INTEGRATED CORE LEARNING
Knowledge, Experience, Reflection
(March 3, 2008)
What is Integrated Core Learning?
The phrase “Integrated Core Learning” describes the University of Cincinnati’s signature
approach to undergraduate education. ICL was developed as the thoughtful integration of the
General Education core, major course work, undergraduate research, practicum, clinical
placements, co-op and service-learning experiences,, co-curricular activities, and faculty-guided
reflection throughout the undergraduate curriculum. ICL underscores the University of Cincinnati’s
strengths and places them within a holistic framework for student learning from the first
undergraduate year through graduation. ICL envisions the purposeful weaving of high impact
practices and experiences with high quality, rigorous instruction. ICL emphasizes:
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The various ways in which knowledge is produced and disseminated.
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The myriad connections and inter-relationships among different disciplines, professions,
career paths, cultural organizations, and civic life.
The benefits of thinking collaboratively across disciplines and approaching issues and
problems from a multi-disciplinary perspective.
The transferability of knowledge and skills across multiple contexts.
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This combination—and integration—emphasizes the application of liberal learning in real-world
contexts and defines the essence of a 21st-century urban research institution.
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ICL is built around three touch-points in the undergraduate experience to provide all students with
key opportunities to develop, review, and act upon a learning plan for degree completion. It
begins with a significant first-year experience as its cornerstone and continues with opportunities
for self-reflection and on-going support through mid-collegiate coursework and experiences.
Culminating with a senior-year experience, ICL will provide students with the necessary tools to
transition to a profession or graduate program and continue to assume ownership for life-long
learning, civic engagement, and social responsibility.
First-Year Experience. Overwhelming evidence suggests that a well-reasoned first-year
program increases student engagement and success in the educational process. The
foundation of UC’s FYE approach is responsiveness to ongoing student reflection and a
common of set of targeted learning areas: (Great Beginnings Statement and Graphic).
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First-year experience programs begin with a student’s confirmation to attend UC
and continue through the first day of classes for the following autumn term.
The specific FYE components and practices may vary by unit as to best address
unique student or programmatic considerations.
Mid-Collegiate. Purposeful mid-collegiate programming and student reflection will
continue to provide on-going support for students as they proceed through their college
career. Components include:
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One or more mid-collegiate courses or academic experiences that encourage
students to engage in experiential learning to increase disciplinary proficiency
and that promote contextual understanding.
Reflection will provide an
opportunity for students to assess their choice of major and career, their progress
through their academic program(s), and their goals for the future
Methodology. Each academic major program requires academic training in the
understanding of the systematic methods and history of the discipline/profession.
Mid-Collegiate Writing. English 289 (Intermediate Composition) will reinforce
what students learn in the first year, will introduce higher-level learning about
writing and reading, and will focus students’ attention on how meaning is made,
understood and communicated across academic disciplines. The primary goal of
the course is to help students develop rhetorical sensitivity to differences in
academic and professional writing across the disciplines. As such, this course
will bridge students’ learning about writing from the first-year sequence (101 and
102) to more advanced writing in their chosen disciplines in upper-level courses.
Senior-Year Experience. ICL culminates in a senior year experience that enables
students to transition to a profession or graduate school and continue to pursue lifelong learning and social responsibility.
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The capstone experience is designed to demonstrate proficiency in the
Baccalaureate Competencies and in the content/skills of the program/major.
As a culminating experience, the capstone should require interdisciplinary and
contextual perspectives
Note:
ICL does not add credit hours to a student’s curricular requirements, it can be utilized by transfer
students, and it can be modified to fit a distance-learning format.
Goals and Strategies for Achieving the ICL Vision
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Design a comprehensive approach to the undergraduate curriculum that involves all
aspects of a student’s undergraduate experience:
o Individualized student learning plan
o Fully developed and integrated first year experience program
 A common readings program
o Well thought out major curricula
o Integrated General Education
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o
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Mid-collegiate programming that includes experiential learning, student writing,
methodology, and reflection
o Experiential and interdisciplinary capstone courses and experiences
Continue on-going assessment and faculty input
o Fully utilize existing data sources such as the NSSE and General Education
capstone rubrics
o Assess and plan for ICL through annual college meetings
o Partner with the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning
o Communicate broadly
 Student success web-site
 ICL and General Education website
 Faculty newsletter?
Partner with Student Affairs and Services to
o Offer joint advising strategies and leadership training
o Emphasize and incorporate co-curricular programming as part of student learning
plans
o Engage students in academically themed residences that include: language,
community engagement, music, international programs, and Communication
houses where they create community and have the opportunity to participate in
interdisciplinary courses and events
Extend UC’s long-standing emphasis on experiential learning
o Intentionally connect experience-based learning to each of the university’s
degree programs.
o Document all forms of experiential learning at UC (study abroad, internship,
cooperative education, clinical placements, performance, undergraduate
research, innovation collaboratives, service-learning, etc.)
o Refine student reflection to assure maximum benefit from experiential learning
o Study the impact of experiential learning and disseminate national best practices
Utilize learning portfolios as a mechanism for creating and reinforcing student reflection
on educational achievements and to document student learning from the first year
through graduation
o Continue on-going electronic portfolio pilots on different platforms
o Focus portfolio discussion around student-learning
o Consider the potential contribution to the Voluntary System of Accountability of
learning portfolios
Highlight students’ accomplishments at strategic points throughout the curriculum,
especially in the first year, at mid-point, and through capstone projects
o Consider “expo-events” to showcase student accomplishments
o Incorporate ICL into UC’s marketing message?
o Provide a “Student as Scholar” model that includes dissemination and reflection
of student products
The History of ICL
ICL is a product of the UC|21 academic planning process. It was written by the “Achieve
Academic Excellence” sub-committee during the winter and spring quarters of 2005 and was
reviewed favorably by the UC|21 steering committee in May 2005. ICL was charged by the
steering committee to incorporate other favorably reviewed UC|21 proposals and related UC|21
interests.
During 2005-2006, six ICL sub-committees were charged (ICL Steering Committee, Experiential
Learning Committee, Great Beginnings Committee, Capstone Committee, the Honors Committee,
and E-portfolio Committee). Each sub-committee included Faculty Senate representation, and
more than 60 faculty members participated in these committees with more than a dozen ICL
informational meetings and input session held across the university during 2005-06. ICL also
attracted a $100,000 grant from the Manual D. and Rhoda Mayer Foundation.
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In 2006-07, the Provost appointed an ICL steering committee and a faculty director for ICL and
General Education. The committee included Faculty Senate representation. The steering
committee worked with the General Education advisory committees and the university
composition committee and modified UC’s General Education program to replace English 103
with the ICL mid-collegiate writing course (English 289). Al Hearn was hired as the Director of
Academic Community Partnerships to support service-learning and to promote and to facilitate
ICL capstones. The Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CET&L) offered a
number of workshops on teaching ICL-inspired capstone courses and assessment. A unified
approach to first-year experience was drafted, and units refined their FYE offerings, even as the
first-year learning communities program was expanded. During the spring of 2007, ICL was
included in the UC|21 Strategic Planning Council Academic Priorities Report. The University
Honors program was restructured to fully reflect ICL. And more than 160 faculty and 100
community partners came together to discuss academic committee partnerships.
Beginning in 2007-08, the ICL mid-collegiate writing requirement (English 289) replaced English
103 for all first time freshmen. ICL received $75,000 in presidential UC|21 grants for funding ongoing projects, A General Education re-visioning committee will be charged during winter 2008 to
further revisit the UC’s General Education requirements in light of the UC conversion to a
semester calendar and to further reflect the university’s academic plan and ICL.
ICL campus innovations/innovators
The following is a partial list of UC faculty and staff with expertise that is directly relevant to the
on-going development of Integrated Core Learning:
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English Composition: Tom Dinsmore, Michelle Holley, Barb Macke, Joyce Malek , Laura
Micciche, Marlene Miner, Tami Phenix, Jo Ann Thompson
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Experiential Learning: Jane Carlin, Cindy Damschroder, Billie Dziech, Mary Fox, Ken
Ghee, Al Hearn, Eric Inglert, Dan Oerther, Jo-Anne Prendeville, Cynthia Ris, Stephanie
Schlagel, Elissa Sonnenberg, George Sucharieh, Will Sunderland, Nicasio Urbina,
Rebecca Williamson, MJ Woeste, Manfred Wolfram
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FYE: Bruce Ault, Pam Bach, Pamela Baker, Ted Baldwin, Sue Bourke, Debbie Brawn,
Paula Breslin, Russ Curley, Beth Demark, Ned Donnelly Stacy Downing, Paul Hilner,
Warren Huff, Amanda Jones, Mollie Labeda, Marianne Lewis, Chris Lottman, Joyce
Malek, Greg Metz, Karen Monzel, Lisa Newman, Pam Person, Rich Robles, Rod
Roseman, John Schlipf, Carney Sotto, Lisa Violand, Virginia Westheider, Jenn Wiswell
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Faculty Senate: Dan Vance, Debbie Tenofsky, Ann Welsh,
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General Education: Ann Black, Laura Caldwell, Thomas Dinsmore, Gary Dick, Gigi
Escoe, Michelle Gibson, Tom Herrmann, Adrianne J. Lane, Marianne Lewis, Raj Mehta,
Richard Miller, Marlene Miner, Stephanie Schlagel, Deborah Tenofsky, Jim Vondrell
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Honors: Debra Brawn, Will Clemens, Miki Hirayama, Mitch Leventhal, Marianne Lewis,
Raj Mehta, Ursula Meyer, Marlene Miner, Karen Monzel, Jeri Ricketts, Regina Sapona,
Carl Seliskar
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ICL Capstones: Chris Allen, Jan Bending, Peter Chamberlain, Karen Davis, Sharon
Dean, Gary Dick , Linda Dunseath, Rakesh Govind, Al Hearn, Jon Hughes, William
Jennings, Heidi Kloos, Marianne Lewis, Karen Machleit, Charles Matthews, Eric Maurer,
Amy McMahon, Colleen McTague, Maribeth Metzler, Dan Oerther, Dennis O’Neil, Ken
Petren, Elissa Sonnenberg, Ric Sweeney, Craig Vogel, Ann Welsh, MJ Woeste, BJ
Zirger
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IUC International: Mitch Leventhal, Kurt Olausen,
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Learning portfolios: Debra Brawn, Tom Haines, Raj Mehta, Marlene Miner, Rich Robles,
George Suckarieh,
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References
Gardner, J. N. (2006, February 28). The First-Year Experience’s First 25 Years—The Jury is In,
But Out on the Next: You Can Determine the Verdict. Plenary address presented at the
25th Anniversary First-Year Experience Conference and Gala Celebration, Atlanta, GA.
Retrieved
May
22,
2006,
from
http://www.sc.edu/fye/events/presentation/FYEAnnualConf06PlenarySpeech.pdf
Gardner, J. N. et al. (2006). Foundational dimensions, foundations of excellence in the first
college
year.
Retrieved
May
21,
2006
from
http://www.fyfoundations.org/foundationalDimensions.aspx
Kuh, G.D. (2001). The National Survey of Student Engagement: Conceptual Framework and
Overview of Psychometric Properties. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for
Postsecondary
Research.
Retrieved
May
21,
2006
from
http://nsse.iub.edu/pdf/conceptual_framework_2003.pdf
Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., & Whitt, E. (2005). Student success in college: Creating
conditions that matter. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Leskes, A. & Miller, R. (2006). Purposeful pathways: helping students achieve key learning
outcomes. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Taylor, K., with, Moore, W. S., MacGregor, J., & Lindblad, J. (2003). Learning community
research and assessment: What we know now. Olympia, WA: The Evergreen State College,
Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, in cooperation
with the American Association for Higher Education.
Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as communities: Exploring the educational character of student
persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 68, 599-623.
Tobolowsky, B. F. (2005). The 2003 national survey on first-year seminars: Continuing
innovations in the collegiate curriculum (monograph no. 41). Columbia, SC: University of
South Carolina, National Resource Center for First-Year Experience and Students in
Transition.
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