Author Description

Since 1984 there have been insistent demands for reform of college curriculum, accompanied by increasing attention to the accountability of colleges for student success. This watershed book helps to set the stage, provide the agenda, and suggest the mechanism for carefully considered change. At the core of the book is the concept of curriculum as an "academic plan." The plan includes decisions about what, why, and how a specific group of students is expected to learn; ways to determine whether students have learned what they were supposed to learn; and methods of using this information to improve the plan. The authors explore the many influences on the plan from sources within and outside of the university. External influences such as public views, employer needs, and adequacy of funding are considered along with organizational factors like program linkages, and internal forces such as student characteristics and goals. Through these explorations the reader gains an understanding of the context in which the curriculum is developed.