Starting in Fall 2026, Rollins will be making substantial changes to its central general education curriculum, introducing RFLA 3.0 as the brand-new version of the Rollins Foundations in the Liberal Arts program. According to Director of RFLA Sarah Parsloe Ph.D., “The new program is made to enhance students’ multidimensional learning and problem solving while contributing [to] departments’ considerable pliability.” The change was approved by faculty back in March 2025, and Parsloe says the new format seeks to “maintain the integrity of the liberal arts while easing staffing burdens and expanding student choice.”
Expanding on the Liberal Arts Heritage
According to the faculty meeting that occurred on Oct. 2, 2025, the plan of action carries on highlighting three crucial abilities:
- Critical thinking in 200-Level CASH courses
- Information literacy in RFLA 100 courses
- Integrative learning in the capstone RFLA300 course
The program will still implement national guidelines made by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), which records that it “offers a proven methodology for applying the VALUE rubrics to evaluate student performance reliably and verifiably across 16 broad, cross-cutting learning outcomes.”
Why Alter the Program?
According to Parsloe, “There were challenges for departments to give enough courses with the original version of RFLA, as well as fewer choices for students at Rollins to pick from. With the new RFLA 3.0, departments have flexibility in altering and adding classes to meet programs’ objectives.” Students at Rollins will have more options, the sizing of classrooms will be more balanced, and scheduling will become less complicated.
Comprehending “CASH”
CASH is broken up into four approaches to studying, with each letter of CASH standing for one of these approaches: “C” for social sciences, “A” for expressive arts, “S” for science, and “H” for humanities. According to Parsloe, “Each Stands for different perspectives on how to view the world.”
In RFLA 3.0, students can fulfill CASH requirements with courses on any level, not limited to 200 class levels. Each course will convey one CASH nomination. One example of this could be a course that falls into communications, which might be within the label of C for culture, while psychology might go toward S for social.
At the faculty meeting, Parsloe stated that faculty are being invited to “teach and assess critical thinking while showing how their discipline approaches knowledge.”
How Staff is Getting Ready
According to Parsloe, “While the 2025-2026 school year continues, faculty will be asked which classes of theirs will be best implemented into the new program.”
Parsloe said that there will be a submission of the CASH Designation form turned in by Nov. 3, 2025, going into detail of how specific classes will work toward maintaining that goal of investing in critical thinking. “Every request will be viewed by the committee, and courses that are approved will show in DegreeWorks for registration in Fall of 2026 for Rollins students,” Parsloe said.
There will also be a future meeting with the departments to determine what each CASH course means for the faculty individually. There will be workshops implemented throughout the year for faculty at Rollins to create and assess their assignments using the AAC&U Critical Thinking rubric.
What Does This Change Mean for Students?
As explained during the Foundations meeting presentation, students will engage with the new RFLA 3.0 plan throughout their 4 years at Rollins:
- First-year students: Students will take the Rollins College Conference (RCC) course as well as RFLA 100, where information literacy is practiced, and students can start to explore AI literacy.
- Sophomores and Juniors: The three designated CASH courses are completed by students, all highlighting different areas of problem-solving.
- Senior year: Students will be wrapping up and earning the RFLA 300 capstone, where they will bring together the innovation from previous courses to work on complex issues.
The Foundations presentation also went into further detail about what students’ capstone project will entail. Of specific note was the Foundation Summit that takes place at the end of the RFLA 300 course: “an event held on campus where students can display [how] their research and academic work [has] advanced during the RFLA agenda.” It was also emphasized that students would be able to “illustrate their competence — putting their knowledge into practice [by presenting an] elevator pitch, answering mock job questions and getting into contact with alumni and leaders within the community.”
The Future of RFLA 3.0
The changes of RFLA will be implemented starting in Fall 2026. RFLA 3.0 will update course requirements and is anticipated to change how students finish CASH courses and their Capstone projects.
This article was edited on Oct. 24 to clarify what the acronym CASH stands for.
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