Foundations 2 (F2), a required first-year course, is officially being discontinued. The course was designed to give first-year students a class focused on diversity’s role in America and reinforce Simpson College’s mission of inclusion and justice. Furthermore, it was an opportunity to connect the first-year experience and Simpson’s core mission courses (local studies, global studies, ethics and more). The course will be phased out by Spring 2027.

Kedron Bardwell, professor of political science and director of foundations, helped come to this decision after finding that students rated the course poorly in evaluations, staffing issues and other factors that contributed.
“Also, some students of color felt isolated in F2 or felt as if they were being asked to teach classmates their lived experiences tied to race. That is problematic,” Bardwell said. “On the faculty side, an issue in F2 was that teaching a non-disciplinary course like F2 is harder than teaching a class with diversity content embedded in a field or topic students have chosen to learn about due to interest. Also, few faculty have credentials (a master’s or other degree or even a certificate) in this field, and so did not feel qualified to teach diversity and justice issues well.”

To make this decision, Bardwell worked with multiple departments and faculty who taught the course. “I read every course evaluation and comment. Along the way, I gathered feedback from key staff members like Keyah Levy and Tayler Keitzer, who interacted with students about concerns with F2,” Bardwell said. “After making a few changes to the class in response to those concerns (in terms of how we placed students, how faculty got trained and more), those changes didn’t move the needle in a positive direction. After seeing this, I brought together smaller groups of faculty who had successfully taught diversity courses (and writing) to see what a proposal might look like to phase out F2 and concentrate diversity or writing efforts in other Core courses.”

With Foundations 2 being phased out, first-year students in fall 2026 will only have to take Foundations 1. The fall course will have a brief touchpoint with diversity and belonging but will mainly focus on civic engagement and well-being. An important part of the Foundations 2 curriculum is writing-intensive.
“So when F2 goes away, those students will get their second hit with writing (focusing on research, sources and writing for revision) in a new Simpson Core class called Writing Reinforcement (or WR),” Bardwell said. “Those writing courses will be taught by faculty across several disciplines with a set of common goals for the writing skills to be developed, building on what students do in the fall Foundations.”

Brian Steffen, a multimedia communication professor and previous Foundations 2 professor, reflected on the importance of the course.
“The core purpose of Foundations 2 was to introduce students to some of the core values. The core values are not just words that we put in a mission statement and everybody forgets, but that we actually teach to them,” Steffen said. “You will work in a diverse, equitable and inclusive world. Wouldn’t it be nice to actually know something about it before you enter that world?”

Sophomore Gracie Clark, a first-year student SC leader, shared her perspective on the discontinuation of Foundations 2.
“I think it’s kind of nice to get rid of it. However, the foundations classes are really where you build the first friendships you have at college because those are the people you’re with every single day, and you’re with during welcome week,” Clark said. “I think getting rid of Foundations 2 is definitely going to, like, remove part of the aspect of having friends and being able to make friends because you’re all going through the same thing together.”

First-year student Harley Andrews shared her experience in the class this semester.
“Honestly, it’s kind of a waste of my time because I took composition one and two in high school, so I already knew the concepts that I am being taught, but I enjoyed the research aspect,” Andrews said. “We’re doing a whole thing on non-dominance, where the effect of a non-dominant trait on, like anything. So, I’m doing the effects of being a woman in a STEM field. I just liked the research because I can reflect on it, like, ‘You know what, that does make a lot of sense.’ And I love my paper.”
With Foundations 2 being discontinued, Simpson is entering a new chapter in its first-year curriculum approach. While the course sparked different opinions over the years, it played a key role in shaping students’ engagement. As the college continues to adapt, the focus remains on creating meaningful learning experiences for students moving forward.
“We’re not backing down to any threats. We’re not backing down to any laws. We’re not backing down to Trump. We will still be teaching diversity, equity and inclusion, and we’re going to do it really well, and 99% of students, once they actually do it, will realize that the propaganda is just that, propaganda that is designed to keep America and Americans from thinking about the nation’s legacy of discrimination, racism, sexism and homophobia,” Steffen said.