The Department of Agronomy and Horticulture embarked on curriculum review shortly after the 5-year Academic Program Review in the fall of 2017. The APR revealed three areas of opportunities: developing core experiences for all students, clarifying degree programs and options, and increasing efficiency of course offerings across the three majors. The department concurred with the APR recommendations and outlined the following plans:
• Current degree programs could be consolidated to increase efficiency of teaching resource deployment.
• The undergraduate program can be envisioned to create opportunities to diversify our served populations based on gender and background.
A major undertaking began in 2018 as the Agronomy and Horticulture Curriculum Committee worked to consolidate three of the department’s degree programs — agronomy, horticulture and turfgrass & landscape management. The committee fully immersed itself into curriculum work in 2018 and 2019 through regular meetings and two retreats. The basic framework of unifying through a common core and experiences included:
• Establish a shared path our students follow to achieve mastery in the student learning outcomes
• Develop and agree on common experiences for students through content learning outcomes
• Identify emerging areas in plant and soil systems
• Provide students flexibility to co-create their career pathways
Curriculum work is slow and messy, but the Agronomy and Horticulture Curriculum Committee persisted and has accomplished much. The committee is in its final stages before the proposal is submitted for approval this spring. The proposed degree program is anticipated to be available for the Fall 2021 semester. The department believes that the degree program, options and flexibility will create a learning ecosystem that guides undergraduates to be better prepared for a more diverse and data-driven career as professionals capable of problem solving for future plant and soil science systems.
Alumni, faculty, staff and students are encouraged to take the Undergraduate Curriculum Proposal survey and vote on a degree name by May 1.
