The Origins of CORE

Colleges and universities have had forms of liberal arts and sciences or general education requirements for hundreds of years. Even in the technical disciplines, a University of Maryland baccalaureate degree is intended to be much more than career training. It signifies successful completion of instruction for the living of a full and productive life, learning not only how to learn, but how to value, evaluate, and evolve with the learning. University of Maryland Faculty wish to guide you through your studies toward these goals. Achieving them is a shared journey. Families, employers, and the larger community all play important roles.

Our faculty have both the knowledge and the responsibility to determine the minimum academic requirements for the general or liberal education portion of the degree. In the mid-1980s College Park faculty called for a new look at undergraduate education. A committee of faculty, staff, and students was formed for this purpose; it produced a report called "Promises to Keep: The College Park Plan for Undergraduate Education. This report made a number of recommendations for changes in undergraduate education at UM. The College Park Senate reviewed the recommendations, modified some, and approved the report in 1988. Some of the recommendations were implemented to create the CORE Program which went into effect in May 1990. Another important outcome of the Report was the creation of the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE).

The CORE Program has several important differences from its predecessor, the University Studies Program (USP). CORE includes a Human Cultural Diversity requirement, strengthens the science requirement, has a more formal proposal and approval process, and provides for periodic review of approved courses - including a student assessment - to ensure that the courses continue to meet the goals of the CORE Program. Faculty and Student representatives serve on the Senate CORE Committee.