In spring 2013, a new committee was created to determine the first three to six courses that lead into the major in computer science. The following tenured faculty members are serving on this committee:

• Professor Gordon Bassen, Kingsborough Community College
• Professor Ted Brown, Queens College (Committee Chair)
• Associate Professor Sandie Han, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Robert Holt, Queensborough Community College
• Professor Yedidyah Langsam, Brooklyn College
• Professor Lawrence Muller, LaGuardia Community College
• Professor Robert Schneider, Lehman College
• Associate Professor Ching-Song Don Wei, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Associate Professor Sarah Zelikovitz, College of Staten Island

This committee, consisting entirely of faculty, began reviewing the courses submitted by the colleges to insure that the courses meet the designated learning outcomes for their Common Core curricular areas. Initial work leading to the approval of courses submitted by the colleges concluded during winter 2012-2013. The committee, which continues to be chaired by Professor Philip Kasinitz, has been reconstituted for the remainder of the spring semester. In its current format, the committee will divide into three subcommittees, each of which will have its own chair and will be composed of tenured faculty.

CUNY COMMON CORE COURSE REVIEW COMMITTEE
Chair: Philip Kasinitz, Professor of Sociology, Graduate Center
April 1, 2013-June 30, 2013

Subcommittee on Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning, Life and Physical Sciences, and Scientific World

• Associate Professor Mark Kobrak, Brooklyn College (Chair)
• Professor Laura Broughton, Bronx Community College
• Professor Joel Hernandez, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Associate Professor Jay Edelman, City College
• Associate Professor Michal Kruk, College of Staten Island
• Associate Professor Olen Dias, Hostos Community College
• Professor Robert Thompson, Hunter College
• Associate Professor Mary Ortiz, Kingsborough Community College
• Associate Professor Maria Dedlovskaya, LaGuardia Community College
• Professor Massimo Pigliucci, Lehman College
• Associate Professor Kwesi Amoa, Medgar Evers College and School of Professional Studies
• Associate Professor Ezra Halleck, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Daniel Weinstein, Queens College
• Professor Paris Svoronos, Queensborough Community College
• Professor Louis D’Alotto, York College

Subcommittee on World Cultures and Global Issues and U.S. Experience in Its Diversity

• Professor Patricia Mathews-Salazar, Borough of Manhattan Community College (Chair)
• Professor Debra Gonsher, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Jane Marcus Delgado, College of Staten Island
• Professor Jerilyn Fisher, Hostos Community College
• Professor Andrew Polsky, Hunter College
• Professor Lisandro Perez, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Professor Michael Sokolow, Kingsborough Community College
• Professor John Chaffee, LaGuardia Community College
• Professor Elin Waring, Lehman College
• Professor Emmanuel Egbe, Medgar Evers College
• Associate Professor Peter Catapano, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Duncan Faherty, Queens College
• Associate Professor Edmund Clingan, Queensborough Community College
• Professor Eda Henao, School of Professional Studies
• Associate Professor Fabiola Salek, York College

Subcommittee on English Composition, Creative Expression, and Individual and Society

• Professor Michael Barnhart, Kingsborough Community College, Chair
• Associate Professor Eric Gander, Baruch College
• Associate Professor Roger Foster, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Professor Frederick DeNaples, Bronx Community College
• Professor Keith Gandal, City College of New York
• Associate Professor Lee Papa, College of Staten Island
• Professor Linda Hirsch, Hostos Community College
• Professor Trudy Smoke, Hunter College
• Associate Professor Mark McBeth, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Professor Louis Lucca, LaGuardia Community College
• Assistant Professor Anne Rice, Lehman College
• Professor Keming Liu, Medgar Evers College
• Professor David B. Smith, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Jason Tougaw, Queens College
• Professor Georgia McGill, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Carl Grindley, School of Professional Studies
• Associate Professor Timothy Amrhein, York College

• Who created, will evaluate, and will modify the Pathways general education courses? Every Pathways course has been created by CUNY faculty. Most of the courses were created by CUNY faculty prior to the Pathways initiative, and some were created specifically for Pathways. In addition, Pathways courses are subject to multiple layers of faculty review at the campuses and as part of the CUNY-wide Common Core Course Review Committee. Going forward, faculty will assess the individual courses and modify them accordingly.

• How much does Pathways general education differ among the colleges? Although the basic Pathways framework is the same for all of the colleges (e.g., the eight categories of the Common Core, each with a set of specific learning outcomes), individual colleges have sometimes added learning outcomes to the CUNY-wide ones (e.g., School of Professional Studies), have sometimes set themes for their Common Core courses (e.g., John Jay’s justice theme), and in all cases have chosen the specific courses for each of the eight categories. For example, City College allows students to satisfy the English Composition category by taking courses with a disciplinary focus, such as “Writing in the Humanities.” In addition, each college with baccalaureate programs has complete freedom to design its College Option (6 to 12 credits) for its baccalaureate students. Some colleges will require students to complete study of languages other than English in the College Option, while others will require courses in philosophy, history, science, or communication.

• What sort of exposure to science do students get in the Pathways general education framework? All students must take at least two courses of three credits each (a total of six credits) in science (one course in the Life and Physical Sciences category and at least one course in the Scientific World category). In addition, students at most of the colleges have the option of taking their sixth flexible core course in the Scientific World category, for a total of nine credits in science. The learning outcomes for these courses include applying the scientific method to natural phenomena; gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data; and carrying out collaborative investigations. Two colleges, Hunter and Baruch, enable students to link courses in the Life and Physical Sciences area with those in the Scientific World area to create what are, effectively, six-credit science courses with extensive laboratory experience. The College of Staten Island is using its College Option credits to create 4-credit science courses and thus offer a broad range of laboratory science offerings. Within the overall Pathways general education framework, different colleges have made different decisions about science requirements and the types of science courses that students will take. This is another example of how the colleges are able to individualize the Pathways requirements and curriculum. Finally, all colleges have had Pathways science and math courses that have more than three credits and that are required for certain majors approved by the Board of Trustees. Such courses are typically offered for students in scientific and mathematical fields, but they are open to all students; every CUNY undergraduate may take these courses to satisfy the Common Core, instead of taking the three-credit science and math courses.

• Will Pathways three-credit science courses transfer outside of CUNY? The Pathways science curriculum is entirely consistent with national norms. For example, as with Pathways, a great many universities (such as SUNY, Harvard, St. John’s, and Penn State) do not require students majoring in fields outside the sciences to take courses with extensive laboratory components. The similarity of Pathways courses to national norms will facilitate their transfer.

• How is the Pathways general education framework perceived by other universities? These comments from top leaders in American higher education speak for themselves:  http://www1.cuny.edu/mu/academic-news/files/2013/03/PathwaysQuotes.pdf.

• Does Pathways change how many courses students have to take? The total number of credits that each student is required to take for his or her degree remains the same under Pathways. However, given that Pathways brings the proportion of credits devoted to general education in line with national norms (especially at the baccalaureate level), many students will take a lower proportion of their credits as general education courses. The intent is to provide students with increased access to a higher proportion of their curriculum as elective courses, allowing them to explore new curricular areas or to investigate certain areas in more depth. The size of the Pathways general education framework will also facilitate students completing minors and double majors, which can be of significant advantage to students both in terms of their education and in terms of their future job prospects and earnings.

• How does Pathways change how much exposure students have to full-time faculty? Given that the total number of credits required for degrees is not changing, the total amount of teaching is also the same; overall, there is no reason to anticipate any Pathways-influenced changes in the proportion of courses taught by full-time and part-time faculty at CUNY.

• Is learning a language other than English (LOTE) required of Pathways students? Prior to Pathways, some CUNY colleges (e.g., Hunter) required students to take two years of a language other than English, and other CUNY colleges (e.g., New York City College of Technology) did not. Respecting that diversity, the CUNY-wide Pathways framework does not specifically require each student to take courses in a language other than English. However, a college may choose to add that requirement to its Common Core and/or College Option requirements. For example, the College of Staten Island will require students without proficiency in a LOTE who are pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree to complete instruction in a LOTE in the World Cultures and Global Issues area of the Common Core. City College students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences must complete 9 credits of a LOTE in the College Option unless they receive an exemption based on foreign language proficiency. Similarly, Hunter will require students without LOTE proficiency to complete 4 semesters of a LOTE in the College Option.

• How does the Pathways general education framework support the development of communication skills in students, the skills that employers state are the most desirable for potential employees? The CUNY-wide Pathways general education framework learning outcomes specify that every Common Core course must build students’ skills in producing well-reasoned written or oral arguments using evidence to support conclusions. Prior to Pathways, most CUNY colleges emphasized writing skills only in the portion of the general education curriculum that was composed of English Composition courses. Now, these skills are embedded within Pathways courses in widely varying fields, such as in a course in Africana, Puerto Rican and Latino Studies titled “Language and Ethnic Identity,” and in a Biology course titled “The Science of Nutrition,” both of which involve work on student communication skills.

• Does the Pathways general education framework provide students with a well-rounded education in the liberal arts? The committee (of mostly faculty) that designed the Pathways Common Core framework started its work by defining what CUNY graduates need to know and be able to do in order for these graduates to be successful in both the short and long term.  The committee then designed the Common Core framework and its associated required learning outcomes in such a way as to ensure that these goals were met. Moreover, the committee specified that the Common Core could consist only of courses defined as liberal arts courses by the New York State Education Department. New York State requires that a significant proportion of students’ coursework consist of such courses; the Pathways Common Core helps to ensure that students take them. Prior to Pathways, the individual colleges’ general education curricula not infrequently included courses that are not defined as liberal arts courses by New York State.

• What are some of the other ways that the Pathways general education framework is benefitting students? Pathways has been designed to offer an array of benefits to students as they access and complete a high-quality undergraduate education. For instance, Pathways should simplify academic advising, the curricula of CUNY’s associate programs and baccalaureate programs will be better aligned, credits for general education coursework will transfer more easily across the University, transfer students’ transcripts will be evaluated more quickly, and students will be more likely to have all of their coursework covered by financial aid.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Those are the words of Eduardo Padrón, president of Miami Dade College. President Padrón is joined by other leading academics and university professors in speaking out in support of Pathways.

Consistent with practices established by the Board of Trustees resolution of June 27, 2011, faculty committees have continued to meet to establish the first three to six courses that lead into the largest transfer majors at CUNY. Draft recommendations from committees for economics, political science, and sociology are now available and are posted below. Comments are welcome until Wednesday, March 13, and may be submitted via email to pathways@mail.cuny.edu.

In addition, work that carried over from last spring regarding the majors in biology and business has now been completed. New reports concerning those majors are also available and are posted below.

Draft recommendations on the major in engineering are currently being developed.

Thank you, in advance, for your thoughtful consideration.

Sincerely,

William P. Kelly
President, CUNY Graduate Center
Chair, CUNY Pathways Transfer Majors Committees

DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS

• Economics
• Political Science
• Sociology

CONCLUDING REPORTS

• Biology (Preamble, Recommendations)
• Business

Attached for your information are current data concerning the courses that each campus has submitted for the Pathways Common Core. As you can see, out of 19 X 8 = 152 total cells, there is literally less than a handful of empty cells. Further, I can assure you that the campuses with those empty cells are hard at work to ensure that they will have sufficient Common Core courses for their students this coming fall. I can also assure you that the Common Core Course Review Committee, led by some very dedicated faculty, is also hard at work completing their reviews of all of the submitted courses.

In addition to the courses on the attached chart, your campuses have submitted to us over 400 STEM-variant courses that will also be available to students this fall to satisfy Common Core requirements. In sum, you have submitted to us close to 2,000 total courses for Pathways.

Further, almost all of the colleges have submitted for Board of Trustees approval the information about the colleges’ Pathways requirements via the January Chancellor’s University Report, and the few remaining colleges will submit this information via the February Chancellor’s University Report. Scribing of the requirements and courses in Degree Works is in progress, websites with critical Pathways information are being developed, and advisors are being trained. In other words, contrary to some incorrect statements that are being made, we are on track and prepared to implement Pathways in September 2013, beginning with registration this spring.

The enormous progress that we have made is due to the extremely hard work of literally many hundreds of people, especially faculty. Given this fact, tonight at the Board meeting there will be a resolution of appreciation for the magnificent contributions of so very many faculty to this effort.

We are not done yet, but we are getting very close, and it is thanks not only to the work of the faculty but also the work and especially the leadership of each of you. Thank you so very much. Together we will see this project through its final stages.

Sincerely,
Lexa

Alexandra W. Logue
Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost
The City University of New York

This committee, consisting entirely of faculty, began reviewing the courses submitted by the colleges to insure that the courses meet the designated learning outcomes for their Common Core curricular areas. Chaired by Professor Philip Kasinitz, the committee comprises eight subcommittees, one for each area of the Common Core.

January 1, 2013-February 28, 2013
CUNY COMMON CORE COURSE REVIEW COMMITTEE
Chair: Philip Kasinitz, Professor of Sociology, Graduate Center

Subcommittee on English Composition

• Professor Trudy Smoke, Hunter College (Chair)
• Associate Professor Claire Pamplin, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Professor Frederick De Naples, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Janet Moser, Brooklyn College
• Associate Professor Renata Miller, City College of New York
• Associate Professor Lee Papa, College of Staten Island
• Professor Linda Hirsch, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Mark McBeth, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Assistant Professor Ann Del Principe, Kingsborough Community College
• Associate Professor Heidi Johnsen, LaGuardia Community College
• Professor Keming Liu, Medgar Evers College
• Associate Professor Julian Williams, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Carl Grindley, School of Professional Studies
• Professor Linda Reesman, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Cynthia Haller, York College

Subcommittee on Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning

• Professor Robert Thompson, Hunter College (Chair)
• Associate Professor Sherman Wong, Baruch College
• Professor Annie Yi Han, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Associate Professor Rony Gouriage, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Laurie Rubel, Brooklyn College
• Assistant Professor Edward Wall, City College of New York
• Professor Daniel Maysonet, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Douglas Salane, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Professor Rina Yarmish, Kingsborough Community College
• Professor Nancy Griffeth, Lehman College
• Professor Emmanuel Egbe, Medgar Evers College
• Assistant Professor Ezra Halleck, New York City College of Technology
• Professor Martin Braun, Queens College
• Professor Joseph Bertorelli, Queensborough Community College
• Professor Lou D’Alotto, York College

Subcommittee on Life and Physical Sciences

• Professor Leonard Ciaccio, College of Staten Island (Chair)
• Professor Sarah Salm, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Associate Professor Laura Broughton, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Mark Kobrak, Brooklyn College
• Associate Professor Jay Edelman, City College of New York
• Assistant Professor Debasish Roy, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Derrick Brazill, Hunter College
• Associate Professor Nicholas Petraco, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Associate Professor Mary Ortiz, Kingsborough Community College
• Assistant Professor Burl Yearwood, LaGuardia Community College
• Assistant Professor Maryam Bamshad, Lehman College
• Assistant Professor Lufeng Leng, New York City College of Technology
• Professor William Hersh, Queens College
• Professor Paris Svoronos, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Timothy Paglione, York College

Subcommittee on World Cultures and Global Issues

• Professor Patricia Mathews-Salazar, Borough of Manhattan Community College (Chair)
• Associate Professor David Cruz de Jesus, Baruch College
• Assistant Professor Gilbert Marzan, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Andrew Meyer, Brooklyn College
• Associate Professor Jane Marcus-Delgado, College of Staten Island
• Professor Jerilyn Fisher, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Lisa Anderson, Hunter College
• Associate Professor Carlton Jama Adams, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Professor Susan Farrell, Kingsborough Community College
• Professor Emmanuel Egbe, Medgar Evers College
• Professor Eda Henao, School of Professional Studies
• Professor Yan Sun, Queens College
• Associate Professor Edmund Clingan, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Fabiola Salek, York College

Subcommittee on U.S. Experience in Its Diversity

• Professor William Divale, York College (Chair)
• Professor David Jones, Baruch College
• Professor Isabel Mirsky, Bronx Community College
• Professor Michael Sokolow, Kingsborough Community College
• Associate Professor Timothy Coogan, LaGuardia Community College
• Associate Professor Duncan Faherty, Queens College
• Associate Professor Peter Bales, Queensborough Community College

Subcommittee on Creative Expression

• Professor Michael Rodriguez, LaGuardia Community College (Chair)
  
• Associate Professor Zoe Sheehan Saldana, Baruch College
• Associate Professor Hollis Glaser, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Professor Ruth Bass, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Anna Indych-Lopez, City College of New York
• Assistant Professor Elisabeth Tappeiner, Hostos Community College
• Professor Jonathan Kalb, Hunter College
• Professor Gloria Nicosia, Kingsborough Community College
• Associate Professor Charles Seplowin, Lehman College
• Professor David Smith, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Carl Grindley, School of Professional Studies
• Associate Professor Ira Hauptman, Queens College
• Professor Georgia McGill, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Timothy Amrhein, York College

Subcommittee on Individual and Society

• Professor Michael Barnhart, Kingsborough Community College (Chair)
• Associate Professor Eric Gander, Baruch College
• Associate Professor Elizabeth Wissinger, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Professor Debra Gonsher, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Katie Cumiskey, College of Staten Island
• Assistant Professor Felix Cardona, Hostos Community College
• Professor John Chaffee, LaGuardia Community College
• Associate Professor Dene Hurley, Lehman College
• Associate Professor Aaron Barlow, New York City College of Technology
• Professor Joseph Culkin, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Xiaodan Zhang, York College

Subcommittee on Scientific World

• Professor Richard Steinberg, City College of New York (Chair)
• Associate Professor Desmond Barry McKernan, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Assistant Professor Randi Shane, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Mark Kobrak, Brooklyn College
• Associate Professor Sarah Zelikowitz, College of Staten Island
• Assistant Professor Olen Dias, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Nicholas Petraco, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Associate Professor Mary Dawson, Kingsborough Community College
• Associate Professor Esther Wilder, Lehman College
• Associate Professor Daniel Weinstein, Queens College
• Professor Margaret MacNeil, York College

March 1, 2012-December 31, 2012
CUNY COMMON CORE COURSE REVIEW COMMITTEE
Chair: Philip Kasinitz, Professor of Sociology, Graduate Center

Subcommittee on English Composition

• Professor Trudy Smoke, Hunter College (Chair)
• Associate Professor Claire Pamplin, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Professor Frederick De Naples, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Janet Moser, Brooklyn College
• Associate Professor Renata Miller, City College of New York
• Associate Professor Lee Papa, College of Staten Island
• Professor Linda Hirsch, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Mark McBeth, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Assistant Professor Ann Del Principe, Kingsborough Community College
• Associate Professor Heidi Johnsen, LaGuardia Community College
• Associate Professor Jessica Yood, Lehman College
• Professor Keming Liu, Medgar Evers College
• Associate Professor Julian Williams, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Carl Grindley, School of Professional Studies
• Associate Professor Roger Sederat, Queens College
• Professor Linda Reesman, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Cynthia Haller, York College

Subcommittee on Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning

• Professor Robert Thompson, Hunter College (Chair)
• Associate Professor Sherman Wong, Baruch College
• Professor Annie Yi Han, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Associate Professor Rony Gouriage, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Laurie Rubel, Brooklyn College
• Assistant Professor Edward Wall, City College of New York
• Associate Professor Jesenko Vukadinovic, College of Staten Island
• Professor Daniel Maysonet, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Douglas Salane, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Professor Rina Yarmish, Kingsborough Community College
• Professor Prabha Betne, LaGuardia Community College
• Professor Nancy Griffeth, Lehman College
• Professor Emmanuel Egbe, Medgar Evers College
• Assistant Professor Ezra Halleck, New York City College of Technology
• Professor Martin Braun, Queens College
• Professor Joseph Bertorelli, Queensborough Community College
• Professor Lou D’Alotto, York College

Subcommittee on Life and Physical Sciences

• Professor Leonard Ciaccio, College of Staten Island (Chair)
• Professor Sarah Salm, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Associate Professor Laura Broughton, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Mark Kobrak, Brooklyn College
• Associate Professor Jay Edelman, City College of New York
• Assistant Professor Debasish Roy, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Derrick Brazill, Hunter College
• Associate Professor Nicholas Petraco, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Associate Professor Mary Ortiz, Kingsborough Community College
• Assistant Professor Burl Yearwood, LaGuardia Community College
• Assistant Professor Maryam Bamshad, Lehman College
• Professor Doris Withers, Medgar Evers College
• Assistant Professor Lufeng Leng, New York City College of Technology
• Professor William Hersh, Queens College
• Professor Paris Svoronos, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Timothy Paglione, York College

Subcommittee on World Cultures and Global Issues

• Professor Patricia Mathews-Salazar, Borough of Manhattan Community College (Chair)
• Associate Professor David Cruz de Jesus, Baruch College
• Assistant Professor Gilbert Marzan, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Andrew Meyer, Brooklyn College
• Associate Professor Clifford Rosenberg, City College of New York
• Associate Professor Jane Marcus-Delgado, College of Staten Island
• Professor Jerilyn Fisher, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Lisa Anderson, Hunter College
• Associate Professor Carlton Jama Adams, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Professor Susan Farrell, Kingsborough Community College
• Professor Patricio Lerzundi, Lehman College
• Professor Emmanuel Egbe, Medgar Evers College
• Associate Professor Kyle Cuordileone, New York City College of Technology
• Professor Eda Henao, School of Professional Studies
• Professor Yan Sun, Queens College
• Associate Professor Edmund Clingan, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Fabiola Salek, York College

Subcommittee on U.S. Experience in Its Diversity

• Professor William Divale, York College (Chair)
• Professor David Jones, Baruch College
• Assistant Professor Paula Saunders, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Professor Isabel Mirsky, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Gregory Downs, City College of New York
• Professor Calvin Holder, College of Staten Island
• Assistant Professor Marcella Bencivenni, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Richard Belsky, Hunter College
• Professor Michael Sokolow, Kingsborough Community College
• Associate Professor Timothy Coogan, LaGuardia Community College
• Associate Professor Martin Burke, Lehman College
• Associate Professor Peter Catapano, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Duncan Faherty, Queens College
• Associate Professor Peter Bales, Queensborough Community College

Subcommittee on Creative Expression

• Professor Michael Rodriguez, LaGuardia Community College (Chair)
  
• Associate Professor Zoe Sheehan Saldana, Baruch College
• Associate Professor Hollis Glaser, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Professor Ruth Bass, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Anna Indych-Lopez, City College of New York
• Assistant Professor Elisabeth Tappeiner, Hostos Community College
• Professor Jonathan Kalb, Hunter College
• Professor Roberto Visani, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Professor Gloria Nicosia, Kingsborough Community College
• Associate Professor Charles Seplowin, Lehman College
• Professor David Smith, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Carl Grindley, School of Professional Studies
• Associate Professor Ira Hauptman, Queens College
• Professor Georgia McGill, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Timothy Amrhein, York College

Subcommittee on Individual and Society

• Professor Michael Barnhart, Kingsborough Community College (Chair)
• Associate Professor Eric Gander, Baruch College
• Associate Professor Elizabeth Wissinger, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Professor Debra Gonsher, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Katie Cumiskey, College of Staten Island
• Assistant Professor Felix Cardona, Hostos Community College
• Professor Howard Chernick, Hunter College
• Professor William Gottdiener, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Professor John Chaffee, LaGuardia Community College
• Associate Professor Dene Hurley, Lehman College
• Associate Professor Aaron Barlow, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Stephen Grover, Queens College
• Professor Joseph Culkin, Queensborough Community College
• Associate Professor Xiaodan Zhang, York College

Subcommittee on Scientific World

• Professor Richard Steinberg, City College of New York (Chair)
• Associate Professor Desmond Barry McKernan, Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Assistant Professor Randi Shane, Bronx Community College
• Associate Professor Mark Kobrak, Brooklyn College
• Associate Professor Sarah Zelikowitz, College of Staten Island
• Assistant Professor Olen Dias, Hostos Community College
• Associate Professor Roger Persell, Hunter College
• Associate Professor Nicholas Petraco, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Associate Professor Mary Dawson, Kingsborough Community College
• Professor Jack Gantzer, LaGuardia Community College
• Associate Professor Esther Wilder, Lehman College
• Professor Doris Withers, Medgar Evers College
• Associate Professor Laina Karthikeyan, New York City College of Technology
• Associate Professor Daniel Weinstein, Queens College
• Associate Professor Bryn Mader, Queensborough Community College
• Professor Margaret MacNeil, York College

You may have recently received an e-mail from Drs. Barbara Bowen and Terrence Martell concerning The City University of New York’s Pathways initiative. That e-mail contained a number of statements that could have led you to erroneous conclusions regarding this initiative.

The Pathways initiative provides a general education framework as well as courses leading into the largest transfer majors for all undergraduates at CUNY. This initiative will increase the quality of education for CUNY undergraduates, propelling more of them to advanced studies. Here are some facts about the Pathways initiative:

• The Pathways courses are all devised, developed, taught, and evaluated by CUNY faculty.
• The Pathways courses are subject to all of the same mechanisms of faculty review and approval as has been the case for all other courses at CUNY, plus, for Pathways courses, there is an additional review by a 120-person, faculty-only, university-wide committee. Thus the Pathways courses are subject to faculty review to an even greater extent than has been the case for other courses.
• The Pathways courses must all satisfy specific learning outcomes constructed by faculty.
• Campuses have much flexibility in how they construct their specific general education curricula within the Pathways framework.
• Some campuses are taking advantage of that flexibility to require their students to participate in traditional science laboratories and to learn languages other than English. Other campuses have chosen not to require such experiences, as was also the case before Pathways.
• Campuses also have the option of arranging for their faculty to spend additional time with students in specific Pathways courses. Some campuses have chosen to do this, and others have not, as was also the case before Pathways.
• All Pathways core courses have required learning outcomes that emphasize the enhancement of communication skills and analytical skills.
• The total number of credits required for a CUNY degree, and thus the extent of the CUNY undergraduate experience, remains the same post- as pre-Pathways.

For additional information about Pathways, including about this initiative’s unusually extensive consultation with and involvement of faculty, please consult www.cuny.edu/pathways and www.cuny.edu/academics/initiatives/pathways/about/archive.html.

We are extremely grateful to the many hundreds of CUNY faculty whose experience, creativity, and scholarship have significantly contributed to all aspects of the Pathways initiative. The entire CUNY community will continue to implement innovations designed to provide and enhance excellent educational opportunities for our students.

Sincerely,

Alexandra W. Logue
Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost
The City University of New York