With the fall semester now underway, questions regarding the implementation of a new curriculum starting with the Class of 2016 have finally been answered.

The first change many have noticed is the smaller course load, which has been reduced from five courses in the previous curriculum to four.

“The curriculum is now based on the fulfillment of ‘learning outcomes,’” says Meoghan Cronin, English professor and Director of College Writing. “All courses are now worth four credits each, with 180 hours of class time per course.”

These “learning outcomes” are areas of learning that the college finds crucial for students to grasp. Each student must take a certain number of courses to complete ten core learning outcomes, which include Historical Awareness, Aesthetic & Creative Engagement and Quantitative Reasoning.

All courses have been designated an outcome which they have been considered to adequately fulfill, and therefore students choose from a number of various courses in each category of learning outcomes during registration.

Cronin also added that because freshman English has been reduced from a full year to a semester, students must take three writing intensive courses in various fields.

However, one of the larger developments is the replacement of humanities with “Conversatio.” a one-year-long program for freshmen.

Eric Berry, Biology professor and Director of the Core Curriculum, says that “Conversatio means ‘faithfulness to a way of life,’ focusing strongly on teaching the academic life at Saint Anselm.”

Serving as an “orientation to the college,” as Berry describes it, Conversatio is designed to teach freshmen students about Catholic Benedictine learning traditions which the college values so highly, reading and analyzing texts by such figures as Saints Anselm and Saint Benedict.

In addition to having regularly scheduled seminars and lectures, students are also engaged outside of the classroom. During the first semester, students are given a tour of the monastery, attending a panel of monks afterwards.

Berry believes it is important for students to understand what is expected of them academically early on in their college life, and Conversatio fulfills that priority with the figures and concepts explored throughout the year.

“The first semester focuses primarily on the understanding of liberal arts and the mission of the college,” says Berry. “The second semester focuses on three sections; politics & rhetoric, science & society and beauty & art.”

By concentrating on these areas, he believes students will continue to receive the well-rounded education associated with liberal arts education, as well as a further awareness of the world.