A SYSTEMS MODEL FOR CURRICULUM DECISION MAKING

Recent national studies have recommended curriculum revitalization for the baccalaureate degree, with particular emphasis on the development of a coherent general education experience. Often, students complete the bachelor's degree later in life, attending part‐time while working and by taking courses at more than one college. In many cases, this truncated baccalaureate experience includes registration at a community college and a baccalaureate degree granting institution. In the face of these changing participation patterns institutional curriculum planners need a curriculum decision making model which includes environmental characteristics and institutional response variables in the curriculum development process. By employing the model proposed in this paper, the role of the community college and other transferring institutions in the formation of the baccalaureate degree experience may emerge.