5/16/2014
UEAC
2013 – 2014 Review
I.
Council Formed in September 2013. Charge for the Council:
This Council, which was inspired by recent legislation passed by the Executive Council of the Faculty Assembly Class
B legislation passed late in Spring quarter 2013 that mandates formal faculty oversight of academic units on campus
that do not have permanent faculty lines. The Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) fits this bill, and this Council
will serve to help meet this mandate. This council has, by design, wide representation across academic units on
campus, and will meet regularly to discuss of curriculum issues pertaining to undergraduate education at UWT. We
anticipate that this council will play an important role in elevating the profile and quality of the academic
undergraduate experience on campus.
As an initial point of discussion, I would ask that you consider the following broad, conceptual questions, and discuss
how these might be answered with specific reference to the UWT undergraduate curriculum:
 What kind of first-year experience do we want to have for our students? What curricular adjustments to the
current model would serve our students best?
 How does our undergraduate curriculum for first- (and second-year) students connect to upper division offerings
across units?
 How does our current undergraduate curriculum interface with scholarship being conducted by faculty/staff on
campus? Suggestions for enhancements?
 How does our current undergraduate curriculum fit with the overall mission of UWT?
 How does our current undergraduate curriculum serve to engage students in a way that enhances recruitment
and retention? What adjustments might better enhance these metrics?
II.
Conceptualization about how to proceed with the work of the Council for the first year
The Council reviewed the charge of this council and during the year developed a plan for the work of the Council. The
themes for this work include:
1. We need students to have a coherent experience and to develop a UWT identity.
a. How do we conceptualize Undergraduate Education (UG) so it is a seamless transition to majors and
upper level work?
b. Need to review student learning outcomes
c. Need to have a Grid of undergraduate education in the core
d. Need to review CORE students’ survey? Is it asking what we need to know?
e. What retention strategies do we need? Why do we lose between first and second year?
f. Best practices for student support and retention
g. How to we target our support to the diverse populations of students and their different contexts?
2. We will continue to support the work of the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) to examine access
and quality of the academic experience
3. How do we develop a sense of ‘ownership’ among faculty, staff and departments to UWT UG?
a. Best practices for faculty development
b. Council members will provide departmental feedback on coursework and student outcomes
4. The assessments that we need to review to inform the work
a. Develop a Website with all the assessments about undergraduate education that will inform our work.
b. assessment plan developed
i. Data on the Faculty who are teaching first year students(Freshman)
ii. Review of data on students who do not return
iii. Review of other potential models of undergraduate education
iv. How to construct lower division so students can get into majors soon
h. OSPI reports
i. Foundations of excellence executive summary
j. Report on retention
k. Talk with institutional researchers to see if we can set up some assessment to follow the patterns that we
need to understand
l. How does accrediting bodies for different professional programs affect our work in this Council?
5/16/2014
m. Talk with faculty groups
n. Need to review CORE students’ survey? Is it asking what we need to know?
o. How does accrediting bodies for different professional programs affect our work in this Council?
5. Diversity courses
a. We need to develop a list of diversity courses across campus
b. How do we determine faculty knowledge to teach designated diversity courses?
II.
Writing Curriculum – How do we develop a culture of writing
a. The council determined that the UEAC could provide guidance in :
i. Proposed Selection criteria for new Writing Director (see memo attached to Dr. Harrington)
ii. Set the tone for establishing writing culture. Encourage others not to see as a deficit model but
address our current student body strengths and needs.
iii. Encourage cultural humility in this process
iv. Encourage new Writing director to provide faculty development and support
v. Explore how to build capacity of the Teaching and Learning Center.
b. After selection of the Director of Writing, participate in constructing writing outcomes for undergraduate
education
i. How do we scaffold writing throughout the first two years
ii. How to work with faculty who teach in the core
Create
institutional home
for writing
Develop Writing Advisory committee
UEAC
Spring 2014
Align Writing
with Mission
Develop standards and outcomes for writing on the UWT
campus that takes into consideration the student population
instead of the “idealized understandings of good writing.”
UEAC
Spring 2014
Began in 2013-2014 and will
continue in 2014-1025
UEAC
Will start
with hiring
of Director
Writing
2014 – 2015 academic year
UEAC
Spring 2014
2014- 2015 academic year
Review core writing requirements.
Vertical
Curriculum
Development
Assess student learning out comes
Assess TWRT 211 and consider creating a second-year
writing course to help combat the “sophomore gap”
III.
Quantitative Curriculum: how do we change the culture about quantitative literacy?
a. How do we broaden quantitative literacy?
b. How do we broaden quantitative reasoning across entire UG curriculum?
c. Quantitative focus needs to start in the first two years of undergraduate education
i. Where can we address this issue earlier?
ii. How do we change culture around quantitative literacy?
iii. How to formalize math and writing literacy
IV.
Development and approval of bylaws
II.
Whom should we invite to the table?
a. Student representative
b. Need more student voices
c. Ask OUE student advisory board to this meeting
d. What other student groups do we need to collaborate with to get information?
e. International students – how do we educate faculty about the expectations in other countries. What
support do we need in order not to disrupt their ENTIRE trajectory?
f. Peer advisors need have training in cultural humility when dealing with diverse student population
g. Student support services
h. Sharon Parker – diversity
5/16/2014