By David Adams | Echo
Econometrics, Global Theology and Food in History are just a few of the dozen or so new classes being offered during J-term and spring semester by various departments at Taylor.
Although the offerings may seem like an unusually high number of new courses-with unusual subject matter to match-Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts and Biblical Studies Tom Jones said the difference this year is the way the courses have been promoted.
"I think in the past, new courses were introduced but there wasn't so much emphasis on marketing them," Jones said.
The new drive to make students aware of these courses stems from the economic realities of higher education today, Jones said. Taylor cannot afford to run too many courses with small enrollments, such as those with only eight to 10 students.
"We're trying to make sure that classes have enrollments that are as close to the caps that have been established as possible," Jones said.
Most of the new courses have a cap of 15 to 30 students, according to the course lookup tool on TOWER. Currently some of the new courses are struggling to reach the enrollment targets faculty would like-though students have until have until the first week of spring classes to enroll in them.
Neuroscience and the Soul, for example, is a new psychology course being taught by professor Mark Cosgrove: only seven of 30 students have registered for it so far. Intelligence and National Security, a political science course taught by Director of the Taylor Fund Tony Manganello, a former Secret Service agent, has 11 of 20 students.
Many of the new courses are considered pilots, according to Jones. Faculty are encouraged to test new classes using course numbers 170, 270 and 370 for two to three years to determine whether enough students are interested in the classes to begin offering them regularly. Some of these new courses also relate to new or popular topics of study-such as the Intelligence and National Security course.
Forensic Science is one example of a successful pilot. The course, which meets a general education life or physical science requirement, is now offered every semester and always fills up quickly.Faculty also hope to create more engaging courses, Jones said, and the new courses being offered next semester are part of a broader plan to revamp the Foundational Core Curriculum.
"If we can design a course in such a way that we start off with people thinking, 'Okay, this is going to be interesting,' then we're a long way down the road to being able to engage them in the course," Jones said. "The more we can engage students in the subject, the more they're going to carry away from it-and not just for a year or two."
When enthusiastic students interact with passionate faculty, the potential for academic growth is unlocked.
"If we can design courses that start out by engaging students by attracting them and if it's something that the professor is really interested in-wow. That has the greatest potential to be a transformational course," Jones concluded.
New courses (according to campus announcements emails)
- HIS 222 Ancient History [J-term] (Hoskins)
- CRN 21281 (5 spots remaining)
- MTRF 8:30-9:50, 1-3:10 (3 credits)
- Meets history gen. ed. requirement
- PSY 370 Neuroscience and the Soul (Cosgrove)
- CRN 35797 (23 spots remaining)
- MWF 1-1:50 (3 credits)
- HIS 370 The European Reformations (Hoskins)
- CRN 35764 (19 spots remaining)
- MWF 11-11:50 (3 credits)
- HIS 480 Food in History (Hoskins)
- CRN 35765 (8 spots remaining)
- TR 2-2:50 (2 credits)
- CAT 270 Choreography (Browder)
- CRN 35829 (10 spots remaining)
- TR 9:30-10:45 (2 credits)
- REL 370 Global Theology (Meadors)
- CRN 35806 (12 spots remaining)
- TR 8:30-9:45 (3 credits)
- BIB 270 New Testament & Reconciliation
- CRN 35802 (28 spots remaining)
- TR 12:30-1:45 (3 credits)
- Meets Bib Lit II requirement
- ECO 370 Econometrics (Constantine)
- CRN 35879 (12 spots remaining)
- MWF 3-3:50 (3 credits)
- POS 233 Grassroots Politics (King)
- No TOWER data
- POS 270 Intelligence and National Security (Manganello)
- CRN 35818 (9 spots remaining)
- TR 3:30-4:45 (3 credits)
- POS 341 Issues in Public Administration (King)
- CRN 35817 (11 spots remaining)
- TR 12:30-1:45 (3 credits)
