Old Westbury, NY – New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) has begun its 2010-2011 academic year by implementing a new "Discovery Core Curriculum for the 21st Century" for all incoming freshmen.

NYIT's core curriculum—created to provide students with an outcomes-oriented education that will prepare them for today's workforce—utilizes a progressive approach that allows students to master core competencies throughout their undergraduate career. It focuses on specific foundations that are necessary for success in every profession. These foundations were built from a set of learning outcomes that guide the development of each course, including skills in communications, critical and analytical thinking, an interdisciplinary mindset, ethical and civic engagement, a global perspective, and knowledge of the arts and sciences. The new curriculum is focused on introducing and fostering these overall skills so that students are able to meet the critical needs of their future employers.

"In order for students to be able to advance in their careers, they need to be confident in areas beyond their professional expertise," said Nicholas Bloom, Ph.D., director of the core curriculum and chair of the interdisciplinary studies department at NYIT. "They have to be able to demonstrate that they can find new information, organize it, write about it, speak about it, and sell it to other people."

All programs at NYIT are charged with incorporating learning outcomes into their courses to complement the technology-driven education NYIT has always offered. With this new focus on the rapidly changing qualifications of the job market, students will graduate with the skills related to their chosen fields as well as the necessary professional skills and abilities to adapt to new developments, technologies, and practices that will allow them to advance.

"The new core curriculum is an outcome of a collaborative effort among many faculty members from all schools and colleges of NYIT, including faculty at our global campuses," said Roger Yu, dean of NYIT's College of Arts and Sciences. "It signifies a coherent educational goal for all undergraduate students from all disciplines. The new core is a reflection of 21st-century global higher education, and it stands as another major milestone for NYIT."

See more information about NYIT's new core curriculum.

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About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 15,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 85,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

Briana Samuels
Communications Specialist
516.686.1354