General Education Committee Annual Report, 2012-2013 Membership Term End 2013 2015 2014 2015 Member Nadia White (chair) Hayden Ausland Susanne Caro Linda Frey Department Journalism MCLL Mansfield Library History Contact Info nadia.white@umontana.edu hayden.ausland@mso.umt.edu Susanne.caro@umontana.edu linda.frey@mso.umt.edu 2015 Kimberly Reiser Kim.Reiser@umontana.edu 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 Lilian Calderon Frank Rosensweig Khaled Hutharly James Randall Robert Baker Applied Arts & Science Biomedical Science DBS Anthropology Music English lilian.calderon@mso.umt.edu Frank.Rosenzweig@mso.umt.edu khaled.huthaily@umontana.edu James.randall@umontana.edu robert1.baker@umontana.edu Student Members Tucker Squires tucker.squires@umontana.edu Additional Representatives (Ex-Officio) Ed Johnson, Registrar (or designee) Edwin.johnson@mso.umt.edu Regular attendee Sue Bradford Applied Arts & Science Sue.Bradford@mso.umt.edu General Education Course Review The General Education Committee reviewed eight proposed courses for general education groups and 16 one-time only experimental general education courses. Most of these were for the Global Leadership Initiative. The consent agenda is appended. During the review subcommittee members also consider whether the criteria and learning outcomes still meet the goals of the general education program. The Global & Indigenous and American & European Perspectives definitions as well as criteria and learning outcomes require some attention given the difficulties with the course reviews. The four-year rolling review of Ethics, Expressive Arts, and Social Science courses began last spring and continued this fall. Any revisions to the course list are effective fall 2014. The rolling review consent agenda was presented to the Faculty Senate in December. Late forms came in for two courses at the Missoula College (BGEN 105 and TASK 160S) as well as CHEM 302E. The Missoula College courses were reviewed and approved for Social Science. CHEM 302E failed to meet the criteria. A new instructor is taking over the class and will revise its contents in consultation with a member of the subcommittee on the ethics designation. That class will be re-reviewed in the fall. Camie will create a calendar of curriculum deadlines that will be posted to the website for reference. This spring the review of Mathematics, Historical and Cultural Studies, and Natural Science was conducted. Courses approved in 2010 or later were exempt from the review and programs were given a one-year grace period. Courses Existing Submitted Exempt Approved Mathematics 7+ exam 7 + exam Historical & Cultural 52 34 5 33 Science 63 57 1 43 Followup pending Not approved Will contact to submit in the fall 1 13 7 + exam 3 13 Consideration of difficulties with the criteria and learning outcomes for Indigenous & Global and American & European Groups Challenges encountered during the routine review of the Global/International and Western/European perspectives triggered a review of both the categories and their respective criteria by the The Working Group on Indigenous & Global and American & European. After research and discussion, the group recommended a range of options for consideration during the 2013=14 academic year. Those recommendations summarized the pros and cons for each option and included: Option 1: Eliminate category Option 2: Fix criteria and learning goals with minor changes to clarify criteria Option 3: Realign Group with other groups to address overlap with other areas and clarify alignment of groups with MUS core. Option 4: Review entire General Education Framework Board of Regents General Education Council Chair White attended the BOR General Education Council meeting in Helena and discussed revisions to the MUS Core courses. Language Requirement Issue At the request of ASCRC the General Education Committee spent several months discussing the possibility of using incentives to encourage more undergraduate students to enroll in foreign language classes. A variety of incentives were considered and found to be problematic – some appeared unfeasible, others were undesirable and even threatened to inadvertently reduce the number of students taking language classes. Ultimately, the committee found that the study of a foreign language is a distinguishing feature of a liberal arts education. It unanimously affirmed and clarified its earlier recommendation with new language: Effective autumn semester of 2015, undergraduate students must fulfill the general education modern and classical language requirement unless enrolled in a program of study requiring more than 48 credits leading to a first baccalaureate degree. Credits for the program of study include all requirements for the primary major including options and designated pre-requisite courses. General education courses, even those specifically required by the major, do not count toward the credit cap. The committee further suggested that The University could help more of its students succeed in foreign language by supporting foreign language instruction and instructors at the K-12 level; by creating a greater variety of course configurations for satisfying the language requirement; and by more clearly articulating to all students the importance of foreign language study in today’s global marketplace of ideas. A broad sampling of incentive-based proposals were included in the committee’s report to ASCRC, along with rationale for their disqualification. General Education Consent Agenda, 12/6/12 New or One-time-only approvals Mathematical Literacy (Group II) Mathematics M 118 Literary and Artistic Studies (Group V) Mathematics for Music Enthusiasts English ENCR 110L Montana Writers Live MCLL MCLL 191 Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in Cotemporary Latin American Literature and Film Historical and Cultural (Group VI ) Anthropology ANTY 241 Cultures and Civilizations: Peoples and Environments Social Sciences (Group VII) Communication Studies COMM 191 Can Giving Change the World? Engaging Social Responsibility through Philanthropy CSD CSD 191 Diversity in Communication / Service Learning Political Science PSCI 191 Political Regimes and Society Educational Leadership EDLD 291 Special Topics in Educational Leadership: Leadership for a Diverse World. Sociology SOCI 191 Who am I? Identity and Our Social World Sociology SOCI 191 Privation in the Land of Plenty: Hunger and Homelessness in the U.S. / Service Learning