Committee Charge - A core undergraduate program, upon which departmental majors can build, that is uniquely excellent, differentiated from our competition and which effectively challenges and supports
ESF students to be academically successful, to discover their personal passions and to become engaged world citizens.
The Undergraduate Committee met three times for a total of six hours to discuss and review input from the prior listening sessions and faculty retreat on January 8th. In addition to the data presented on January 8 th , committee members reviewed the materials from the first vision sessions held on
September 24 th and October
1 st . The review of the data from the previous sessions was used as a scaffold for ideas and began with an analysis of word frequency and the number of faculty votes (dots) of those ideas received at the faculty retreat.
These data are represented in
Chart 1 . Service was the most common word (other than articles (an, the, etc.)), while items with the word interdisciplinary received the most “dot votes”, further these two words were often not mutually exclusive that is appearing together on several items. Committee members were asked to pull out what they believed were the best ideas presented in the documents and think about what it would take to implement the ideas and how they might be developed.
In addition, many of the faculty on the Committee were involved in the review of the General
Education Program DRAFT report and the ensuing report that was communicated to the Middle
States Commission on Higher Education on March 1st. (Available at the faculty governance website: http://www.esf.edu/facgov/bylaws.htm
) The General Education report was used to make specific curricular recommendations.
Based upon the committee discussions, individual assignments between meetings and an analysis of the materials collected since September, the committee has prepared the following recommendations for a holistic, four-year undergraduate experience at ESF.
This report is broken into three parts: Part I of this document describes recommended student development goals. Part II describes curricular aspects of the program that will work in tandem
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with existing courses and programs to enhance our student’s academic experience. Part III highlights some infrastructure that would be needed to ensure the success of these recommendations.
Student learning is positively impacted when their understanding of the broader world, in relation to the knowledge acquired through a carefully designed curriculum, is part of the active learning process.
Capitalizing on transformative experiences in and out of the classroom is a critical part of the student experience at ESF. Building on the success of the First Year Experience and prior to that, the First Year
Learning Communities, we recommend ESF develop a cohesive 4-year experience intentionally designed to bridge curricular achievements with co-curricular activities.
The aim of this experience would be to provide opportunities that result in a well-rounded student who have the skills, knowledge and experience to successfully transition to the workforce or graduate education.
Through this 4-year experience, undergraduate students at ESF shall be encouraged to:
● Be intellectually curious and engage with multiple perspectives and nature
● Apply problem-solving skills to identify the problem and find effective solutions
● Gain communication skills including active listening and effectively expressing ideas
● Develop the capacity and ability to successfully advocate for themselves and others
● Build the capacity to collaborate and work in a team environment
● Create meaning from learning experiences; synthesize and evaluate information
● Explore other cultures through domestic or international travel
● Apply course material through reciprocal service and community engagement opportunities
To achieve the above student development goals the committee recommends a set of College-wide common experiences and a requirement to engage broadly with the world around them.
A. College-wide Common Experiences
Intentionally Designed General Education Experience (Required) - The existing General
Education Program is not currently meeting the learning objectives set for the College in all areas. In addition, an opportunity to use these courses for the best advantage in student learning and engagement is lost when students just take the course that fits their schedule. In order to make the
General Education Program more meaningful and purposeful for ESF students, we recommend repackaging our existing General Education courses into clusters around topics of interest such as: Sustainability; Climate Science; Diversity and the Environment; Traditional ecological knowledge and Scientific Ecological Knowledge; International Relations; Management; Native
Peoples; Law and Governmental Policy; Environmental Health etc., or other purposefully designed areas of interest planned by the student and advisor. Students would pick a single cluster and take general education classes within that cluster. A few examples of such clustering using existing courses is detailed in Appendix I .
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To do this we expect to need:
★ Schedule Reset with attention to General Education conflicts
★ More General Education courses taught natively to ESF or more SU courses identified as meeting general education requirements
★ Effective Advising
★ Pathways for transfer students who do not complete all of their General Education elsewhere
★ Pathways for traditional students who begin College with AP or College Credit from High
School
College-wide Annual Theme – We recommend that ESF offer an annual themed lecture series in which the entire College participates with end of the academic year Oxford Style Debates between faculty, staff and students about the topics raised throughout that year’s series . For example, if Food is the annual theme, events, debates and creative outlets for engaging with Food could be hosted by faculty, staff and students and would culminate with an invited lecturer such as hosting Michael Pollan author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma , who might spend several days on campus. We further recommend that faculty incorporate activities related to theme in their courses.
To do this we expect to need:
★ Broad engagement by faculty in the series across disciplines
★ Financial support for speaker travel and event publicity
★ Incentive for faculty, staff and students to participate in the annual debate series and attend the seminar series
★ Relevant topic(s) reflecting ESF’s mission and values
★ Support to make these part of ESF’s TED talk series
Philosophy/History of Science Courses - For our students to become capable scientists, communicators of science, and informed citizens able to engage multiple perspectives in problems solving, an understanding of the history and philosophy of science is integral. Students should explore what knowledge is, how we gain reliable knowledge, how we develop different kinds of knowing, what changes exist in the modes of science from positivism to constructivism, what roles of uncertainty and explanation play, and how culture and society interact with the scientific process.
The committee recommends that two courses be required of all ESF graduates History of
Science and Philosophy of Science.
To do this we expect to need:
★ Offer two distinct stand alone courses on History of Science, Philosophy of Science
★ Integrate the philosophy and history of science within the College-wide seminar series described above
★ Instructors knowledgeable in the field would need to be hired
★ At least one of the courses could be a required general education requirement or at least serve as a general education course for those arriving on campus who have not already fulfilled their requirements but do not have enough credits to fulfill a cluster
★ Courses such as these could also be offered through our remote field stations in the
Adirondacks (weekend seminars, spring break courses or a May-mester offering)
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B. Broad Engagement with the World ( Students would be required to engage with at least two of the following as a graduation requirement.)
In order to develop an understanding of the complexity and diversity of the world around us, it is important to foster student engagement in experiences outside campus. The following experiences shall be designed to facilitate a student’s ability to interact effectively with people across cultures.
Community Engagement (On and Off campus) - Through service learning (community service linked to a set of course objectives), volunteering, or other community advocacy opportunities, students practice using skills and competencies related to the application of concepts and skills learned in class in real world settings. Service-learning courses shall be designed to foster critical thinking and personal reflection and have as a goal to increase our student’s sense of community and their personal responsibility.
To do this, we expect to need:
★ More service learning courses - and training for faculty on what service learning requires
★ More community partnerships that are meaningful and supported through a Service
Learning Coordinator
★ Exploration of possibilities for ESF students to develop mutually beneficial relationships and learning experiences with international populations living in the Syracuse area
★ Opportunities that link student involvement at field stations and local surrounding communities
★ Transportation for students
★ Recognition that service learning requires more preparation for faculty, particularly with respect to the cultivation of service partners, and this should be reflected in the allocation of faculty teaching loads for service learning courses
Experiential Learning - At a field station, in a laboratory on campus (etc.), students shall engage in some deeper way with their major. Experiential learning could include internships, research experience for undergraduate opportunities and cooperative learning experiences. Many majors already require a capstone experience already, and the committee recommends developing additional opportunities for experiential learning.
To do this, we expect to need:
★ Incentives for faculty to engage with students in independent projects
★ Development of new forums for connecting with field stations beyond semester-long courses or research projects
★ Development of clear pathways and information for students to engage in these activities at each level
★ Financial assistance to students and faculty
★ Inclusion in faculty members teaching load
Travel Experience (US, Canada or abroad) - Traveling, whether to domestic or international locations, provides a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in the culture and the people who reside
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there. Students are exposed to social issues such as poverty and injustice while experiencing the world beyond the classroom.
To do this, we expect to need:
★ Faculty incentive to create travel experiences linked to the curriculum
★ Cultivation of partnerships with other institutions
★ Financial aid for students
★ Cultivation and clear pathways to internship opportunities outside of the Northeast region, within or outside of the U.S.
Interdisciplinary, team-based projects - Multi-year, team-based projects may involve participation in a national competition (i.e. Solar Decathlon) or a similarly ambitious goal such as sustaining a student-run business. These projects would build students’ leadership, teamwork, communication, business, and technical skills and would likely be interdisciplinary and involve many different majors across campus. A primary feature would be that these projects would be primarily student run.
To do this we expect to need:
★ Dedicated meeting and work spaces for student teams as well as “start-up” funds Perhaps this could be tied into the clustering of the General Education curriculum
★ Possibility for course credit in one’s major for active participation on team (> 10 hours/week involvement)
★ Possibility for faculty advisor to include as part of teaching load.
For a strong undergraduate program, outside of the resources outlined above, we feel that the following need to be in place.
● Orientation program for new faculty (on advising, diversity, teaching, their rights and responsibilities, student affairs, etc.);
● Better advising model for faculty and students;
● Training for faculty on diversity issues with a professional trainer ;
● Creation of a 4-year Undergraduate Experience Team - faculty, staff and students who shepherd the Core Undergraduate Program and are responsible for the assessment and implementation of general education;
● Creation of a Division of General Education ;
● Creation of a Center for Teaching and Learning .
Submitted on behalf of the committee by: Kelley J. Donaghy on March 9, 2015
Facilitator: Bruce C. Bongarten, Provost
Kelley J. Donaghy, Assoc. Prof. FCH
Shannon L. Farrell, Asst. Prof. EFB
Margaret R. Foley, Undergraduate Student
Ivan Gitsov Ivanov, Assoc. Prof. and Chair FCH
Susan H. Sanford, Director of Admissions
Stephen B. Shaw, Asst. Prof. ERE
Mary Thompson, Instructor FNRM
Mary Triano, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
Philippe Vidon, Assoc. Prof. FNRM
Benette Whitmore, Director Writing Program
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Goal: To use the General Education curriculum to achieve broader thinking and to intentionally link
STEM with the arts and social justice issues so that our students are better communicators, listeners and citizens.
From the ESF course catalog ( http://www.esf.edu/catalog/undergraduate.asp#genedreq ):
The State University of New York requires graduates of bachelor degree programs to successfully complete 30 credit hours of general education coursework distributed among 10 different knowledge and skill areas; students pursuing a degree at ESF are required to complete at least 3 credit hours of coursework each, from at least 7 of the 10 knowledge and skill areas to fulfill the SUNY requirement.
To complete this our students generally take two 3-credit courses in the Natural Sciences and two 3credit courses in mathematics as part of their major’s program requirements. The remainder of the credits are taken from the areas of Basic Communications (BC), Social Sciences (SS), American History
(AH), Western Civilization (WC), Other World Civilizations (OW), Humanities (H), The Arts (Arts), Foreign
Languages (FL). The choice of courses is usually predicated on the best schedule match, with little or no connection between the courses. For faculty and students alike, general education is seen as a hoop to jump through that adds little to no value to the student experience.
Clustering of general education courses would allow for unique learning opportunities such as student clubs, learning communities and increased interdisciplinary overlaps of cohorts of students around a common interest. This would increase the impact of each course and raise the importance of a general education as an avenue to well rounded education.
Assuming that all students fulfill 12 of the 30 credits through natural science and mathematics, clusters of six-classes with common threads would fulfill the remaining 18 credits.
NOTE - these are just suggestions, they are not meant to be an exhaustive list and there are many other courses that may fit under each of these clusters, these were just meant for illustration not for implementation or as sole choices. Courses were chosen based solely on titles. Students should be allowed and encouraged to take courses outside the environmental fields, therefore clusters beyond those listed below should be developed, this is intended to serve as a starting place.
a. Sustainability
Section of Writing and the Environment – “What is Sustainability?”* (BC)
The Global Environment and the Evolution of Human Society (SS)
Natural Resources in American History (AH)
Political Theory (WC)
Art, Culture and Landscape I (Arts)
Introduction to Native Peoples, Lands & Cultures (OW)
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b. Climate Science
Section of Writing and the Environment – “Climate Science, Ethics and Social issues”* (BC)
The Global Environment and the Evolution of Human Society (SS)
History of the American Environmental Movement (AH)
Science and Ethics of Art Conservation in a Changing Environment (Arts)
Peoples, Plagues, and Pests (OW) c. Diversity and the Environment
Section of Writing and the Environment – “Diversity in Science: Challenges and Threats”*
(BC)
The Global Environment and the Evolution of Human Society (SS)
Western Civilization and the Environment (WC)
Masterpieces of Art (Arts)
Global Encounters:Comparing World Views & Values Cross-Culturally (OW)
Religious Ethics and Social Issues (H) d. Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Scientific Ecological Knowledge
Section of Writing and the Environment – “TEK and SEK - how can we use both to answer the big challenges?”* (BC)
Ethnic Inequalities and Intergroup Relations (SS)
American History: From Discovery to Civil War (AH)
Art, Culture and Landscape I (WC)
Introduction to Native Peoples, Lands & Cultures (OW)
Foundations of Environmental Communication (H) e. International Relations
Section of Writing and the Environment –
PSC 124 International Relations (SS)
ANT121 Peoples and Cultures of the World or GEO 272 World Cultures (OW)
LIN 201 Nature and the Study of Language (H)
Any foreign language offerings at SU (FL) f. Create your own General Education Cluster
Student would need to work with their advisors to develop their own cluster and then submit it to the General Education Division for approval.
To make this happen we will need:
★ A schedule reset and some attention to scheduling of the courses
★ Planning across courses in each cluster (instructors must meet and plan reading assignments and some course content to reflect cluster goals)
★ Faculty development opportunities, time and incentive to develop cluster goals
★ General Education Division to oversee the program and administer it, including expanding the courses approved for General Education offered at SU
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