Table of Contents
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Archives and Special Collections Finding Aids
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Collection Overview
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| Name of Creator: | Northeastern University (Boston, Mass) Advocates for a Common Experience Committee. |
| Title: | Advocates for a Common Experience Committee records |
| Date: |
1993-1997 |
| Reference Code: | A99 |
| Location Code: | 32/4 |
| Extent: | 0.15 Cubic ft. |
| Scope and Content Abstract: |
The collection documents the activities and recommendations of the
Advocates for a Common Experience Committee from 1993-1997, including
the Academic Common Experience goals that the committee developed.
The collection includes newsletters from the Advocates for a Common
Experience, a flyer, and committee reports. |
| Historical Abstract: |
In 1991 Provost Michael Baer laid the groundwork for a committee
that would work to create a common experience for all Northeastern
University undergraduates. The Advocates for a Common Experience Committee
was created after the failure of a similar initiative during 1988—1990.
Working under the direction of Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
Andrea Leskes, the committee, consisting of faculty, students, administrators,
alumni, and trustees, solicited the help of experts to ascertain the
essential goals for education of all undergraduates and how to go
about achieving them. The committee decided on the following essential
goals, which came to be known as the Academic Common Experience: Students
must graduate with the skills of effective thinking, effective communication,
information literacy, and interpersonal skills; students must study
the world in various contexts and perspectives; and students should
also understand the connections in the world, such as the connections
between the theoretical and the applied, or between the individual
and society. The goals were designed for all students whether in liberal
arts, professional, or pre-professional programs. The Academic Common
Experience did not advocate for any core courses, but advocated that
each department incorporate the goals into its existing curriculum.
The implementation of these goals required a great deal of faculty
development and course modification. In 1993 the College of Business
Administration and the Bouvé College of Pharmacy and Health
Sciences were the first units to implement the new philosophy, followed
by the College of Nursing in 1994 and the College of Computer Science
in early 1995. By 1997, all the colleges had implemented the Committee's
goals. |
| Language and Scripts: |
Materials are entirely in English. |
| System of Arrangement: | Arranged in one alphabetical sequence by subject. |
| Subjects and Contributors: |
- Academic Common Experience
- Advocates for a Common Experience Committee
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.
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| Conditions Governing Access: | Records are closed for 25 years from their date of creation, unless researchers have written permission from the creating office. |
| Processor: |
Finding aid prepared by Eliana Wachs Cashman, February 2008. |
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