BELL Core Curriculum Revised
Starting in the fall of 2027, Belmont students will no longer be required to take Interdisciplinary Learning Communities or wellness classes.
“I think wisdom is obviously the center of everything we do... I do think we focus on the importance of character and the idea of finding purpose and meaning, and I think we can do even better. And I hope that this curriculum does that,” said Dr. Amy Hodges Hamilton, director of undergraduate core curriculum.
Faculty Senate officially voted these changes into full effect at its meeting on Monday. The Vision requested access to this meeting in advance, but the request was denied.
While ILCs and wellness classes will still be offered, they will no longer be required. Rather than an activity class, the university will integrate holistic wellness into the First Year Foundations courses, previously First-Year Seminar, through structured WELL Core programming.
Some students disagree with the removal of a physical wellness class requirement.
“I think that having to do physical wellness is important. I didn’t particularly like it, but I think it’s important,” said junior Dominic Deshotel.
Freshman Jules Dekock agrees. “I’m in a health and fitness class, and that helps me stay in shape,” he said.
However, others believe cutting these classes can be helpful.
“I think it would save a lot of students a lot of stress and time management,” said senior Emily Tovey.
Another change in the curriculum is the removal of Path A and Path B options for religion courses. Instead, all students will take “Encountering the Bible” and “God and the Good Life” to count for first-year religion and third-year religion credits.
Third-year writing will become second-year writing and will include an emphasis on the role of AI in academia. It seeks to position writing as "a bridge between foundational first-year experiences and upper-division coursework," said Hodges Hamilton.
Many incoming freshmen already have a first-year writing credit on their transcript, and junior year is too long to wait for this instruction, she said.
Instead of oral communications, students will take a course called “Speaking and Listening,” which will include elements of dialogue and debate with those who have different opinions.
Another key change is that First-Year Seminar will become First Year Foundations, emphasizing belonging and student resources in addition to discussion-based study.
“The catalog description is that it will introduce students to the purpose of higher education and to Belmont's whole person approach to students' academic education,” said Hodges Hamilton. “We want students to really think about how learning and well-being and community life are intentionally connected.”
Over the past 15 months, as Hodges Hamilton and her task force developed changes, they held over 150 meetings with people across Belmont’s campus to understand what needed to be modified.
Overall, Hodges Hamilton’s goal for the BELL Core curriculum is for students to foster a lifelong love of learning and understand how to apply it to their future, even for classes that aren’t related to their major.
“I really do want students to just be able to go out and live what they learn, and so that's the tagline for the whole curriculum,” said Hodges Hamilton. “I want it to go out from the head to the heart to the hands. So, live what you learn. Don't just keep it up here.”
Written by Olivia Abernathy and Emma Walsh
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