Strategy 1: Curriculum Evolution

Ryerson’s undergraduate curriculum will continue to evolve, so that undergraduate programming and its delivery remain innovative and responsive to students. Courses will be made more accessible, students will be given more choice, and transferability will be enhanced.

Other Information:

Undergraduate Programming -- Academic programs are the University’s lifeblood, and must be carefully stewarded. What this means is different over time, for academic program requirements and the curriculum at their foundation express the shifting state of knowledge, of academic disciplines, of time and place, and student expectations. Ryerson’s programs and curricula are distinctively dynamic and responsive, and these features are to be highly prized. Ryerson’s programming must, above all else, remain high quality, current, and societally relevant. Its current curriculum model has served Ryerson well, building highly regarded professional and professionally-related programs. As societal need continues to change rapidly in the twenty-first century, it is important that the model itself also continue to evolve, along with the definition of “career readiness,” in order to provide graduates with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. Students deserve opportunities to choose educational pathways that give them breadth as well as depth, and that help to prepare them for the evolution of their own career changes and professional opportunities over, say, a working career of 40 or 50 years. It is, of course, folly to pretend that an academic program can look forward half a century, but it is safe to say that students today need educational opportunities that emphasize strong intellectual foundations and relevant professional skills, along with critical thinking, research skills, and practice at pursuing new ideas, solving problems, and grasping the interconnectedness of people, ideas, things, and places in a globalized century. To do all that and more is a tall order, and sometimes it feels as if universities today make adjustments to program requirements and curricula as if seeing through a glass darkly. Ryerson has always had a more standardized approach to curricula than most. Over the last few years the tripartite curriculum model has been interpreted as allowing a bit more flexibility than before, both in existing programs and in the development of new ones. Shaping Our Future acknowledges that the tripartite model gives us a clear framework that has proved to be valuable, and it is at the foundation of our entire curriculum. Rather than eliminating it, which was suggested a number of times during the consultations leading to this Academic Plan, which might be akin to ripping up the Magna Carta, Shaping Our Future proposes to open it up somewhat, to bend it, to meet the needs of contemporary students, who are engaged in an ever more dynamic, transnational, trans-disciplinary world. As the education and skills required by our graduates evolve, then, so must Ryerson’s curriculum model and the curricula of our many academic programs. New and innovative curricula and program structures, including both disciplinebased and cross-disciplinary programs, double majors, and increased access to minors within a program of study, will be encouraged. It will also be valuable for students to have greater access to a wider range of courses, to be able to explore a wider range of academic areas, and be able to change from one program to another more freely. Liberal studies course offerings could also be expanded, and students should be given more opportunity to increase their scientific literacy in an era of significant scientific developments and dilemmas that affect the environment, health care, the law, and civic life generally. Curriculum structures and administrative systems will be reviewed in a consultative way and then adapted to make these transformative moves possible. New modes of program delivery, including hybrid models that blend face-to-face and other formats, require consideration. Spring and summer terms of course offerings need to be evaluated and expanded in order to support the academic goals and other needs of Ryerson’s students. English is a second (or third…) language of many students at Ryerson, a fact to be celebrated because the linguistic diversity is a sign of strength. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that the University needs to do more to support a segment of the non-native speakers of English when their skill levels inhibit their academic progress. Strengthening the foundational literacy and numeracy skills of all students is also important. The University will work to address these gaps in skills and support so that all students can take optimum advantage of the educational opportunities Ryerson provides. It is likely that, during the life of this Plan, Ontario will be introducing mechanisms to promote clear and transparent pathways for student mobility between postsecondary institutions. This includes transferability of credits from one university to another and enhanced college-university programming. Ryerson must be open to initiatives and opportunities, to play its role in a way that is consistent with its mission and that preserves or improves the quality of its educational programs. Related to these provincial requests for greater student mobility, as discussed earlier, it is also likely that Ontario will ask Ryerson to expand in response to demographic pressures for access in the GT A. If we do accept that challenge, the growth would be spread over a mixture of new and existing academic programs, so that some balance across the faculties is preserved and so that we are open to new academic initiatives. The anticipated balance is something like two thirds of the growth in new programs and one third in existing programs, with appropriate resources to make it possible to carry out such plans responsibly. The two-thirds area of growth could be an opportunity to create cross- or trans-disciplinary programs unique to Ryerson.

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