applying undergraduate research: the texas general education communication core curriculum: tracking...

D A N I E L L E S C H W E R T N E R , E N G L I S H K E L L Y C A L A M E , M A S S C O M M U N I C A T I O N

M E N T O R S : S A L L Y H E N S C H E L , P H . D .

M I T Z I L E W I S , P H . D .

Applying Undergraduate Research: The Texas General Education

Communication Core Curriculum: Tracking Trends, 2013-2015

S O U T H W E S T E D U C A T I O N A L R E S E A R C H A S S O C I A T I O N 3 8 T H A N N U A L M E E T I N G

P A P E R S E S S I O N : C O L L E G E T R A N S I T I O N I N G A N D E D U C A T I O N I S S U E S F E B R U A R Y 7 , 2 0 1 5

Background Information

�  Began in Spring 2014

�  Purpose: To examine how Texas state universities and community colleges adapted their curriculum to meet the new core

Spring 2014 - Process

Examined the Texas General Education Core Web Center:

•  Hosted by Texas State University, University College •  Contains core curriculum information submitted by

87 state community colleges and universities

•  Not kept current •  Phased out in Fall 2014 when the Texas Higher

Education Coordinating Board (THECB) assumed responsibility for this resource

The Texas General Education Core Web Center


Analyzed the THECB Spring 2014 CBM004 Class Report: �  Added columns for institution names and core

designation: “0” if not a communication core class, and “1” if a communication core class.

�  Ran into questions associated with course designations, so began the process of collecting all core curriculum information directly from university catalogs.

THECB Spring 2014 CBM004 Class Report


�  Collected 37 university catalogs and 54 community college catalogs for 2013-2014 academic year

�  Examined the core curricula and collected course

information

University Catalogs

Spring 2014 - Challenges

�  Finding the catalogs on the university websites

�  Differentiating courses: many of the same courses from various colleges were named differently

Spring 2014 - Results

�  Organized data into a coded chart, demonstrating common areas and discrepancies between colleges

�  Prepared the data to be compared to future findings in the new core

Purpose(To compile current undergraduate communication core curriculum requirements of thirty-seven Texas state universities and fifty Texas community colleges and compare that information to the new communication core courses that will be offered starting in the fall of 2014. Our goal is to answer the following questions: •  How did state universities and

community colleges adapt their communication offerings to meet the new core requirements?

•  What trends in the communication curriculum can we identify for a follow-up study?

Methodology We collected current (i.e., prior to fall 2014) core curriculum information from college catalogs, websites, and state reports. Using an Excel document, we then listed each required and optional communication core course, along with titles and descriptions.

Cita3ons Texas General Education Core Web Center. (n.d.). Texas General Education Core Curriculum. Retrieved January 16, 2014, from http://statecore.its.txstate.edu/ Welcome to the TACC Website!. (n.d.). Texas Association of Community Colleges. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://www.tacc.org

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Results(Through our research thus far, we have already noted differences in the universities’ communication core requirements. However, we have seen similarities in the communication core courses offered at the community colleges. We will be interested in seeing if this trend continues in the new core.

Sally(Henschel,(Ph.D.,(Mitzi(Lewis,(Ph.D.,(Kelly(Calame(and(Danielle(Schwertner(The(Department(of(English(and(the(Department(of(Mass(Communica3on(at(Midwestern(State(University!

Conclusion!

Though we have collected and complied important information regarding the current core curriculum, we still have many steps to take in order to conclude our purpose of comparing the current communication core to that of the new core being offered beginning in the fall of 2014. We plan on collecting the same information from the same colleges once the fall 2014 core is made available.

TX COMMUNITY COLLEGE REQUIRED COMM CORE COURSES Count % of 79 Composi(on!I 43 54% Academic!wri(ng 34 43% Founda(ons!of!public!speaking 2 3% TX COMMUNITY COLLEGE OPTIONAL COMM CORE COURSES Count % of 216 Founda(ons!of!public!speaking 42 19% Business!&!Professional!Communica(on/Speech! 38 18% Intro!to!Communica(on! 27 13% Interpersonal!Communica(on 24 11% Academic!wri(ng! 16 7% Technical!communica(on! 15 7% Foreign!language!!1! 8 4% Composi(on!I! 7 3% Foreign!language!!2 7 3% Sign!Language!1 6 3% Sign!Language!2 6 3% Forensic!Ac(vi(es! 4 2% Voice!and!dic(on! 3 1% Argumenta(on!and!debate! 3 1% Foreign!language!3 2 1% Foreign!language!4 2 1% Small!Group!Discussion! 2 1% Oral!Interpreta(on! 2 1% Program!op(on! 1 0% Intro!to!Technology!&!Human!Communica(on! 1 0% TX STATE UNIV. REQUIRED COMM CORE COURSES Count % of 62 Composi(on!I 29 47% Academic!wri(ng 28 45% Founda(ons!of!public!speaking 4 6% Program!op(on 1 2% TX STATE UNIV. OPTIONAL COMM CORE COURSES Count % of 103 Founda(ons!of!public!speaking 22 21% Business!&!Professional!Communica(on/Speech 10 10% Academic!wri(ng 9 9% Technical!communica(on 9 9% Composi(on!I 8 8% Discipline!specific!TP!communica(on 8 8% Interpersonal!communica(on 5 5% Literature!wri(ng 5 5% Adv!composi(on 3 3% Argumenta(on!and!debate 3 3% Foreign!language!1 3 3% Sign!language!1 3 3% Crea(ve!wri(ng 2 2% Foreign!language!2 2 2% Performance!speech 2 2% Advanced!public!speaking 1 1% Advanced!technical!wri(ng 1 1% Foreign!language!3 1 1% Foreign!language!4 1 1% Humani(es 1 1% Voice!and!dic(on 1 1% WriVen!and!oral!communica(on!(hybrid) 1 1% Story!telling 1 1% Interviewing 1 1%

Significance(The current core information will soon be difficult to find. It is important to identify and compare current communication core courses so that we can see how the core is progressing. Communication is vital to every college student, so we need to understand how it is being offered.

Fall 2014 - Process

�  Collected 37 university catalogs and 54 community college catalogs for 2014-2015 academic year

�  Compared data provided by the THECB on their new Core Curriculum WebCenter to information found in online catalogs

�  Created a new Excel document with our findings

�  Organized Fall 2014 data into a coded chart, in order to better compare the new core to the old core

THECB Core Curriculum WebCenter

Fall 2014 - Challenges

�  Several discrepancies were found between the THECB report and the online catalogs

�  Several universities and community colleges did not have updated catalogs or core information on their websites

�  Specification between required and optional courses was not made clear

Future Plans

�  Continue tracking trends �  Collect and analyze Fall 2019 data

Questions?

Contact info � Danielle Schwertner: put your email address here � Kelly Calame: put your email address here Mentors �  Sally Henschel: [email protected] �  Mitzi Lewis: [email protected]