1
CALIFORNIASTATEPOLYTECHNICUNIVERSITY, POMONA
ACADEMIC SENATE
FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
REPORT TO
THE ACADEMIC SENATE
AS-2073-023
Class Size in General Education Courses
26 feb
Faculty Affairs CommitteeDate:
Steering Committee
Received and ForwardedDate:2/25/04
Academic SenateDate:3/10/04 – Resubmitted
First Reading
Referral
The Steering Committee is returning the President's response to AS-2703-023/FA, Class Size in General Education Courses dated july 9, 2003 to the Faculty Affairs Committee for further consideration. In particular, the issue of quality of education, as pertains to class size should be considered. The Faculty Affairs Committee should review the President's action in accordance with the procedures in the Bylaws, Article VII, Section 1 (G).
Background
The background of the referral FA-002-012 was the following.
The Steering Committee has received a request to look into the issue of increasing class size in General Education courses. Problems associated with large class size in GE courses include: difficulty of requiring significant writing and reading requirements, passive learning resulting from lack of meaningful discussion, using GE FTES to pay for major courses, and faculty equity issues, e.g., using lecturers to teach large sections while tenured/tenure-track faculty teach smaller classes.
This referral is being sent to both the FA and GE Committees because the Steering Committee felt that issues pertaining to both committees are involved. The FA and GE Committees can form a joint subcommittee to review and recommend or the committees can agree to review the issues relevant to each committee and do all the work within the separate committees.
The Faculty Affairs Committee recommendated, and the Senate adopted in AS-2703-023/FA, the following.
1)In order to maintain a significant writing component as well as an optimum class size the deans and department chairs shall provide adequate faculty support when the course enrollment exceeds the numbers listed in the C-Classifications for the GE-courses.
2)To preserve equity between temporary, junior and senior faculty, the deans and department chairs should provide the oversight necessary to assure the same resources, WTU’s, and level of support in courses assigned, independent of the rank of the instructor.
The President's response is attached.
Article VII, Section 1 (G) of the Bylaws states:
G)The Steering Committee shall review all Presidential responses to Academic Senate reports and take the following actions where appropriate:
(1)If the President accepts the recommendations, the acceptance shall be reported to the Senate.
(2)If the President modifies or rejects one or more recommendations, the Steering Committee shall determine if the modifications are significant and may refer the report to the originating committee for further consideration.
(3)On Presidential responses referred to committees by the Steering Committee, the committee shall consider the responses and make a report to the Senate as soon as possible. This report may recommend the original recommendations, may recommend the acceptance of the President's responses, or may make new recommendations.
(4)Any report which is a reconsideration by a committee after the President has responded, and which recommends anything other than the acceptance of the President's responses, may be passed by the Senate only by a two-thirds affirmative vote of those Senators casting a
Discussion
It is assumed that reasonable support for general education classes is provided by administration. This support allows class size to remain at an appropriate number to assure that writing assignments are given and reviewed by the faculty. It is important that the quality of these courses is assured so that student learning occurs. Appropriate class size allows the faculty to provide timely and meaningful feedback to students enrolled in the class. In order to maintain a meaningful and significant writing component in General Education classes, some standards should be considered.
C-Classification Categories (in EP&R 76-36) describe normal class size and class hours per unit of credit. These classifications are not designed to limit class size, but merely to provide a guideline for curriculum development.
Determining the maximum class size for a particular course is much more difficult since class size is related to the type of course. The Unit 3 collective bargaining agreement (Article 20.3) states: that factors such as graduate instruction, activity classes, laboratory classes, etc. must be considered when determining the class size. Equity should be maintained in class assignments whether temporary, junior or senior faculty teach these classes.
Recommendation
1.It is the responsibility of the deans and department chairs to ensure that the
maximum class size for all sections of a GE course that carry the same number
of WTU's for faculty is set at the same limit regardless of whether it is taught by
temporary, junior or senior faculty unless additional appropriate resources are
provided to the instructor(s) of the larger section(s).
2.In addition, faculty who teach GE courses must have adequate support to
facilitate reasonable writing assignments for the students. If there is a
considerable increase in enrollment in a GE course over the previous five years,
additional support shall be provided by the dean.
Date: July 9, 2003
To: Roger Morehouse cc: VPAA
Chair, Academic Senate Cabinet
Deans
AVPs
From:
Bob Suzuki
President
Subject: AS-2073-023/FA – Class Size In General Education Courses
I accept the principles embodied in the Academic Senate’s recommendations regarding Class Size in
General Education Courses as listed below. In particular, I agree that the meaningful and significant
writing component is an essential part of each general education course. I agree with the implication in
recommendation one, that it can be more challenging to require such a writing component in a very
large class. However, it is not clear to me that C-classification is the right measure to use in studying
class size versus pedagogy. C-classifications associate minimum class sizes with course categories.
What I believe the Senate is seeking is a maximum class size in which a particular pedagogy (meaningful
and significant writing assignments) can be employed. This will not be an easy value to ascertain. I’m
sure that we all know of faculty colleagues who employ writing assignments, service learning, and
collaborative learning in classes of all sizes. I encourage deans and department chairs to engage the faculty in discussions about class size, pedagogy, and resources.
In terms of recommendation two, I agree that faculty assignments must be equitable across faculty
members of all ranks. The Unit 3 collective bargaining agreement indicates that, in determining
workload, “consideration shall be given at least to the following factors: graduate instruction, activity
classes, laboratory courses, supervision, distance learning, sports, and directed study. Consideration for
adjustments in workload shall be given to at least the following: preparation for substantive changes in
instructional methods, research, student teacher supervision, thesis supervision, supervision of
fieldwork, and service on a University committee.” The rank of the instructor is not on this list of
factors. I believe that department chairs and deans provide oversight of faculty assignments and strive
to achieve fair assignments in accordance with the guidance from the bargaining agreement.
Senate Recommendation:
1) In order to maintain a significant writing component as well as an optimum class size the deans and department chairs shall provide adequate faculty support when the course enrollment exceeds the numbers listed in the C-Classifications for the GE-courses.
2) To preserve equity between temporary, junior and senior faculty, the deans and department chairs should provide the oversight necessary to assure the same resources, WTU’s, and level of support in courses assigned, independent of the rank of the instructor.