The new PATH class curriculum at EMU illuminates the school’s vision; what does this mean for first-year and transfer students? Below is added context from key figures in the creation of this curriculum and information from EMU’s resources to understand what the curriculum is supposed to drive in the future of the school.
What was the inspiration for this class? Key figure in PATH’s creation and Professor of Religious Studies, Dr. Heike Peckruhn states: “Have a course that helps with several things that new students might experience when starting college: having a place to have questions about ‘how-to-college’ answered, and low-stake environment to get to know faculty and other students and getting oriented to EMU, have a place where students can practice being in conversations with others that might think and see the world differently.”
She further explains the EMU value & meaning structure, and the goal of the program to enrich general education for students: “We also go over four EMU Core Values (Environmental Sustainability, Faith & Meaning, Intercultural Understanding, Power & Equity) that each student will encounter in their classes at some point, and repeatedly. This class helps [in] becoming familiar with what we at EMU actually understand with those Core Values that shape how we do the General Education part, and having an early, fun, and personal entry point for that is a good idea.”
PATH 103 students recently attended an assembly to talk about the PATH curriculum and how it relates to the new academic pathways. At the assembly, professors explained the class functions as a way to help students find a way to make general education courses more palatable and have more meaning for students, by directing them towards a pathway of study (Communication, Culture, and Creative Expression; Technology, Ethics, and Society; Leadership for Justice and Social Change; Global Justice). The introduction of pathways was pioneered by using past years of HEDS (Higher Education Data Sharing) survey data in which students suggested that they were looking for more meaningful classes outside of their major. The direction EMU is taking PATH is to enrich the general education courses, tie them together into one of these pathway themes and introduce new courses and opportunities for students, and to prepare them with a toolkit for their future careers and lives after college. As the syllabus states: “the course orients you for a successful academic and adulting experience – that is, a strong education, a better understanding of your identity and your place in the world, and a life-long appreciation of the power and importance of big questions and deep connections.”
In an interview with Dr. Daniel Showalter, Professor of Math & Computer Science, PATH 103 professor, he illuminated the nature of what the pathways program is meant to provide to students: “Almost every student here will be a double major.” Showalter reiterates though, that “it won’t be too much larger of a credit load.” In the conversation, he explained that each student (with exceptions) will have their content major and then a pathway (value) major which fits into one of the EMU pathways, and the “meaning-making” this pathway provides will be a boon to students for future employment or career assessment opportunities. The PATH 103 course builds a bridge to the pathways that exemplify EMU’s value system; through the pathways EMU curriculum, students can find meaning and community through whichever pathway they find themselves falling into line with.
References:
“Pathways.” Emu.Edu, 2026, https://emu.edu/academics/pathways.
