Curricula Development Working Group

The development of an exciting, challenging, and in-depth curriculum will probably be one of the largest undertakings in this project. It involves creation of suitable course material, oversight of faculty and staff instruction, of the mentoring provided by teaching assistantships, and the determination of the appropriate requirements and electives that are conditions for graduation.

There's a lot of discussion and philosophising that probably must accompany all these decisions. Chief among the determinations to be made concern the positioning of our university:

Do we want to be a technical engineering school along the likes of MIT or Caltech?
A primary focus on only science and engineering is probably more constrained than is necessary for this type of project. We could hopefully offer more flexibility and simultaneously appeal to those who want this type of education and others who want a broader knowledge base.
Do we want to try to emulate a small liberal arts school?
The type of small-scale instruction and personal attention which these schools best offer is probably impossible in a virtual environment, especially considering the perpetual possibility of large enrollments by our commitment to an open admissions policy.
Do we want to try to become a big state school, offering every imaginable degree and perturbation thereof?
The resource drain of so many different offerings would surely compromise on the quality of what we are offering.
Do we want to model ourselves after an Ivy League school?
Our Social Contract might make the Ivies appear a little too elitist in comparison, yet surely we can aim to provide a similar high-caliber education. Furthermore, the Ivies might have too heavy a focus on humanities.

I'd probably argue, at first take, that we might try to combine the best qualities of each of these types of institutions. Obviously, easier said than done. The doing is what this group's all about. Please help...

Current members:

Daniel Freedman