Interdisciplinary programs growing at ANAC schools

“We are ripe for testing cross-institutional programming,” said Fran Navakas, associate academic dean of North Central College. “We see in our programs seeds for far-reaching innovations.”

Navakas joined administrators from Belmont, Drury and Elon universities at a morning session to discuss their institutions’ interdisciplinary curriculum. The panel focused on teaching and learning, faculty development and scholarship, program administration, and assessment of student learning.

Each panelist provided an overview of their interdisciplinary programs, including successes and challenges. Most programs included a series of courses meant to prepare students for life in the 21st century.

“We want our students to be able to wrestle with real-world problems,” said Bruce Callen of Drury University.

Janet Warman, director of general studies at Elon, said the university’s interdisciplinary program attempts to change students’ way of thinking about learning and life. The program includes the freshman Global Experience class, honors seminars, study abroad, senior-level interdisciplinary capstone seminars, and interdisciplinary majors and minors.

“One of the things I’ve discovered is that entering students are very much dualists,” Warman said. “We want to help students move beyond this and understand that knowledge is not simple, is not easy.”

Belmont University’s administrators share a similar goal, according to associate provost Marcia McDonald. She said the institution’s interdisciplinary seminar sequence is designed to help students function in a disciplinary world.

“This is a way to get our students engaged in the real world and realize they’ll need more than their major track. They’ll need a broader basis to tackle the kind of problems they’ll face,” McDonald said.

The program also helps universities as a whole, she said.

“It is changing us,” she said. “We’re seeing real benefits in our other programs.”