February 13, 2016
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
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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.* It should be noted
that the enrollment figures utilized include students who are identified as PreEngineering 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.
2. 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.†
*
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.
†
Courses offered through Study Abroad are excluded from these figures.
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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* (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.
3. 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.
4. 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.)
*
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.
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