Usask College of Arts and Science introduces curriculum renewal
The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Arts and Science is undertaking a college-wide curriculum renewal. The changes, which start in 2020, set forth clearer and more flexible degree structures that will simplify degree pathways and enhance interdisciplinary programming. The College has more than 9,000 students and 50,000 alumni.
Dr. Peta Bonham-smith is Dean of the College of Arts and Science. She is also a faculty member in the Biology department. With a PHD in plant stress physiology from the University of Calgary, her research focuses primarily on how plants handle stress.
The College of Arts and Science includes 21 departments that are constantly reviewing and tweaking courses and programs. Dr. Bonham-smith describes this practice as “an ongoing process.”
However, the college-wide curriculum renewal will be the first to include core requirements across all undergraduate degrees in 50 years. There will be three new undergraduate degree requirements: an English language writing requirement, an Indigenous learning requirement and a quantitative reasoning requirement. Students have until the fourth year of their degree to complete the three requirements.
How will these curricular changes benefit Arts and Science undergraduate students? “Course requirements tended to be content-based and now, with the new curricula, course requirements will be outcome-based. We believe that the curriculum renewal will meet the needs of modern day learners and provide them with a fulsome set of skills,” says Dr. Bonham-smith.
On the teaching side, Arts and Science faculty are encouraged to offer courses and programs that cross traditional departmental and disciplinary lines. The College supports the new ways of learning, and innovation, that can emerge from combining disciplines.
The College is the only one in Canada to offer courses in the sciences, social sciences, humanities and fine arts. While other Canadian universities have a faculty of arts and science (Queen’s University and the University of Toronto come to mind), subjects such as fine arts and music are often separated out.
Dr. Bonham-smith views interdisciplinary programming, and the ability to collaborate, as definite assets at the University of Saskatchewan.
“As a College, we want to produce graduates who will fit into an ever-changing global market. We are committed to preparing learners for the challenges and opportunities they will face upon graduation and beyond,” says Dr. Bonham-smith.
Almost 1,150 of the College’s current students are international students, which reflects the increasingly mobile nature of the academic and business worlds.
Within the curriculum renewal, the goal of the Indigenous learning requirement is to cultivate an understanding of, and appreciation for, the unique socio-cultural position of Indigenous people in Canada.
The University of Saskatchewan is located on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. Currently, 1,340 Arts and Science students self-declare as Indigenous.
Dr. Bonham-smith says that the College needs to increase its percentage of Indigenous faculty members and female faculty members, as well as the number of women in leadership positions and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Indigenous faculty members and staff can be Canadian or from other countries with Indigenous populations, such as Australia, New Zealand or the US.
Significantly, the curriculum renewal also aligns with the College’s seven-year plan called “Think Big – Be Bold: Arts and Science 2025.” This seven-year plan is based on input from many stakeholders. These stakeholders include faculty, staff, current students, prospective students, alumni, donors and Indigenous leaders. Dr. Bonham-smith describes the plan as “ambitious and forward-looking.”
The plan puts forward four commitments: put students first; diversity and equity in faculty and staff; excellence in research, scholarly and artistic work (RSAW); and new curricula.
Along with the new degree requirements, the College is aiming to offer more courses and programs that extend off campus and into communities as part of the new curricula.
“Our hope is that undergraduate Arts and Science students will take the new degree requirements in their first year and build on those skills, knowledge and cultural competencies during the rest of their degree. Writing, numeracy and Indigenous learning are all good skills to have.”
The degree requirements will begin with the first set of first-year students in 2020.
More information on “Think Big – Be Bold: Arts and Science 2025” can be found online at artsandscience.usask.ca/college/2025.