Section One Navigation

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1d. Objectives of the degree-major program.

The objective is to create a Bachelor of Arts that allows SFSU, SDSU, and CSU, Chico students to major in Modern Jewish Studies. The courses will be taught in residence at SFSU, SDSU, and CSU, Chico and will be supplemented by a variety of distance-learning modalities, including the use of the CODEC (compressed video system), streaming video, computer online classes, and statewide seminars.

Each campus will offer the core of the B.A. at its own site and will then supplement its program with the variety of CSU-wide faculty resources to add depth and scholarly complexity. This cooperation will enable our students to take advantage of the gifted interdisciplinary faculty who teach the multiple aspects of Jewish Studies from a variety of disciplines.

It is our intention to create a statewide undergraduate major in Modern Jewish Studies that will utilize the diverse range of academic resources already available in the CSU. It is our objective to collaborate in seeking funding, to share course offerings that are particular to individual campuses, to maximize student demand by offering classes system-wide, and to allow access to students isolated by distance or personal adverse circumstances from being able to attend a particular class.

There are several compelling reasons for a system-wide major. In the CSU there are five Jewish Studies minors in existence, with a sixth in the process of being created. Attendance in classes at all of the campuses is strong, but a far smaller number of students at each campus are attracted to the minor programs. This is logical for many reasons. Completion of a minor adds time to a student's B.A. program and often complicates his or her schedule; minors are not mandatory and often students do not see a connection between a minor and the next step in their academic or professional careers. However, since there are currently no California State Universities where one can major in Jewish Studies, a major would draw from a larger number of students. We understand that we might not attract large numbers at each campus to our major. However, taken as a whole, we anticipate a substantial number of students will major in Modern Jewish Studies.

We raise support for Modern Jewish Studies externally, from private and public funding sources. Hence, we turn to the question: how then can we grow without competing for scarce resources at each campus? By pooling courses, students, and academic resources such as faculty and other support facilities, we can, as an aggregate group, have the critical mass of students and courses that we need. Through judicious use of on-campus and distance courses we can provide a wide, varied, and integrated program for students interested in Modern Jewish Studies. We believe that a statewide program will allow for national academic credibility that will attract potential supporters and/or donors. In this way, we hope to use the challenges we have encountered in teaching Jewish Studies and transform them into great assets for the program's growth.

Our programs are largely funded with the support of our community. This is a relationship that we value highly. Our donors will be attracted by our efforts to collaborate, and they will be supportive. By working together, we can reach a wide audience that has had difficulty gaining access to higher education. Further, we know that creating the largest university cooperative program in the United States will attract support and funding that has not been forthcoming in the past. This level of cooperation marks our maturity as a statewide and national presence in the field.