What are Complex Problem Exploration courses, or CPEs?  

CPE courses are a part of the new Goucher Common Requirements for incoming students. These classes will replace traditional LERs with interdisciplinary, inquiry-based courses where students will engage in collaborative projects aimed at tackling real world problems.

Each CPE course will take shape around a specific problem. The trajectory of each course will evolve and develop throughout the semester in response to student curiosity. After establishing a foundation of disciplinary methodologies and frameworks, student projects will begin in the first weeks of the course. For the rest of semester, the classroom will serve as a platform for collaborative inquiry. Students will encounter with questions including: how to skillfully identify a problem, how to meaningfully ask questions about a problem, and how to learn, across disciplines, what one needs to know in order to engage the problem in sophisticated ways.

A working group met through Spring 2017 to draft the CPE Course Guidelines. If you’re interested in building a CPE Course, contact us for support. CAST offers an annual CPE Summer Institute to help faculty build these courses from scratch. See the program and resources for 2017 the CPE Summer Institute here .