Faculty, Curriculum,
and Academic Community
E D U 6 2 0 2
F A L L 2 0 2 2
DESCRIPTION
Examines collaborative approaches to developing and improving both curriculum and the delivery of that curriculum. Faculty and curriculum are not only the core of an institution of higher education, they are also what make institutions of higher education unique from any other type of organization. Topics include academic structure and governance within the context of the wider university community in not-for profit and for-profit institutions. Examines faculty unions, academic freedom, tenure, and the increasing role of adjuncts. Assesses how administration, faculty, and staff interact in an integrated, collegial environment.
REFLECTION
Faculty, curriculum, and academic community are rapidly changing every day. I could have told you that without taking this course, drawing only from personal experiences and observations. Materials in this course confirmed that my observations are not limited to Northeastern; instead, they reflect a shifting and dynamic academic environment that higher education now finds itself in across the nation.
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Each week in this course, we explored topics regarding contingent faculty, working conditions, changing roles of faculty, and how it all impacts curriculum. This is the bread and butter of my personal work as an administrator in an academic department. I work directly with our contingent faculty in providing resources and office space as well as various other kinds of support. It is my job to ensure that faculty have what they need to succeed in their offices and their classrooms. I work closely with my chair on establishing working groups of faculty to address the changing roles they play. I maintain and organize the curriculum for both our undergraduate and graduate programs. This course, of the many I have taken in this program, feels the closest to what I do professionally.
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Personally, I deeply enjoyed interacting with my classmates. This course was small, which made our discussion hyper specific to whatever it was we had on our minds, sometimes even shifting out of our direct course material or discussion topic and into the nitty gritty of our work in order to help each other.
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I still have a few requirements left in this program, but I look forward to being able to synthesize all of these projects, theories, practices, and areas of scholarship into my work, both as an academic and as a working professional.