Taking gen eds that seem useless could be a thing of the past with the Plan One program.

More than a year old, Plan One is an approach to general education courses that coordinate classes by various themes, allowing students to enjoy their classes and learn more, said Arthur Doederlein, director of undergraduate studies for the Communication Department.

“A richer experience is what we’re really talking about — for the teachers and the students,” he said.

Any student can enroll in Plan One courses without being enrolled in the entire program. The idea started at NIU with Frederick Kitterle, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Harold Kafer, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

The program is similar to FIGs, or Focused Interest Groups, but students have the option of extending the classes over more than one semester, Kitterle said.

Such an extension is helpful for visual and performing arts students, who must take more hours in their major each semester than students in other majors and can’t always take three general education classes in one semester, he added.

The Plan One cluster themes include beauty, civilization and community, as well as science, society and culture. A student enrolled in one of the clusters would have aspects of the theme in each of their courses. Some new ideas for cluster themes include environmental issues, ethics and a cluster designed for education majors.

“It helps students to see how ideas are connected, how different disciplines interrelate and how critical ideas are expressed in different disciplines,” Kitterle said.

Theme ideas are always welcome, Doederlein said.

The connections students form in Plan One teach them critical thinking skills that are useful after graduation, Kitterle said. He added that students in the program tend to be more involved in their classes, and student retention rates are higher because they feel connected with the university.

Doederlein said the program was a way to bring a small, private school experience to the larger university setting.

“A public school, by definition, is going to have larger classes, and it’s more impersonal,” he said. “When you compare it to a private liberal arts college, you see this thematic element built into it automatically. We’re thinking this is a way to bring it to Northern without it costing more money.” The program, which involves 20 faculty and staff, helps forge connections between colleagues of various disciplines, he added.

Though students can fulfill requirements the traditional way, program planners hope most students eventually will take general education classes in thematic clusters, Doederlein said.

Plan One courses are identified in the “comments” column following the course number in the Schedule of Classes catalogue each semester.