February 15, 2008

To: OSU Bacc Core Committee

From: History Department Undergraduate Committee

(Jon Katz, Nicole von Germeten, Ben Mutschler)

Re: Three to four-credit change proposal

Western Civilization sequence

Hst 101, 102, 103

Pedagogic Rationale

In line with its proposal to change all of its course offerings from three to four credits, the History Department proposes changing the credit/contact hours for the Western Civilization sequence from three to four. Of all the courses offered by the department, the pedagogical reasons for increasing the number of contact hours in the Western Civ sequence are perhaps most compelling.

The chief benefit of an extra hour is that it will allow students to work on their writing. The Western Civ course has traditionally emphasized critical thinking and argumentation. Undergraduates typically take this survey early in their academic careers. While clear verbal expression and written expression is beneficial for all students regardless of their major, this is especially true for Business, Engineering and Forestry students -- that is, undergraduates for whom the requirements of their professional discipline do not allow them to take many courses in the liberal arts.

Second, it should be noted that the Western Civilization sequence is an introductory survey course in the truest sense of the word. While twenty years ago one could assume that incoming students had some prior knowledge of ancient, medieval and modern European history, this is no longer the case. In Oregon high schools, students take Global Studies -- a current events course -- in lieu of European history. In addition each of the three courses deals with a huge period of time: The periodization for Hst 101 is 4000 BCE to 1000 CE; for Hst 102, 1000 CE to 1789 CE; and Hst 103, 1789 to the present. The need for an extra contact hour for lecture, discussion and review is more evident than ever.

The introductory nature of the course should not, however, convey the mistaken impression that Hst 101, 102, and 103 are somehow "easier" courses. The breadth of material covered assures that this is not the case. The 100-level course designation does not signify that the course is less difficult than 200-level courses. For this reason the History Department rejects the analogy made to other departments that have chosen to keep their 100-level courses at three credits.

The History Department also believes strongly that decisions made regarding courses in other departments should not have bearing on this case and that the pedagogical justification for increasing the credit hours from three to four is warranted. The History Department views the decision to restrict the Western Civ sequence to three-credit courses -- while permitting the increase of all other departmental courses to four (including the World Civilization sequence, Hst 104, 105, and 106, and the U.S. History survey, Hst 201, 202, and 203) -- as arbitrary.

Western Culture Category of the Bacc Core

The explanation given to the History Department for the Bacc Core Committee's rejection of our proposal to increase the credits for the Western Civ sequence is that the additional credit poses an unfair burden to students in Forestry, Business and Engineering. According to statistics provided to the department by Jay Noller, enrollment in Hst 101, 102, and 103 represents 6% of the total student enrollment for the Western Culture Category

We concede that the Western Civ sequence is a popular elective for many OSU students. It is for this reason that the History Department offers many sections of the courses in dispute. Nonetheless, we believe that it is inappropriate for the professional colleges to dictate what the content of a College of Liberal Arts course should be. It should be noted that the enrollment of Forestry majors in the Western Civ sequence is virtually nil, while Engineering majors account for typically less than 10%. Business majors account for slightly more than 14% of the enrollment in a given Western Civ course. The change to four-credits seems to have the greatest impact on Business majors.[1] It should be noted that the enrollment figures utilized include students who are identified as Pre-Engineering and Pre-Business majors. These students may not ultimately enroll in Engineering or Business programs. The actual number of Engineering and Business majors enrolled in the Western Civ survey is therefore lower than this figure.

Alternative Solutions

The History Department Undergraduate Committee hopes that the Bacc Core Committee will consider other options before requiring that Hst 101, 102 and 103 stay at three credits. Among the solutions are the following:

  1. Students are not obliged to take Western Civilization. Students can take other three-credit courses within the Western Culture component of the Bac Core. The New Business Core Requirements specify 24 credits in the Perspectives category. We believe that the Colleges of Business, Engineering and Forestry are operating under the false impression that the move from three- to four credits by the History Department will adversely affect its students.
  1. Many existing courses are frequently undersubscribed. The accompanying chart documents the availability of seating in existing three-credit Western Culture category courses offered by departments other than History.[2]

Examples:

In Winter 2008 (200802) term Business, Engineering and Forestry major accounted for 72 students in Hst 101, 102 and 103. Open seats available in other classes of the Western Culture component that term included Art 205 (1), Engl 125 (1), Geo 106 (20), Phl 150 (2), and Rus 232 (1) for a total of 25.

In Fall 2007 (200801) term Business, Engineering and Forestry major accounted for 108 students in Hst 101, 102 and 103. Open seats available in other classes of the Western Culture component that term included Anthro 312 (43), Engl 110 (27), FST 260 (33), Geo 106 (1), Exss 312 (5), Phl 150 (1), and Rus 231 (1) for a total of 111.

In Winter 2007 (200702) term Business, Engineering and Forestry majors accounted for 53 students in Hst 101, 102 and 103. Seats available in other classes included Eng 125 (5), Fr 333[3] (5), Geo 106 (1, 1 -- two sections), Exss 312 (1), Ger 332* (6), Span 332* (8), Span 336* (2). These account for a total of 29.

In Spring 2007 (200703) term Business, Engineering and Forestry majors accounted for 45 students in Hst 101, 102 and 103. Seats available in other classes included Anthro 312 (10), Fr 333* (20), Exss 312 (2), Span 332* (8). These account for a total of 40.

  1. The Bac Core committee could encourage other departments besides the History Department to offer more courses and sections at the three-credit level. As the data above shows, there is greater variety of course and availability in the fall term. More courses need to be offered in winter in spring in addition to Hst 101, 102, 103.
  1. The Bacc Core committee could encourage other departments with low enrollment caps to admit more students. (Although it was once offered to 298 students, Geo 106 more routinely seems to be capped at 35.)

1

[1] Sample Business enrollments per total enrollments by term: 15/88, 13/87, 4/41, 12/84, 16/87, 7/44, 8/44, 6/89, 16/87, 11/84, 10/89, 8/55, 10/87, 11/88.

[2] Courses offered through Study Abroad are excluded from these figures.

[3] Course has language prerequisite. Note, however, that the New Core Requirements in Business require students to take languages beyond the first and second years.

Candidates for the B.A. degree must either 1)complete a minor offered by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures or 2) demonstrate language proficiency at 3rd year level AND 3) complete 6 credits of upper division appropriate culture classes OR 4) successfully complete a 10 week study abroad/internship in a non-English speaking foreign country while a student at OSU.