Dear colleagues,
With each new incoming class, more and more of our students fall under the umbrella of the IDEAs in Action curriculum, now beginning its third year of implementation, as we phase out the previous Making Connections curriculum.
Due to the continued efforts of our faculty, the College has made significant progress in expanding course offerings for the Communication Beyond Carolina (CommBeyond) requirement. Last year, we approved over 20 new CommBeyond courses and are offering 69 CommBeyond classes in Fall 2024. This is a 165% increase compared to Fall 2023. Given these improvements, the General Education Oversight Committee decided to implement the CommBeyond requirement as initially approved by the Faculty Council.
Starting this year, students in the 2024-25 cohort (including first-year students and transfer students) will be required to complete the Communication Beyond Carolina (CommBeyond) requirement in the IDEAs in Action curriculum through an approved CommBeyond course. Students in this cohort will no longer be able to fulfill this requirement through a Communication Intensive (CI) course from the previous Making Connections curriculum, as was permitted with the previous two student cohorts.
The College would like to continue expanding our CommBeyond course offerings to meet increasing student demand. If you would like to propose a new course, you can find information about the proposal process on the Undergraduate Curricula website here, noting particularly that proposals for CommBeyond courses must upload a Justification Addendum along with the course syllabus, as noted in the instructions. The submission deadline is Oct. 1.
CommBeyond courses are designed to teach students how to develop and hone their skills in conveying knowledge, ideas and information persuasively to a variety of audiences. The requirement includes specific learning objectives, which include a focus on oral communication. A general description of the CommBeyond requirement and its learning outcomes can be found on the IDEAs in Action website here.
Sincerely,
Jim
James W.C. White
Craver Family Dean
College of Arts and Sciences