The recent creation of the Carey Business School and
the School of
Education has resulted in some administrative and
academic changes that have impacted students previously
enrolled in the School of Professional Studies in Business
and Education.
One such change is the planned phase-out of the
Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies program, a
decision that has created some consternation and confusion
among students currently enrolled in the liberal arts
undergraduate program that has been placed temporarily in
the Carey Business School.
In response to concerns, the Carey Business School's
Department of Undergraduate Studies sent a letter on Jan.
12 to affected students to inform them how the phase-out
would be administered and what their options were. The
letter is also published on its Web site.
In addition, the school has scheduled for Friday, Jan.
26, a town hall meeting where students can direct questions
and concerns to members of the Undergraduate Department
staff and to Pam Cranston, the interim dean of the Carey
Business School. The meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.
in 3 Shaffer Hall on the Homewood campus.
The Carey Business School and the School of Education
both began operations on Jan. 1, building new and
distinctive programs on the foundation created by the now
defunct School of Professional Studies in Business and
Education.
The 120-credit Bachelor of Science in
Interdisciplinary Studies program, previously housed in
SPSBE, offered studies in three concentrations: general
studies, social sciences and communications.
The current plan is to offer a full schedule of
interdisciplinary studies courses through the 2007-2008
academic year and to discontinue them on May 31, 2008.
Cranston said that the school is committed to working
with students in the Interdisciplinary Studies program to
help them achieve their educational goals. All students
registered in the program have been asked to schedule a
one-on-one meeting with an adviser to chart where the
student is and what he or she needs to do between now and
when the program is phased out.
"There's no simple solution that fits every student.
The solution has to be customized, and that is what we are
committed to doing," Cranston said. "It's unfortunate that
students are being put in this position, but we are being
as flexible as we can possibly be in order to provide the
opportunity for students to complete their programs."
Cranston said that students also have the option of
transferring credits to the Carey Business School's other
undergraduate programs: the Bachelor of Science in Business
and Management and the Bachelor of Science in Information
Systems. Both of these programs will continue to exist but
strictly as upper-level programs for those on a degree
track.
All of the Carey Business School's lower-level
undergraduate courses (100 and 200 level) will be
discontinued in May 2008. Those students interested in
applying for the Bachelor of Science in Business and
Management and the Bachelor of Science in Information
Systems must have 60 college credits as of May 2008, along
with meeting any other admission requirements.
Still other students may be close enough to completion
of the Interdisciplinary Studies degree, Cranston said, to
be able to take some courses at other universities and
transfer the credits to JHU.
"We will be very flexible in helping students," she
said. "When new majors are created, it is always hoped that
they will be successful, students will be satisfied, and
they will last forever. Unfortunately, this is not always
the case. Nonetheless, we have an obligation to work with
matriculated students to enable them — as best we can
— to complete their major program, and that's what we
are doing."
For more information, go to:
undergraduate.jhu.edu/newsroom/announcement.cfm.
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