Future of ABCS courses discussed at Summit

Students, faculty, admins want to integrate more community service in curriculum

Some Penn students take classes in Fisher-Bennett Hall or David Rittenhouse Labs.

Others head to Philadelphia public schools or community centers to participate in Academically Based Community Service Courses that teach "problem-solving learning."

At yesterday's fifth-annual ABCS Summit, students, faculty and administrators gathered in Logan Hall to discuss the future of ABCS courses at Penn and possibilities for integrating them further into the curriculum.

According to Jason Min, coordinator for the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, the idea behind these courses is that volunteer work can complement coursework.

But currently, students wishing to take ABCS courses face some dilemmas.

Most ABCS courses are best suited for students majoring in Urban Studies or Sociology or minoring in Urban Education. Other students have difficulty receiving anything other than elective credit, said College sophomore Chi-Chi Achebe, who spoke at the Summit.

Often faculty are not inclined to grant credit for courses they consider less "academically linked," said Min.

To that end, one of the goals of yesterday's Summit was to find ways in which existing ABCS courses relate to one another, explained Netter Center associate director Cory Bowman. These relationships create the potential for new minors - like the Urban Education, Urban Music and Jazz minors, which were created to incorporate more service-based learning into the curriculum.

Summit attendees also examined existing majors and minors for possibilities for new ABCS courses.

"We're working across departments, disciplines and schools to explore ways to create problem-solving collaborations," said Bowman. Specifically, they are examining five areas: the role that arts and culture play in improving education, health and nutrition, education and schooling, the environment and STEM - science, technology, engineering and math.

The Dean's Advisory Board has drafted a proposal for a Civic Engagement Minor, which would require two ABCS courses. However, College junior and chairman of the DAB Student Initiative Committee Jon Kole said that, if created, the minor would not be available any earlier than fall 2009.

Achebe said she would also like to see ABCS integrated into more of Penn's schools.

The School of Dental Medicine has made ABCS part of its core curriculum, and both the Graduate School of Education and School of Medicine offer ABCS courses.

At the undergraduate level, courses are only readily available in the College and the School of Nursing, though Penn President Amy Gutmann said she expects that recently appointed Wharton Dean Thomas Robertson will help incorporate service learning into Wharton.

"It is very important for Penn to show that faculty and students alike can make a difference in our community," she said.