During almost every meeting since spring 2015, faculty members have been discussing ways to improve the Quest general education program. Those discussions have resulted in the elimination of linked courses.

Quest Program Chair Carrie Coward Bucher said Faculty Senate has just improved upon an already strong program.

“It is a good program, and I think the changes that we made have made it as good a program as it always has been, but we took away some of the elements that were unnecessarily taxing for students,” she said.

Most of the “unnecessarily taxing” elements have been associated with linked courses. Because the “linked” aspect of Quest has been eliminated, those courses will now be called exploration courses. That means students can take their required exploration courses whenever they want, as long as it is before graduation. This change is effective immediately.

For example, under the old system, a student had to take a Quest class covering ideas and expression along with a related linked course during the same semester. With the changes approved by Faculty Senate, students still have to take both classes, but not in the same semester.

Current students may be able to use previous courses, no matter where they were taken, to fulfill the requirement of an exploration course. In an email to academic advisors, Bucher gave one sample scenario for QS311: “As an example, a current junior who is slated to take QS311 this fall may have taken EC111 in their sophomore year. That student has fulfilled the ‘linked’ requirement and need only take QS311.”

Junior Logan Pope transferred from Baker last year and transferred back this year because she missed Baker. Because she is a double-major, she says the linked requirement caused her to fall behind.

“As of right now, I have to be here an extra year,” Pope said. “Being able to take my remaining Quest and linked courses at different times will hopefully allow some wiggle room with the rest of the courses that I have to take for my majors. And the fact that they will not be directly connected is a lot less stressful.”

Pope thinks that these new changes to Quest are helpful for students in her situation.

“I think the new changes will be a good thing,” she said. “It’s stressful trying to schedule all of your classes for each semester around Quest plus the link. Being able to take them during different semesters will leave room for major requirements and will reduce course conflicts.”

Junior Emily Elliot is also a transfer student and believes that the new change is a step in the right direction.

“As a transfer student I have found the Quest program frustrating at best,” Elliot said. “I haven’t felt that link classes actually linked well with either of my Quest classes so far, and I just haven’t seen the point. Not having to link them up in the semester is great for added flexibility in scheduling. I hope this leads to more positive changes and updates.”

Bucher thinks that these changes reflect the effort made by engaged faculty in the best interest of students.

“One of the things I love about Baker is that we have an engaged faculty, and we have worked really hard and put in a lot of effort,” Bucher said. “A committee of faculty worked over the summer—those are people who care about students’ best interests. I am glad that I work in a place where people are so invested. I think the changes that we made help students. They are transfer-friendly. They take away some of the stress. To me it is sort of a win-win.”