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The Curricular Ecologies Learning Lab - or CELL - provides direct support to faculty and departments to revisit, revise, and refresh programmatic offerings with a “total curriculum” approach. The paradigm of “ecology,”  in relation to curriculum, is the interplay between a department or program’s inward and outward-facing presence and priorities, structural concerns mostly outside of a department’s control, and the institution’s overall vision, values, and liberal education paradigm. Building on processes developed in the Office of Liberal Education’s �������� Plan Faculty Fellows program and the Howe Writing Fellows, CELL assesses the complex, interwoven aspects of a given course or set of courses and its myriad relationships to other courses, faculty, students, departments, and the university. CELL is a component of MPIL - the �������� Plan Innovation Lab.  

CELL Objectives - Doing what’s best for students

CELL is designed to actualize the �������� Plan not as a separate curriculum or list of requirements, but rather as the foundation of ��������’s “total curriculum,” where programmatic and �������� Plan outcomes frame the student experience in the major/minor and are aligned in outcomes and the culminating MP Senior Capstone.  It facilitates curricular transformation by identifying opportunities and untapped potentials by e.g. aligning course offerings with program outcomes and leveraging course offerings from other units or divisions.  This approach actualizes the potentials of the new �������� Plan, achieves institutional goals of resource-focused curricular innovation and inclusive excellence, and focuses efforts on what best serves �������� students.  Thus the goals of CELL are to:

1. Support departments with repositioning MP offerings and/or integrating MP outcomes and/or courses into curricula;
2. Support departments with broader curricular realignment, including streamlining offerings and integrating MP Pillars and outcomes into program outcomes;
3. Facilitate connections among units and divisions to create novel initiatives, leverage expertise, and mitigate redundancy; and 
4. Implement new curricular directions reflecting student needs and institutional initiatives. 

CELL Deliverables - The Curricular Ecology Action Plan

Faculty and departments wishing to participate in CELL will analyze their curricular ecology in relation to �������� Plan outcomes and objectives and their own goals, outcomes, and accreditation concerns.  They will think critically about course rationales, student learning outcomes, cognate and related curricula; design student-centered offerings; and initiate outreach to new kinds of students and adjacent programs. We draw from concrete enrollment and FTE data, SOTL scholarship, comparative analyses, and the dedication, expertise and creativity of faculty colleagues to re-imagine the educational experience at ��������. 

Each departmental cohort will be responsible for designing and implementing a Curricular Ecology Action Plan specific to their needs, which include

1. An action plan for repositioned and/or redesigned �������� Plan courses and interventions for identified “courses of concern;”
2. An ADVW and Senior Capstone plan tied to programmatic & LIB ED outcomes;
3. Revised curricular offerings reflecting current faculty expertise and resources, and revised programmatic outcomes reflecting the “total curriculum;”
4. A strategic plan to include all departmental faculty in major curricular changes (i.e. supporting broader faculty participation and “buy in”); 
5. A strategic plan and recommendations for institutional decision-makers and the new external review process; and 
6. Direct evidence of your Plan’s implementation.

Continued Support

This kind of curricular transformation is an ongoing process, and CELL will provide continued support for departments, chairs, and faculty in their efforts.  The Howe Center for Writing Excellence (HCWE) and the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) also provide guidance and expertise to CELL, and some cohorts will be referred to HCWE or CTE for further faculty development on specific pedagogical or curricular issues.  Participants can also be fast-tracked into MPIL’s Signature Inquiry course design program. 

Departments and programs wishing to participate in CELL should begin with a consultation between the Chair and the Office of Liberal Education.  Chairs should participate, and faculty participants should have a direct role or experience in their department’s curriculum, assessment, and/or advising.  All must be willing to educate and engage their departmental colleagues to ensure implementation.   Participants receive a professional development stipend upon completion of all required deliverables at the end of each semester’s work.