Curriculum development and revisions are foundational to ensure a high-quality educational experience to prepare graduates for their careers. However, comprehensive revisions are often neglected and only made reactively, when changes are required. Realizing major changes were on the horizon with the new Kansas Board of Regents General Education requirements, the Kansas State University Animal Science program partnered with Agricultural Education faculty to conduct a comprehensive curriculum revision process guided by the DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) process and Delphi surveys of faculty and stakeholders. The revision utilized a seven-step process including the following: a) identifying where the program is now; b) identifying what all graduates from the program need to know; c) conducting faculty and stakeholder surveys to gain insight into essential knowledge for graduates; d) finalizing student learning outcomes; d) curriculum mapping; e) identifying the core curriculum experiences for all students; and f) determining curriculum options and their related requirements. Input from over 200 individuals, including faculty and stakeholders, yielded six new student learning outcomes connected to 37 competencies. Curriculum maps were created that connected each of the six SLOs to the required 19 hours of core courses or the 13 hours of concentration courses. This process identified the foundational required courses for all students. Finally, the program made a major shift from six curriculum options to two. The shift to two curriculum options was made to better utilize the current certification options and motivated the program to expand to include more certifications. Finally, gaps in the curriculum were also identified through this process and led to the creation of six new courses being developed or significantly modified to modernize the program offerings. The nine-month-long process allowed the program to be proactive in not only the curriculum changes, but also in identifying the need for new or revised courses and new certificate options.
10135 100 St NW
Edmonton AB T5J 0N7
Canada
Brandie Disberger, Kansas State University