Chronology:

  • 1981, March – First core curriculum recommended by the Core Curriculum Implementation Committee
  • 1982, April – Core curriculum and Core Curriculum Oversight Committee implemented
  • 1991 – Provost Taaffe formed task force on the Goals of the Core Curriculum
    • Produced goals for the Core Curriculum with no formal presentation
  • 1994, March – ACT 94-202 created Alabama Articulation and General Studies Committee (AGSC), a ten-member committee charged with developing statewide freshman- and sophomore-level general studies curriculum for all public colleges and universities
  • 1995, December – General studies curriculum of 41-42 semester hour general studies curriculum was approved (AGSC)
    • Area I – Written Composition (six hours)
    • Area II – Humanities and Fine Arts (twelve hours)
    • Area III – Natural Sciences and Mathematics (twelve hours)
    • Area IV – History and Social and Behavioral Sciences (twelve hours)
  • 1995-1996 – Taaffe tasked CCOC with reviewing core
  • 1997, May – CCOC proposed revised Core Curriculum; Provost Barrett charges new task force with reforming core
    • Task force stopped meeting after a year
  • 1997, October – faculty adopts state core with addition of:
    • 6-hour FL/CS requirement
    • 6-hour W requirement
    • 3-hour MA requirement
  • 1998, Fall – Implementation of AGSC curriculum statewide
  • 2006, Fall – oversight of core courses was lost as University reduced standing committees
    • CCOC disbanded
  • 2007, March – recommendation for oral communication requirement presented to the AGSC (not adopted)
    • Area I – Renamed: Communication – Written and Oral (six hours in written communication and three hours in oral communication)
    • Area II – Amended to require 3-6 hours of literature and either 3 or 6 hours from humanities/fine arts (9 hours total)
  • 2007, Fall – CCOC revived with goal of updating policies and procedure since adoption of AGSC curriculum
  • 2008, December  – CCOC guidelines revised and adopted by the committee
  • 2010, Fall – Faculty Senate passed the “Philosophy for the Baccalaureate Degree of a UA Graduate” (http://provost.ua.edu/philosophy-for-the-baccalaureate-degree.html)
    • Designed to serve as a prologue and goals to underpin the core curriculum
    • Administration prevented adding a prologue and goals to the core curriculum
  • 2011 – Under direction of Provost Judy Bonner, the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs published a list of more than 400 courses entitled “Guide to Courses with Diversity and Multicultural Content”
    • Includes courses from all colleges, many are already designated as core curricular
  • 2013 – Faculty Senate Task Force for Excellence in Equity, Inclusion and Citizenship recommended including coursework addressing multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusion as part of the core curriculum
    • Of the 12 other major institutions in the SEC only Ole Miss, the University of Arkansas, and Mississippi State University fail to require coursework related to multiculturalism, diversity, or citizenship and culture
  • 2013, Fall – School of Social Work investigated diversity policies on UA and other campuses; developed and supported a resolution calling for a creation of diversity-related designation for UA’s core curriculum
  • 2014, October – Assoc. Provost Kevin Whitaker asked CCOC to determine which version of the Core Curriculum guidelines was correct
    • Result: 1997 faculty vote on changing Core Curriculum and Oct. 2008 CCOC guidelines