Baker students now have more options for completing the Quest 411 requirement starting in the Fall 2019 semester. This change comes after various courses were approved to count towards this requirement of the Quest program.

The process for making this change began with defining the course outcomes of Quest 411 in order allow departmental courses to be formed in a way that would satisfy the outcomes of Quest 411. If a department has a course that they think meets the learning objectives of Quest 411, they can submit the course to be reviewed.

Ruth Miller, Baker University Registrar, said the change allows courses to be counted as “equivalents but are not substitutions for Quest 411.” Equivalency courses must meet the criteria used for Quest 411, including, a substantial written paper and presentation, ethical discussions, a reflection on student development and independent student research.

“Essentially what we are doing is taking the Quest 411 shell and saying “alright if you want to fill that with the traditional Quest 411 course then you can do that, or you can do a departmental course,” Tony Brown, Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Quest Program, said

Brown said that the goal of this change is to allow a senior level capstone class that is specific to a student’s major. This allows students to complete a capstone course that is specific to their major and complete a culminating project for their area of study.

“It also allows professors from different disciplines to be more involved in the Quest program”, Brown said, “and it allows me to involve them more. They may not have wanted to teach Quest 111 or 112 but they would like to teach their department course.”

Students are only able to take the departmental equivalents of Quest 411 if they have complete the prerequisites set within that department, as well as, Quest 311.

Majors that currently do not offer a course that qualifies for the Quest 411 requirement are able to develop a course and submit it for approval. Existing courses may also be submitted for approval but may require adjustments to meet all of the Quest 411 criteria. Existing courses will only count towards the Quest 411 requirement after their approval, not retroactively. The existing Quest 411 course is still being offered.

The courses that have been approved by faculty senate to count towards Quest 411 are:

• BS450 Data Projects
• ED440 Pre-Student Teaching Seminar for Elementary Majors
• ED460 Pre-Student Teaching Seminar for Secondary/Mid-level Education Majors, EX411 Vital Issues in Lifestyle Medicine
• MM476 Senior Seminar in Mass Media
• PY411 Contemporary Issues in Psychology