Community-Based Learning at the Core of a Student’s Education at Felician College

Lodi and Rutherford, NJ—As students begin classes this fall, those new to Felician College or having fewer than 30 credits will benefit from a new Core curriculum that streamlines required courses and incorporates community-based service learning to better prepare them for today’s job market.  “The former Core provided students with a broad background in the humanities and sciences, and prepared them to go out into the world as generalists,” says Dr. Gerard O’Sullivan, Dean of the Division of Arts and Sciences at Felician College.  “Felician’s new Core and general education requirements not only provide students with a solid foundation in the liberal arts, but also prepare them to meet the challenges of today’s job market.”  While the original Core curriculum consisted of 42 credits of required courses, the new program telescopes the Core into 12 credits of required courses and reallocates the rest of the courses from the former Core into the general education requirements. 

The product of over two years of work on the part of Felician’s Faculty Standing Committee on Core and General Education, the new Core curriculum embodies Felician’s mission as a Catholic institution of higher learning in the Franciscan, Felician tradition.  The goal of the Core, says O’Sullivan, “is the education of whole persons.”  The curriculum is therefore focused upon the formation of character, the refinement of reasoning and communication skills, and the inculcation of an ethic of service in students.

“The four Core courses—Culture and Diversity; Applied Ethical Reasoning; Themes of Literature: From Classic to Modern; and Society, Service and the Franciscan Vision—embody the traditional Franciscan commitments to diversity, ethical reasoning and service to others,” says Sister Patricia Morris, Vice President for Academic Affairs.  The revised general education curriculum will include a new technology requirement that all students will be required to fulfill, and one upper and one lower level religious studies course.  Students will also benefit from hands-on learning lab courses in the sciences and creative arts courses that will incorporate studio or performance components. 

Graduating seniors will gain essential life experience as they complete the capstone community-based service learning course which takes Felician College’s Franciscan mission as its theme:  “… to foster a love for God, self-knowledge, service to the community and a love for learning within the great liberal arts tradition of a Catholic/Franciscan/Felician heritage.”  Students will be required to perform 20 hours of community-based service learning for organizations needing volunteer support—an initiative already in place in various areas of the college including the departments of teacher education and nursing.  O’Sullivan, who co-developed the cap-stone course, says the course aims to deepen civic responsibility, instill an appreciation of the civic virtues, and help students see how essential service is to leadership.

“Felician College has always embraced community-based learning informally, and the majority of students volunteer for organizations in and around Bergen County by the time they graduate,” says Suzanne Reynolds, Chair of the Core Committee.  “By making it a central part of the Core curriculum, all students will now have the opportunity to benefit from the kind of hands-on learning that can best be experienced outside the classroom walls.  It will make them better future employees and better citizens,” she says.  The community-based learning component will benefit from input from community leaders who have been invited to serve on the service learning advisory board. 

The change in the core requirements will be welcome news for students transferring into Felician College.  “The restructured core curriculum will make it easier for students transferring from a two year college to have their credits accepted,” says Morris.  “It will strengthen Felician College’s articulation with two-year colleges and make it easier for transfer students to finish their degrees in a timely way,” she says.

A Core coordinator will work with faculty on implementing the new curriculum to insure a consistent and successful transition.  “The fundamental benefits will be immediate and long-lasting,” says Reynolds.  Students will enjoy a Core that springboards off Felician’s mission towards an elevated understanding of the college’s Franciscan tradition, a greater level of flexibility and an increased number of choices in their course selection.

Felician College is a coeducational, liberal arts, Catholic college, founded in 1942 by the Felician Sisters in the Franciscan tradition.  Located on two campuses, in Lodi and Rutherford, NJ, Felician College enrolls 1500 students in undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Arts and Sciences, Teacher Education and Health Sciences.  A member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Division II, the Golden Falcons field teams in baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, cross-country, track & field, and cheerleading.