GENERAL EDUCATION ASSESSMENT AND REVIEW FORM
ETHICS AND HUMAN VALUES (GROUP VIII, E) 5/15
Please attach/ submit additional documents as needed to fully complete each section of the form.
COURSE INFORMATION
Department: Resource Conservation Program
Course Number: 489E
Course Title: Forestry and Conservation Ethics
Type of Request:
Rationale:
New
One-time Only
X Renew*
Change
Remove
*If course has not changed since the last review and is taught by the same tenure-track faculty member, you may skip sections III-V.
JUSTIFICATION FOR COURSE LEVEL
Normally, general education courses will not carry pre-requisites, will carry at least 3 credits, and will be numbered at the 100-200
level. If the course has more than one pre-requisite, carries fewer than three credits, or is upper division (numbered at the 300 level
or above ), provide rationale for exception(s).
The Resource Conservation program believes that an exception should be made for Forestry and Conservation Ethics to be taught at
the junior and senior level for the following reasons: The majors in the College of Forestry and Conservation are largely applied. We
believe it is important for our students to reflect on the ethical implications of specific issues within their chosen fields. However,
their level of sophistication on possible ethical issues in forestry, conservation, ecological restoration, wildlife biology, and so on, is
not sufficiently developed through course work until their junior and senior years. Offering the course during students' junior and
senior years better allows them to make connections between ethics and other courses in their majors that are relevant to the
conservation professions. This approach allows the RSCN, GE ethics course to be more relevant and engaging for students in the
College of Forestry and Conservation. Class discussions and written assignments are much more meaningful when students can
make connections between ethics and what they have been learning in other courses in their majors. In addition, the goals of the
majors in the CFC are to be interdisciplinary and to provide students the flexibility to pursue their specific interests, e.g., the RSCN
major has several tracks. We believe requiring a 100 or 200-level GE ethics course in addition to NRSM 489E would be redundant
and work against our program goals and philosophy. It can be seen from the syllabus that the course covers the major western
ethical traditions in preparation to moral reflection on specific issues in the broadly defined field of conservation.
II. ENDORSEMENT / APPROVALS
* Instructor:
Signature _______________________ Date____________
Phone / Email: 243-6632/ dane.scott@mso.umt.edu
Program Chair: Steve Siebert
Signature _______________________ Date____________
Dean: Michael Patterson
Signature _______________________ Date____________
*Form must be completed by the instructor who will be teaching the course. If the instructor of the course changes before the next
review, the new instructor must be provided with a copy of the form prior to teaching the course.
III. DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE
General Education courses must be introductory and foundational within the offering department or within the General Education
Group. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course content to students’ future lives: See
Preamble
IV. CRITERIA
BRIEFLY EXPLAIN HOW THIS COURSE MEETS THE CRITERIA FOR THE GROUP.
1.
Courses focus on one or more of the specific traditions of ethical thought (either Western or non-Western), on basic ethical
topics such as justice or the good life as seen through the lens of one or more traditions of ethical thought, or on a professional
practice within a particular tradition of ethical thought.
2.
Courses provide a rigorous analysis of the basic concepts and forms of reasoning which define the traditions, the ethical topics,
or the professional practices that are being studied.
V. STUDENT LEARNING GOALS
BRIEFLY EXPLAIN HOW THIS COURSE WILL MEET THE APPLICABLE LEARNING GOALS.
1.
Correctly apply the basic concepts and forms of reasoning from the tradition or professional practice they studied to ethical
issues that arise within those traditions or practices.
2.
Analyze and critically evaluate the basic concepts and forms of reasoning from the tradition or professional practice they
studied
VI. ASSESSMENT
A. HOW ARE THE LEARNING GOALS ABOVE MEASURED ? Describe the measurement(s) used, such as a rubric or specific test
questions that directly measure the General Education learning goals. Please attach or provide a web link to the rubric, test
questions, or other measurements used.
1.
Sample test question to measure if students correctly apply the basic concepts and forms of reasoning from the tradition or
professional practice they studied to ethical issues that arise within those traditions or practices.
Imagine the 2nd version of the “trolley problem.” You are walking over a bridge and you notice that Emmanuel Kant, Jeremy
Bentham, and Ron Paul (Libertarian) are standing behind a very, very large man, Bob, on a trolley overpass. All three men
look like they are contemplating pushing Bob onto the tracks. Kant has a serious grudge against Bob for some serious evil
he has done to his family. Bentham derives great pleasure from Bob’s company; they are old friends. Ron Paul just
wandered up to this bizarre scene and doesn’t know these odd looking people. In an effort to demonstrate your
understanding of the moral reasoning in Kantian, utilitarian and libertarian ethics, explain what (a) Kant, (b) Bentham, and
(c) Paul might be thinking as they each consider the fate of Bob and the 4 workers on the tracks. In your judgment, (d) who
made the right decision?
2.
Sample test question to measure how well students analyze and critically evaluate the basic concepts and forms of
reasoning from the tradition or professional practice they studied.
In 2014, wealthy hunting guide, Corey Knowlton paid $350,000 for a trip to Namibia to hunt and kill an endangered species,
a Black Rhino. Knowlton was vilified on social media and received several death threats. The Namibian government
sanctions this practice because they do not have enough funds to manage their wildlife preserves and they are using this
hunt to raise funds. Trade in any rhino parts is restricted by international law, so hunters must get a special permit from the
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to import trophies. Special permits require showing that the animal was killed in the name of
conservation. The Fish and Wildlife Service did allow Knowlton to bring home the rhino as a trophy. Did the agency make
the right decision? Your answer must demonstrate an understanding of the use of market mechanisms to solve
environmental problems. Your response should make reference to (a) the moral justifications for markets, and (b) the moral
limits of markets. If applicable, answers might, but are not required to, make use of concepts and ideas from such readings
as Sandler, Hill, Pinchot, etc. in constructing an argument. You can also make use of arguments from animal ethics.
3.
A General Education Assessment Report will be due on a four-year rotating cycle. You will be notified in advance of the due date.
This will serve to fulfill the University’s accreditation requirements to assess general education and will provide an opportunity to
connect with your colleagues across campus and share teaching strategies. Items VI.B- D will be helpful in compiling the report.
B. ACHIEVEMENT TARGETS
[This section is optional. Achievement targets can be reported if they have been established.]
Describe the desirable level of performance for your students, and the percentage of students you expected to achieve this:
1.
2.
3.
C. ASSESSMENT FINDINGS
[This section is optional. Assessment findings can be reported if they are available.]
What were the results/findings, and what is your interpretation/analysis of the data? (Please be detailed, using specific
numbers/percentages when possible. Qualitative discussion of themes provided in student feedback can also be reported. Do NOT
use course grades or overall scores on a test/essay. The most useful data indicates where students’ performance was stronger and
where it was weaker. Feel free to attach charts/tables if desired.)
D. ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK
Given your students’ performance the last time the course was offered, how will you modify the course to enhance learning? You
can also address how the course could be improved, and what changes in the course content or pedagogy you plan to make, based
upon on the findings. Please include a timeframe for the changes.
A General Education Assessment Report will be due on a four-year rotating cycle. You will be notified in advance of the due date.
This will serve to fulfill the University’s accreditation requirements to assess general education and will provide an opportunity to
connect with your colleagues across campus and share teaching strategies.
VII. SYLLABUS AND SUBMISSION
Please submit syllabus in a separate file with the completed and signed form to the Faculty Senate Office, UH 221. The learning
goals for the Ethics Group must be included on the syllabus. An electronic copy of the original signed form is acceptable.