree Requirements Summary Course Requirements for Weinberg College Majors Course Requirements for Weinberg College Minors final report from the University’s Task Force on the Undergraduate Academic Experience (UAETF Report, UAETF Report Summary)

Additional Related Documents

Current Weinberg College degree requirements:
Final report from the University’s Task Force on the Undergraduate Academic Experience:
- UAETF Report
- UAETF Report Summary