The REAL Curriculum resulted from a three-year, faculty-led general education reform process. This innovative approach acknowledges that students develop general education learning competencies within courses and majors, minors, and certificates across their entire Radford University experience.
REAL puts students in the driver seat of their education!
With a student-centered focus, REAL builds on the strength of academic departments and on faculty expertise. This page provides resources departments need to make the most of the REAL Curriculum. The REAL Journey section details the reform process and the outcomes of this work.
The links below provide resources for planning department level REAL curriculum materials. Contact your college level REAL Council representatives or the Executive Director of General Education for assistance. The REAL Assessment contains for additional resources for the assessment of REAL learning goals and outcomes.
Dr. Jessica Stowell
Assistant Provost for Faculty and Curriculum
jstowell1@radford.edu
Dr. David Beach
Director of Undergraduate Curriculum
dbeach6@radford.edu
REAL Council Membership
Artis College of Science and Technology
Dr. Eric Choate
echoate2@radford.edu
Dr. Christopher Monceaux
cmonceau@radford.edu
College of Education and Human Development
Dr. Anna Devito
adevito@radford.edu
Dr. Amanda Bozack
abozack@radford.edu
College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Kurt Gingrich
kgingric@radford.edu
Dr. Courtney Bosworth
cbosworth@radford.edu
College of Visual and Performing Arts
Dr. Bruce Mahin
bmahin@radford.edu
Davis College of Business and Economics
Dr. Richard Gruss
rgruss@radford.edu
Dr. Thomas Duncan
tduncan13@radford.edu
College of Nursing
Waldron College of Health and Human Services
Dr. Michelle Lenhart
mlenhart@radford.edu
Dr. Douglas Wright
dwright1@radford.edu
Artis College of Science and Technology
Dr. Jake Fox
jfox32@radford.edu
College of Education and Human Development
Dr. Michael Moore
mbmoore@radford.edu
Dr. Ryan Smith
rsmith630@radford.edu
College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Courtney Bosworth
cbosworth@radford.edu
College of Visual and Performing Arts
Ms. Julie Temple
jtemple5@radford.edu
Davis College of Business and Economics
Dr. Tom Duncan
tduncan13@radford.edu
Waldron College of Health and Human Services
Dr. Glen Mayhew
gmayhew@radford.edu
Links to the REAL Assessment Guide, detailed assessment plan proposal templates, and sample assessment plan proposal are below.
In the Fall 2017, the Radford University faculty began the process of reconsidering their existing approach to general education. Over the course of the next few years, faculty from every academic college would participate in committees that reviewed the Core Curriculum and assessed the best general education path forward for students and the university. By determining the academic values that underlie general education and developing a set of guiding principles, the Radford University faculty established the strong foundation upon which to build their innovative approach. The resulting REAL Curriculum gives students choice to determine their pathways to degree completion and documents the development of traditional general education competencies within majors, minors, and certificates. This model puts the student at the center of the university experience and draws on expertise from every academic discipline, recognizing there are many ways to build critical knowledge and skills. The REAL Curriculum establishes campus-wide learning goals and outcomes to help students develop a lifelong love for learning. The links below provide the milestone documents that record this journey.