After almost a year’s worth of meetings and deliberation by the Elon Curriculum Committee, several new majors are in the process of being added, including anthropology, music technology, art history and a bachelor of fine arts degree in dance.

“The Curriculum Committee is like the little piece of the iceberg you see above the ocean surface,” said Associate Provost Nancy Midgette, referring to the lengthy process of changing the curriculum.

The committee is made up of representatives from every department, the university registrar, the head university librarian and the director of general studies.

“We look at all new majors and all new minors, as well as any changes to an existing or new course,” said Linda Niedziela, chair of the curriculum committee. “Anything that goes in the academic catalog needs to come through the committee.”

So far this year, the committee and faculty have approved the new anthropology and music technology majors for next year, while the art history major and bachelor of fine arts for dance are still awaiting faculty approval.

“We have seen strong student interest for all four of them,” Midgette said. “Before we even consider a change we want to make sure it is something that

students will be avidly interested in.”

If approved, the bachelor of fine arts for dance will differ greatly from the existing dance major. Midgette said it will be much more prestigious, intensely focused and in-depth, with the application of some different learning theories.

The curriculum additions are expected to bring interest from prospective students.

“Any time you have thoughtfully added a major you will definitely enhance the academic reputation of an institution,” Midgette said. “People from the outside will definitely notice, but we didn’t add the majors just to attract attention.”

“It seems like these significant additions will really bolster the nationwide status of our school,” said freshman Devon Quaglietta. “I’m excited about the possibility of more incoming students with broader interests.”

The addition of majors and minors is some of the committee’s most eventful work in a year.

“A lot of it is procedural. We want to make sure the university is doing things correctly,” Niedziela said. “Anything that is curriculum-based is a possibility for discussion at meetings, even if it’s not as big of a deal as a major. We talk about the overall direction of the university a lot.”

The possibilities presented by four new degrees are tremendous. “Four new majors is very unusual, especially for a school of our size,” Midgette concluded.

The anthropology and music technology majors were given final approval and certification at the March 14 Curriculum Committee meeting and will definitely be available for next year. Everything that is approved will be offered as a major and a minor.

Reporter: Justin Weiss - 05/03/07