Core Curriculum Update: November 2025

We are pleased to share an update on the progress of the core curriculum review process, which began in Fall 2024. As a reminder, Auburn’s Core Curriculum, commonly referred to as the “Core”, represents the shared coursework and experiences Auburn undergraduate students complete. Drawing on a rich academic tradition and designed to foster the knowledge, skills, and perspectives essential to a robust and relevant university education, the Core integrates curricular and co-curricular experiences that are hallmarks of Auburn graduates.

The purpose of the Core Review is to bring together faculty, students, staff, alumni, and other members of the Auburn Family to take a thoughtful and comprehensive look at Auburn’s educational experience and ensure that it is:

  • Comprehensive, coherent, and rigorous

  • Committed to Auburn’s tradition of academic excellence

  • Responsive to institutional goals and the university’s strategic plan

  • Reflective of the abilities needed for careers in a practical world

  • Effective in equipping students to think critically and creatively about society’s evolving needs

In Fall 2024, the university initiated a review of the Core to explore what our campus community thought was working well in the Core as well as what might be improved. This review is focused on self-reflection and discovery, and our product will be a report summarizing these findings. We are currently in the “gathering and review of information” phase (Fall 2025 and Spring 2026), and we look forward to sharing our assessment report with the campus community for feedback and commentary in Fall 2026. We are providing ample time to ensure that we hear from everyone and that our process is deliberate and thoughtful. It is important to note that this report will not focus on making recommendations. Rather, if the assessment identifies opportunities for improvement, these will be considered in a future process with additional input from the campus community.

This effort is being lead by two groups representing faculty, staff, and students from across campus: the steering committee (6 members responsible for overseeing the review and ensuring all of campus is involved in this process) and the advisory committee (21 members responsible for gathering information, identifying important topics for discussion, and providing insights into the implementation of our Core). We would also like to express our thanks for the support and enthusiasm from the Offices of the Registrar, Academic Insight, and Instiutional Research. These groups have been meeting regularly throughout the past semester and will continue to do so for the next few semesters. To learn more about the committee membership and meeting schedules, please visit our website.

We also would like to thank the faculty, staff, and students who attended (or will attend) one of the Core Curriculum Listening Sessions. You have shared some great thoughts and perspectives on the coursework, the implementation of the core curriculum, and the connections between the core and your major degree programs. Your passion for student learning and the Auburn experience is evident, and we are striving to ensure that it comes through in our assessment materials. We really appreciate your willingness to share your time and thoughts with us to help improve our student experience. We will continue to offer listening sessions throughout the Spring 2026 semester, including drop-by tables on the Concourse and visits with departments, colleges, or any other groups. If you are interested in having members of the steering committee conduct a listening session with your department, college, or interdisciplinary cluster please reach out to Chase or Jeff.

The committees have been talking with faculty, students and staff across campus and are collecting a variety of information and data. The advisory group has constituted subcommittees around six main organizing questions:

  • What are the Core Curriculum requirements and what are their history?

  • What are Auburn’s General Learning Outcomes and Student Learning Outcomes and how do we assess them?

  • How does Auburn navigate Core Courses completed elsewhere?

  • What are other academic institutions doing with their core curricula?

  • What are we hearing from the Listening Sessions and what common threads can we start to identify?

  • What layers of infrastructure does Auburn have to support the core and in what specific contexts does the core exist within at Auburn?

While there is still much more to do, our work so far has yielded some meaningful insights. For example, it is clear that the Core is connected to every department on campus even if they do not teach courses under this banner. Core coursework supports students as they head into each major, so it is critical that it provides the appropriate skills and knowledge for a wide range of majors. We also have heard how the Core can act as an engaging gateway for students transferring into Auburn even as students sometimes have challenges navigating this process.

Thank you again for all your support and enthusiasm as we continue to work together to reconfirm our goal of providing a student-centered Auburn experience. As this is such a faculty, staff and student-focused effort, we encourage everyone to reach out with your thoughts and ideas at any time. We look forward to sharing our findings with you all in the coming semesters!

Sincerely,

Jeff and Chase