COMING UP. GLENN. THANK YOU. WELL, TODAY, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES VOTED TO APPROVE A REVISED VERSION OF ITS GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM AND COURSE OPTIONS. THE CHANGES COME DUE TO A STATE LAW, WHICH EITHER ELIMINATES OR LIMITS DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS AND COURSES RELATED TO THESE TOPICS ON CAMPUSES. OUR JADE JARVIS IS LIVE AT FOUR WITH MORE AND JADE. YOU SPOKE WITH STUDENTS ABOUT THESE CHANGES. YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT, FELICIA AND TIFFANY. STUDENTS I SPOKE WITH SAY THEY FEEL LIKE TAKING AWAY THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT THESE TOPICS TAKES AWAY FROM THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION, AND THEY ARE UPSET ABOUT THAT. FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES VOTED UNANIMOUSLY WEDNESDAY MORNING TO APPROVE SEVERAL NEW CHANGES TO ITS GENERAL EDUCATION OFFERINGS. THEY DROPPED 22 COURSES ACROSS BOTH FOUR YEARS, AND THE FOUR WILKES HONORS COLLEGES CURRICULUM, MOSTLY IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES. AN INITIAL DRAFT WAS APPROVED IN JUNE, WHICH THEN WENT TO FLORIDA’S BOARD OF GOVERNORS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOR REVIEW. SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WAS RELATED TO PERHAPS THEY THOUGHT SOME OF OUR COURSES WERE IN THE WRONG BUCKETS. SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WAS RELATED TO THE TITLES OF COURSES. THE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES. A STATE LAW PASSED LAST YEAR SET STRICT LIMITS ON WHAT CAN AND CAN’T BE TAUGHT IN GEN ED COURSES AT ALL OF FLORIDA’S PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES. NOW, THOSE SCHOOLS ARE FORBIDDEN FROM USING STATE FUNDING TO ESTABLISH DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS ON CAMPUS AND BANS COURSES FROM GEN ED THAT TEACH QUOTE, IDENTITY POLITICS. I DON’T THINK THAT TURNING ANYTHING INTO LIKE A RACE OR GENDER ISSUE SHOULD AFFECT THE EDUCATION THAT STUDENTS NEED TO HAVE, BECAUSE WE’RE PAYING ALL THIS MONEY FOR AN EDUCATION THAT SHOULD BE WELL-ROUNDED. AND I FEEL LIKE THIS DEFINITELY IMPEDES ON GETTING THAT WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION. SO I DON’T THINK IT’S FAIR TO ANY STUDENT THAT GOES HERE NO MATTER WHAT YOUR MAJOR IS. CLASSES HAVE DEFINITELY CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVES AND MY WAY OF THINKING WHEN I GO INTO THEM AND LEARN DIFFERENT CONCEPTS AND TOPICS. SO YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL AND MINDFUL TO WHAT YOU’RE TAKING AWAY, BECAUSE YOU COULD BE TAKING AWAY CRUCIAL KNOWLEDGE. WE REACHED OUT TO FAA FOR A STATEMENT AND THEY SAID IN PART, QUOTE, THE UPDATED GENERAL EDUCATION PROPOSAL INCLUDES STREAMLINED INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS THAT ALIGN WITH STATE STATUTES 100, 7.25 AND 1007.55. AND THE SCHOOL WENT ON TO SAY THAT THE REVISED GEN ED PROGRAM WILL GO INTO EFFECT IN FALL 2025. IF APPROVED BY THE STATE. REPORTING LIVE TONIGHT IN BOCA
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FAU board of trustees drops 22 courses from general education curriculum to comply with state laws
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Florida Atlantic University’s board of trustees voted Wednesday to approve a revised version of its general education curriculum and course options.The changes come due to a state law that either eliminates or limits diversity, equity and inclusion programs and courses related to these topics on campuses.Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25 The board dropped 22 courses across both FAU and the FAU Wilkes Honors College’s curriculums, mostly in humanities and social sciences.An initial draft was approved in June, which then went to Florida’s board of governors and the Florida Department of Education for review.“Some of the feedback was related to perhaps they thought some of our courses were in the wrong buckets, some of the feedback was related to the titles of courses, the course descriptions and learning outcomes,” Dr. Russ Ivy, FAU’s interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, said.A state law passed last year set strict limits on what can and can’t be taught in general education courses at all of Florida’s public colleges and universities.Now, those schools are forbidden from using state funding to establish diversity, equity and inclusion programs on campus and bans courses from general education that teach “identity politics."Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsThe students WPBF 25 News spoke with are not fond of the changes.“I don’t think that turning anything into a race or gender issue should affect the education that students need to have because we’re paying for an education that should be well-rounded, and this definitely impedes on getting that well-rounded education. So, I don’t think it's fair to any student here, no matter what your major is,” Jasmine Anderson, a junior at FAU, said.“Classes have definitely changed my perspective and my way of thinking when I go into them and learn different concepts and topics. So you need to be careful and mindful to what you’re taking away because you could be taking away crucial knowledge,” Kaylee Dieujuste, a freshman at FAU, said.WPBF 25 News reached out to FAU, and it sent a statement saying:“The updated general education proposal includes streamlined institutional requirements that align with state statutes 1007.25 and 1007.55. The University Faculty Senate’s Steering Committee approved the proposal earlier this month. The revised general education program will go into effect in Fall 2025, pending state approval.”Top headlines:Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
BOCA RATON, Fla. —
Florida Atlantic University’s board of trustees voted Wednesday to approve a revised version of its general education curriculum and course options.
The changes come due to a state law that either eliminates or limits diversity, equity and inclusion programs and courses related to these topics on campuses.
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Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
The board dropped 22 courses across both FAU and the FAU Wilkes Honors College’s curriculums, mostly in humanities and social sciences.
An initial draft was approved in June, which then went to Florida’s board of governors and the Florida Department of Education for review.
“Some of the feedback was related to perhaps they thought some of our courses were in the wrong buckets, some of the feedback was related to the titles of courses, the course descriptions and learning outcomes,” Dr. Russ Ivy, FAU’s interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, said.
A state law passed last year set strict limits on what can and can’t be taught in general education courses at all of Florida’s public colleges and universities.
Now, those schools are forbidden from using state funding to establish diversity, equity and inclusion programs on campus and bans courses from general education that teach “identity politics."
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
The students WPBF 25 News spoke with are not fond of the changes.
“I don’t think that turning anything into a race or gender issue should affect the education that students need to have because we’re paying for an education that should be well-rounded, and this definitely impedes on getting that well-rounded education. So, I don’t think it's fair to any student here, no matter what your major is,” Jasmine Anderson, a junior at FAU, said.
“Classes have definitely changed my perspective and my way of thinking when I go into them and learn different concepts and topics. So you need to be careful and mindful to what you’re taking away because you could be taking away crucial knowledge,” Kaylee Dieujuste, a freshman at FAU, said.
WPBF 25 News reached out to FAU, and it sent a statement saying:
“The updated general education proposal includes streamlined institutional requirements that align with state statutes 1007.25 and 1007.55. The University Faculty Senate’s Steering Committee approved the proposal earlier this month. The revised general education program will go into effect in Fall 2025, pending state approval.”
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Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
