Clusters

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The following observations are meant to clarify the Gen Ed Board’s interpretation of the “Part C: Interdisciplinary Connections” of the new Core Components Curriculum passed by the Faculty.

  • Clusters generally consist of at least 4-6 courses, but might have more listed, and might have as few as three (more courses would be needed if they are infrequently offered, but this might make the establishment of a unifying theme more difficult).
  • At least 2 (departments or programs) must be involved.
  • In general there should be sufficiently many course and section offerings in the Cluster that at least one cluster course would be offered in most terms.
  • Courses may – and often will – be part of more than one cluster.
  • Cluster courses may on occasion and at the discretion of the Cluster Coordinator be sequential and may have prerequisites.
  • Clusters can be hierarchically structured, e.g. have a required introductory course, but Coordinators should consider that clusters with too many prerequisites will be harder to fulfill.
  • Only one course can be counted toward both a cluster and a major, but all three courses, at the discretion of a Chair or Program Director, may be counted toward a minor.
  • Students can satisfy the Cluster requirement by completing a major or a minor in any established interdisciplinary program, or completing an Organizing Theme (OT) major or minor.
  • WAC will be totally independent of Clusters. In other words, any course in a Cluster must request WAC designation through the Writing Board.
  • There will be a Cluster Coordinator who will make the case of the feasibility of the cluster. The Cluster Coordinator will be responsible for choosing the unifying theme, identifying the other courses that would count in the cluster, establishing that the courses are offered with sufficient frequency to permit students to successfully complete the cluster. This information will be conveyed to the Gen Ed Board on an application. After the cluster is approved, the Coordinator’s work is largely done, although the Gen Ed board may wish to consult with the Coordinator as other courses petition to join the cluster, or as courses are discontinued by departments.
  • Students should normally declare their cluster by the end of their second year, although it should be expected that students may change clusters, even more than once, especially if they become so interested in their first cluster that they choose it as a major.
  • Beginning in Spring term of 2009 students will be able to declare and change their Cluster within the Web Advising system. 
  • With regard to existing ID programs, the Gen Ed proposal suggests that ID programs form a natural source of clusters.  Programs need to be specific about exactly which courses would count (it is not simply a matter of ANY 3 courses in a program). The Program Directors become the de facto Cluster Coordinators for an ID program, although in some cases, they may wish to delegate cluster coordination to one or more faculty who contribute to that program. (E.g., Environmental Studies anticipates proposing quite a few different clusters, each of which might have its own coordinator.)
  • Sophomore Seminars may not be part of a Cluster, although it is reasonable for Seminar instructors to suggest to students Clusters that relate to the same theme.