"Our goal is to help students become active learners who seek to make a difference in the world..."
What is IBC?
Issues Based Curriculum (IBC) is a creative, yet practical approach to infusing critical thinking skills across the curriculum. Through IBC, students examine the implications of local and global problems through their particular discipline. Our goal is to help students become active learners who seek to make a difference in the world and are equipped to do so through their preparation at MACU.
Why does it make us unique?
IBC helps students take the theoretical framework of their academic discipline and apply it to actual issues in the world. This approach to teaching and learning helps MACU stand out as a place where students can do something with their dream to change the world. Students who value people and earnestly want to make a difference will find a place to fit and flourish at MACU.
What does it mean for you to be exposed to IBC?
Exposure to IBC means that students will have an expanded world view. This approach helps students answer the question, “what can I do with my passion and knowledge?” We believe that students want to be a part of something greater but knowledge alone will not lead there. IBC is the vehicle through which we expose students to the role they can play in creating a better world. We believe that this is their calling. We love being able to help them put their dreams and calling to work and see them make a lasting difference.
College of Adult and Graduate Studies
"..and Ethics"
Perhaps an analogy would be helpful. Just like all of us need to learn critical thinking skills and communications skills, and we would probably all agree that there cannot be too much customer service training — just think of the most recent poor experience you had — we cannot be "too ethical." Also, we may think we are a good thinker, we communicate well or we know customer service, but, for me, whenever I am involved in a seminar or read a good book in one of these areas, I pick up another nugget that enhances my understanding and hopefully my approach to these critically important areas of life. This is true with ethics as well and our desire at MACU is to put ethics in the forefront of all of our programs for these reasons, but there is more!
Employers place an extremely high value on ethics in the workplace and in the marketplace. As prospective employees interview, anything that demonstrates or indicates that the candidate understands ethics will help distinguish them from other candidates. Given an employee with wonderful expertise in a given area — may even have significant experience — but without the understanding of the value ethics, many employers would rather train someone with less experience who is well versed in the value of integrity; the importance of honesty and how ethical behavior plays out in a work environment.
"...ethics is woven into the very fabric of each program."
This ethics component is a distinctive of the programs in the College of Adult and Graduate Studies at Mid-America Christian University. It is not an add-on course, but rather ethics is woven into the very fabric of each program. It is integrated by the types of questions that are asked and embedded in discussion threads. This intentional distinctive is a core value of our programs and feedback indicates that this value-added is being recognized. A recent anecdotal story from our Criminal Justice Program indicated that after one of our alums was hired, the employer indicated that they were seeking individuals from MACU because of the additional dimension that the ethics component brought to a MACU graduate.
