University-Wide General Education Committee Meeting Minutes

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University-wide General Education Committee Meeting Minutes

September 23, 2009

Voting Members Present: Jonathan Beck, Laura Berry, Thomas Fleming (Chair), Amy Fountain, Elaine Marchello, Shitala Mishra, Judith Nolen, Dennis Ray, Sergey Shkarayev, Doug Toussaint

Non-Voting Members Present: Celeste Pardee, Leslie Sult

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Chair Tom Fleming called the meeting to order at 3:05 PM.

I.  Reorganization of UWGEC and Subcommittees

·  With the closure of the Office of the Vice President for Instruction, it has been difficult to obtain the new course proposals and course syllabi. As of 9/18/09, Celeste Pardee was assigned ownership of the General Education shared e-mail folder, and she gave access to Tom. They found the syllabi for courses proposed for General Education requirements, and Tom forwarded those with the meeting agenda to UWGEC members. However, the course proposals submitted online were directed to Anne Marie Jones, who is no longer employed at the UA. [9/24/09 Note: Anne Marie forwarded all course proposals to the Provost’s Office, and those have been distributed to the New Course Subcommittee.]

·  UWGEC is currently reporting to Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Gail Burd. When the new Assistant Vice Provost for Instruction and Assessment is appointed, UWGEC will have administrative support from that office.

·  UWGEC membership for 2009-10 is not finalized. The following 2008-09 members (in addition to those in attendance listed above) have informed Tom that they will continue for another year: Ken McAllister (Humanities), Paul Melendez (Management), Homer Pettey (Fine Arts), Malcolm Compitello (Foundations-Language), Ted Laetsch (Foundations-Math), Anne Marie Hall (Foundations-Composition). UWGEC membership is outlined in the Faculty Senate By-Laws. Tom will contact Associated Students of the UA (ASUA) and the Graduate & Professional Student Council (GPSC) to request student representatives, per the By-Laws. Tom will serve as UWGEC’s representative on Undergraduate Council.

·  UWGEC’s mission has been redefined as (a) approving and assessing courses for General Education, and (b) approving and assessing Success courses. In keeping with this streamlined focus, Tom proposed fewer subcommittees.

·  Members volunteered for the following 3 subcommittees:

(1)  Approval of New General Education Courses—Dennis Ray, Shitala Mishra, Laura Berry.

(2)  Evaluation of Existing General Education Courses—Jonathan Beck, Elaine Marchello, Sergey Shkarayev, Amy Fountain, Leslie Sult.

(3)  Approval of New & Existing Success Courses—Doug Toussaint, Judy Nolen, Tom Fleming.

·  A tentative list of existing Success Courses was pulled by Sandy Gonzales (Office of the Registrar) for Undergraduate Council (UGC) using key words, such as academic success, study skills, time management, major exploration. As of last spring, approximately 30 courses seemed to meet UGC’s definition of a Success Course. This list provides a starting point for reviewing those courses.

II.  New Course Proposals for Review by the Subcommittee

The following courses were proposed between May 1 – September 18, 2009. Syllabi were distributed to UWGEC members on 9/18/09. Tom asked the New Course Subcommittee to review them and bring recommendations to the next meeting:

·  ARH 321, Introduction to Contemporary Art (Arts)

·  ARH 324, History of Photography (Arts)

·  ARH 325, History of Modern Architecture (Arts)

·  SOC 325, Men and Masculinities (Diversity Emphasis)

·  SOC 362, Sociology of Race & Ethnicity in Latin America (Diversity Emphasis)

·  SOC 432, Urban Community (Diversity Emphasis)

·  SOC 448, Sociology of the Body (Diversity Emphasis)

III.  New Courses Proposed for Spring 2010

Tom proposed that UWGEC focus on 3 courses that will be offered in Spring 2010.

·  Members requested clarification on evaluation criteria: the writing component, revision of written assignments, an Honors component, temporary exceptions for courses offered in Centennial Hall.

·  Should new course policies (such as a change to the writing component) be developed by UGC instead of UWGEC? Course evaluative criteria aren’t the same as curriculum policy—which rests with UGC; UWGEC members may apply evaluative criteria as they believe appropriate or necessary without consulting UGC.

·  Will some UWGEC members be asked to join UGC? Celeste confirmed that this is the plan.

·  Members agreed to proceed with the course review process using current evaluative criteria; however, exceptions might be made on a course-by-course basis. For example, provision for rewriting/revising a written assignment is important for Tier One courses, but it isn’t critical for Tier Two courses.

·  Members agreed that UWGEC’s role is to uphold the existing policies and standards of General Education, but the letter of the law need not always be followed.

CLAS 329, Art History & the Cinema (Tier Two Humanities and/or Arts):

·  Does this course meet the criteria for both categories? Yes, the content bridges the humanities and arts. But a student could only apply it to one degree requirement, not to both. Members are unsure whether the automated degree audit system (e.g., DARS or Mosaic) will support this, but approval should be granted for both categories.

·  This is an existing course that has been taught for several years. It will be offered in Centennial Hall in Spring 2010 to accommodate more students.

·  Dennis made a motion to approve the course, pending receipt of information on the following points (which is not clear in the materials that the committee has received thus far):

(1)  What provisions do students have to revise/rewrite their papers?

(2)  What is the Honors component?

(3)  What is the quiz format?

The motion was seconded and approved by unanimous vote. Celeste will notify the instructor.

HNRS 203H, Art as Awareness (Arts):

·  Laura explained that this Honors course will allow students to create art, as well as to appreciate it. It will expose students to all art forms—students will visit artists’ studios, the poetry center, College of Architecture, and School of Music. There will be class discussions and written assignments.

·  Tom calculated that approximately 40% of the grade would be determined by week 8, so students would be given timely feedback.

·  The syllabus is inadequate by itself. Members asked for the full proposal.

·  Dennis made a motion to approve the course, contingent upon receiving information on the following points (unclear in the materials that the committee has received):

(1)  What are the specific assignments comprising the readings, studio visits, practicums, projects?

(2)  How are students assessed—what comprises the final grade?

The motion was seconded and approved by unanimous vote. Celeste will notify the instructor.

HNRS 202H, Intro to Conservation Biology (Tier Two Natural Sciences):

·  Laura clarified that the course number may change; she wasn’t sure which HNRS number was available for a new course. Part of the course will be online modules and part will be field work.

·  A concern was expressed that roughly 85% of the course grade would be based on “active participation,” including group discussions, the field trips, and presentations.

·  Students will learn by working on projects in teams. Members would like the full proposal.

·  Doug made a motion to approve the course, pending answers to the following questions:

(1)  What are the measures for assessment, particularly class participation?

(2)  What are the quantitative aspects of the projects?

(3)  Will 40% of the grade be determined by week 8?

The motion was seconded and approved with 9 in favor, 1 opposed. Celeste will notify the instructor.

[9/28/09 Note: Some of the issues identified above were addressed to members’ satisfaction in the full course proposals distributed on 9/24/09. Celeste notified the 3 instructors of approval on 9/28/09.]

IV.  Consideration of Undergraduate Council’s Proposal on Success Courses: Definition, Guidelines, and Policies

·  Undergraduate Council (UGC) approved a definition, guidelines, and policies for undergraduate Success Courses on 4/7/09. Since UWGEC has accepted the charge to review, approve, and assess existing and new Success Courses, UGC Chair George Gehrels asked if UWGEC would endorse the proposal before it goes to other approval bodies. Tom opened the floor for comments.

·  Issues to be considered: Many success courses appear to cover similar content—can redundancies among these courses be eliminated? Who should be teaching these courses?

·  The proposal would be strengthened by moving the rationale to the top and replacing the Vice President for Instruction with the Assistant Vice Provost for Instruction and Assessment.

Tom made a motion to accept the proposal with these changes. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved. Celeste will notify George Gehrels and will see that the proposal goes forward.

V.  Additional items for discussion

·  Judy announced that she reserved a table for General Education at the Meet Your Major Fair in October. UWGEC volunteers will advise students on Tier One and Tier Two course options and distribute a handout, Frequently Asked Questions on General Education.

·  Tom raised a question from Jenny Lee, Associate Professor, Center for the Study of Higher Education, regarding the feasibility of submitting her course, HED 397A/B, a service-learning experience for Project SOAR for Tier Two. Members would need to see a course proposal so they could review the academic content, learning outcomes, and assessment criteria. Learning-by-doing is a valid teaching technique.

·  Tom received an inquiry from the Department of Neuroscience about proposing a 2-unit course for Tier One NATS. While there’s no written policy stating that all Tier One courses must be 3 units, that is the current standard based on tradition. He suggested to Neuroscience that they create a hybrid course (2 + 1 = 3 units). Members indicated that 3-unit courses are preferred.

VI.  Meetings will continue on the third Wednesday of each month, 3:00 – 5:00 PM in the Library - Special Collections Conference Room. Tom adjourned the meeting at 4:55 PM.

Respectfully Submitted by Celeste Pardee

10-8-09