2_7_2

Section 2: Core Requirements

2.7.2 The institution offers degree programs that embody a coherent course of study that is compatible with its stated purpose and is based upon fields of study appropriate to higher education.

Judgment of Compliance:
Compliance

Narrative/Justification for Judgment of Compliance:
The mission of Christopher Newport University is to provide educational and cultural opportunities that benefit CNU students, the residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the nation. CNU provides outstanding academic programs, encourages service and leadership within the community, and provides opportunities for student involvement in nationally and regionally recognized research and arts programs.

Our primary focus is excellence in teaching, inspired by sound scholarship. At CNU, personal attention in small classes creates a student-centered environment where creativity and excellence can flourish. Our primary emphasis is to provide outstanding undergraduate education. We also serve the Commonwealth with Master’s degree programs that provide intellectual and professional development for graduate level students.

We are committed to providing a liberal arts education that stimulates intellectual inquiry and fosters social and civic values. CNU students acquire the qualities of mind and spirit that prepare them to lead lives with meaning and purpose. As a state university we are committed to service that shapes the economic, civic, and cultural life of our community and Commonwealth.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Academic programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) connect directly to the university’s commitment to liberal learning. CLAS degrees listed in the University Catalog reveal the largely traditional courses of study characteristic of a liberal arts and sciences institution. The Liberal Learning Core and The Report of the Task Force on Curriculum and Academic Life reflect that same commitment as articulated in the University’s Strategic Plan: Vision 2010. The philosophical foundations of liberal learning, which serve as the guiding principles for the Liberal Learning Core, draw from the work of The Association of American Colleges and Universities, and its national panel report, Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College, 2002. Indeed, during the research and planning for the liberal learning curriculum, the Task Force consultant was a Senior Fellow at AAC&U.

Each CLAS department periodically reviews its mission statement, included in the Undergraduate Catalog, for compatibility with the university’s mission. Each statement ties the disciplinary thinking of the department to the broader aims of liberal learning. For example, the Department of Music’s Mission states, “The music program is committed to transforming the lives of its students. The music faculty strives to uphold the highest standards of scholarship and performance while placing as their top priority the education of each student. The music program offers a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum immersed in an academic environment rich in liberal learning. Music students learn to form critical opinions, think, speak, and write clearly, and understand the structure, development, and performance of music from around the globe. And, most important, music students learn to embrace the truth that musicianship and scholarship are lifetime pursuits.” (University Undergraduate Catalog, Department of Music)

Departments revisit and comment upon relationships among mission statements, program coherence, and educational goals in annual reports (e.g., English Department Annual Report and CLAS Annual Reports 2001 – 2002, 2002 – 2003, and 2003 - 2004) and at regular intervals in the Undergraduate Program Review cycle. In several instances, accrediting agencies oversee curricular progression and coherence as well: The Commonwealth of Virginia for the Master of Arts in Teaching, The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in Physics, Computer Science and Engineering, The National Association of Schools of Music NASM) in Music, and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) in Social Work.

In addition to adhering to policies and standards of the State Council for Higher Education for Virginia, departments follow a variety of processes to ensure that programs are appropriate to higher education. These include, but are not limited to, analysis of degree programs with peer institutions, analysis of graduates’ graduate school performance, credentialing of faculty hired to teach courses within a department, and standards from various professional organizations in the disciplines. For instance, CNU’s program in Classical Studies aligns with parameters of the American Philological Association. Thus, requirements for the minors in Latin and Classical Studies resemble those of such liberal arts institutions as The College of William and Mary and The University of Pennsylvania. While all three programs require core courses in Greek and Roman History/Civilization, as well as other courses in Classics and related fields, CNU also requires literacy in either Greek or Latin. Similarly, the Psychology Department regularly monitors the appropriateness of its program through articles evaluating undergraduate Psychology curricula, such as Perlman and McCann’s review (1999a and 1999b), a review in 2004-2005 of the ETS Major Fields Test in Psychology, and through the work of the Task Force on Undergraduate Psychology Major Learning Goals and Outcomes (2002) of the American Psychological Association. Finally, the newly approved major in Chemistry (Chemistry Proposal) provides the latest instance of the development of a college-level program and curriculum, approved both within the university’s curriculum approval structure and process ( University Handbook , Academic Regulations and Information, SECTION IV) and the external governing agency in Virginia, the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV).

The Luter School of Business
The Luter School of Business offers a single degree program, the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with five options for specialization: accounting, economics, finance, management, and marketing. The Luter School geared its mission statement to the University’s liberal arts mission:

Our mission is to educate and prepare undergraduate students for graduate studies and for leadership in business and community. We accomplish this by building on students' liberal academic foundation and enhancing communication, analytical, and technological skills through individual attention, intellectual growth, and applied learning.

Our vision is to become a model for excellence in the application of liberal education to the study of business disciplines. We seek to develop students intellectually, professionally, and personally through a rigorous program that will distinguish our graduates as innovative thinkers, articulate communicators, and ethical business leaders.

We value

The disciplined inquiry, reflective thought, reasoned judgment, and responsible citizenship engendered by a liberal arts curriculum;
Honesty, integrity, and a strong work ethic;
A learning-centered approach to professional education in which the professor leads inquisitive students to understanding and appreciation;
An academic environment characterized by its small class size and collaborative relationship between teacher and student;
The lifelong pursuit of knowledge and understanding, by both faculty and students, through continued learning and development;
Supportive student programs focusing on students career and personal development;
The willingness to shoulder responsibility, to celebrate success, to learn from failure, and to continue to aspire to excellence; and
A strong relationship with the business community that recognizes the mutual interests uniting us.

Content and pedagogy in the business curriculum enhance the values and intellectual skills business students develop in their first two years (disciplined inquiry, reflective thought, reasoned judgment, and responsible citizenship), lower division (freshman/sophomore years) students learning knowledge and skills they apply in upper division (junior/senior years) courses.

The Luter School earned AACSB International accreditation in December 2004. External review of the business core curriculum and specialization areas by AACSB peer deans confirms that the BSBA program fulfills expectations for university business degrees.

The Commonwealth's new requirements (150 credit hours) for qualification to sit for the CPA exam forced a revision in the Luter School's accounting program. Because the undergraduate program alone will no longer qualify students to sit for the exam, CNU has sought partnerships with universities who offer graduate programs in accounting. Our accounting courses meet all of the current requirements for coursework to be admitted to the partner universities' masters in accountancy programs, which offer accounting coursework mandated by the Commonwealth of Virginia not offered by the Luter School.

Graduate Programs
Christopher Newport University offers master’s programs in Applied Physics and Computer Science (APCS), Environmental Science, and Education. The APCS masters and the Environmental Science masters build on departmental undergraduate programs and thus share the departments’ missions and curriculum review procedures. Course proposals proceed from the departmental faculty to the Graduate Curriculum Committee, the Graduate Programs Council, and the Provost before implementation. The Master of Science in Applied Physics and Computer Science builds upon the core of physics and computer science courses that anchor the three areas of concentration. The program goals guide the curriculum. The Master of Science in Environmental Science has been designed in conjunction with area businesses and government agencies to provide the knowledge and technical skills needed in the field of environmental monitoring and assessment. The goals of this program guide the curriculum. Finally, the Master of Arts in Teaching, a practitioner-oriented degree designed to translate theory into effective instructional practice, is an interdisciplinary program governed by the Teacher Preparation Program Council. As stated in the Graduate Catalog, the Teacher Preparation Program curriculum includes education and content-area courses to provide opportunities to learn teaching methods appropriate to the endorsement area; the program culminates in student teaching, with portfolio documentation. Students build on their undergraduate degrees in their content areas with 6 to 9 hours of additional work in the discipline at the graduate level. The other required courses fulfill the Commonwealth’s stipulation that professional level courses and certain content courses be taken for licensure. The masters program complies with these requirements.

Support Documentation:
Chemistry Proposal
Report of the Task Force on Curriculum and Academic Life
Foundations of Liberal Learning
University Handbook 06-07, SECTION IV, Academic Regulations and Information
Undergraduate Catalog 06-07, Joseph W. Luter, III School of Business Mission Statement
Undergraduate Catalog 06-07, Joseph W. Luter, III School of Business Curriculum and Degree Requirements
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 2001 – 2002 Annual Report
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 2002 – 2003 Annual Report
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 2003 – 2004 Annual Report
Department of English Annual Report 03-04
President’s Charge to the Curriculum Task Force
Flowchart for Business School Programs
Vision 2010
Liberal Learning Core
Undergraduate Catalog 06-07, Department of Music
Graduate Catalog 06-07, MAT

Additional Live Web Resources:
American Philological Association: http://www.apaclassics.org/
Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College, 2002: http://www.aacu-edu.org/gex/index.cfm