After speaking with the various deans and division heads, it was clear that Holy Cross didn’t want a a Communication Major focused on the sociological study of human communication because we couldn’t support a major of that nature. Nor did the college have the resources to develop a Communication Major focused on multimedia production for those interested in journalism, film, and television. Essentially, Holy Cross wanted a major that would prepare students to work in marketing, social media management, business communication, written journalism—all those roles in the world where people do a lot of writing but aren’t “writers.” Looking at our course offerings, I realized that we could develop exactly that sort of major without a Communication Department. Instead of “Communication” classes, students could take English, Art, Psychology, Business, and Theology classes to learn about communication through written and visual mediums, the ways in which humans communicate interpersonally and organizationally, and the larger ideological issues involved in communication.
Since our “Communication Department” involved 5-6 adjuncts teaching 10 sections a term and no full-time faculty, this redesign of the major would have significant academic and financial benefits. First and foremost, using courses from other disciplines would mean that full-time faculty were teaching the majority of classes within the major, which should lead to a higher level expertise and a stronger commitment to the vision of the college. By embodying the interdisciplinary nature of the liberal arts, the redesign would also equip students to engage the world on a variety of levels. After completing the new major, students should be able to design and execute a communication strategy that is effective and literate, while being able to understand and discuss the theological values and potential issues of such a strategy. And, because the redesign would help better fill seats in courses already being offered, while eliminating 10 sections of Communication Classes a term, the net savings would easily exceed $50K per year.
After a bit work developing the right balance of courses, the new “Communication Track” to the English Major was unanimously approved in August 2018. The robust interdisciplinary nature of this track is already a hit with students, who find that it answers their desire to study literature, film, and writing while preparing them for post-graduation work. Even Business students are taking note of this new option because they realize that the unique nature of this track within the English major will help them distinguish themselves from all the other freshly-minted BAs in Business upon graduation.
Moving forward this sort of interdisciplinary resource use can offer greater flexibility for students and better resource use for institutions. Rather than having one-size-fits-all majors, interdisciplinary tracks within traditional majors create tailored programs for the real world without developing new courses or investing in new resources. While there might be a “Communication Track” within English, there could also be education or business tracks within theology to prepare students for the real world of managing a church or working as a children’s pastor. Business tracks in History could help students meet the needs of organizations working in specific contexts where the past matters to present programs, a psychology track in Information Technology or Computer Science could help students better manage the IT teams and understand users’ needs. An IT track in fine arts might help students integrate their love of art with emerging technologies to make our digital world more beautiful. Programs like these all help students turn their liberal arts education outward, toward the real world of work, equipping them to better serve the world (and making them more employable in the process).
grace & peace,
Summer, 2018
Follow me @