General Education Committee Minutes 9/19/05

Members Present: J. Eglin, S. Gaskill, K. Hill, S. Kalm, T. Manuel, D. Pletscher, K. Shanley, G. Smith, R. Welsh, C. Winkler

Ex-Officio Present:  L. Carlyon, A. Walker-Andrews

Chair Winkler called the meeting to order at 1:10 PM.

The minutes from 5/2/05 and 9/12/05 were approved.

Communication:

§ Members introduced themselves

§ ECOS would like to nominate at least one faculty member from each of the discipline areas for possible service on the Regents General Education Council since the criteria used for determining faculty membership is unknown. Celia was asked to be nominated from the Social Science. It was suggested to ask some of the past members of the General Education Task Force. Final volunteers include:
John Eglin Humanities (History)

Karen Hill College of Technology
Garon Smith Science (Chemistry)

Celia Winkler Social Science (Sociology)

Audrey Peterson Schools (C & I)

Jenny McNulty Science (Math)

§ The list of departmental requirements for either foreign languages or symbolic systems was informative. The Sociology department was added to the list of departments that required symbolic systems.

Old Business

§ The revised committee membership language was approved with the replacement of “will” with “shall” to be consistent.

§ In the current environment of increasing occupationalism general education ideals require a change from a simple tweaking of the structure. There should be themes that carry through the entire curriculum.

Members were asked to refer to the preamble when evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of the various models. The Preamble was read to the committee.

There was discussion regarding the current program’s lack of a citizenship component. It was suggested that this could be part of the criteria for general education courses. Some departments include experiential or engagement mechanisms in their curriculum. One could argue that the intent of some of the perspectives is to create engaged citizens.

The problems in the general education program could be the result of implementation not structure. The criteria should be tightened to assure that students are gaining foundational knowledge needed to be successful in any major.

Students will always take the path of least resistance. It is important that they understand why a social science is required and what they should be learning to make them a more educated person (competent informed/engaged citizen).

Also there is a desire on the part of the administration for more interdisciplinary focus. Perhaps the general education program could be radically reconceived to include team taught courses similar to Evergreen College. Such a model could be included in those presented to the Senate. The committee would welcome a proposal.

The priorities for the committee are to present various models to the Senate and identify advantages and disadvantages of each. The committee will continue to work on advantages and disadvantages next week.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 PM.