Institution: Tidewater Community College

Location: Norfolk, VA

Tuner: William Paquette

Year: 2014

Proposal for Associate of Science in Social Sciences:
History Specialization

Tidewater Community College was awarded a Tuning Project Grant by the American Historical Association and the Lumina Foundation. The aim of this grant, a three-year nationwide project, is to reorient post-secondary history teaching toward a more intentional and articulated focus on student skills and understanding and to deepen faculty members' professional engagement with communities beyond the campus. Participating faculty members are to propagate these core elements in two directions: inward, by aligning their own program requirements, courses, syllabi, and individual assignments; and outward, by promoting the value of our students' education in terms of personal development, civic engagement, and career potential,

While a few area four-year colleges and universities were also recipients of the Tuning Project Grant, to include Norfolk State University, Virginia Wesleyan College, and Elizabeth City State University, Tidewater Community College is the only community college awarded this grant. TCC faculty have been engaged with faculty of the area college and university recipients to ensure that selected courses as part of the history specialization will transfer. Further, if the specialization is approved, the college will develop program to program articulation agreements with these colleges and universities to promote the transfer success of program graduates. Through intentionally designed curricula and agreements, from the A.S. level to the baccalaureate and potentially beyond, students desiring to transfer should face greater ease. Further, it is expected that graduates of this program will have greater civic engagement, thus increasing their career potential.

The addition of the history specialization will not impact the college's regional accreditation. Further, it will not require additional funding.

This proposal requires the following curriculum changes to the A.S. degree in Social Sciences:

• Specification of approved History Electives in Semesters One and Two will no longer allow for HIS 101 and HIS 102.
• Replacement of Social Science Elective in Semester Three with a History Elective (HIS 111, 112, 121, and 122).
• Replacement of Approved Elective in Semester Four with a History Elective (HIS 111, 112, 121, and 122).
• Replacement of Approved Elective in Semester Four with option of HIS 141 or HIS 281.
• Footnote number four for the courses that can be used as Approved Electives to include the following statement: "History 290 (Coordinated Internship in History) is strongly recommended."