GENERAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE MINUTES, 3/9/16
CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL
Members present: L. Ametsbichler, S. Bradford, M Cracolice, R. Fanning, C. Greenfield, T.
McDermott, P. Muench, K. Reiser, G. Weix
Ex-officio members present: B. French, J. Hickman, N. Lindsay, B Tessman
Members Absent/ Excused: J. Galloway, T. Ravas
The minutes from 2/24/16 were approved.
COMMUNICATION

The review of general education substitutions for students with disabilities was folded back into
the graduation appeals committee guidelines at the request of Legal Counsel. There should not
be a separate process for these students. The final draft will be sent to the committee as
information.

Chair Reiser will present the mid-year report to the Faculty Senate on Thursday. She will invite
senators to the March 30th listening session at that time. The March 16th listening session is
evolving into a workgroup meeting for X and Y as the groups have not agreed on revisions.
BUSINESS ITEMS

Subcommittee members have looked at some of the rolling review forms and have found that
the majority do not meet the assessment requirement. The assessment documentation does
not link back to the general education specific learning outcomes. There is going to be a lot of
back and forth mentoring to bring the forms into compliance with the intent of general
education assessment. A template response would be useful. It should clarify what the
committee is looking for and provide examples. Faculty members typically do not design their
exams to focus on the general education learning goals. Professor Bradford engaged in a
dialogue regarding this issue during the fall review for an indigenous and global course. She will
use this to draft a response template.
Some of the courses in the Social Sciences are taught in two departments. A form for each
department should be reviewed. Another issue of concern is students expecting common
courses that transfer from another MUS institution to fulfill the general education designation
that the UM course does. Common courses are 80% equivalent so in theory this should be the
case. This has been an issue for the Writing Committee. Specifically with regard to LIT 110 that
is an intermediate writing course at UM. Chair Reiser will mention this issue to ASCRC.

Dean Tessman joined the meeting to discuss planning for the March 30th Listening Session in the
Honors College. He suggests students should be front and center for the first session, keeping in
mind that this is a sensitive time to talk about change. The event should be inclusive,
emphasize listening, be non-controversial, organic, and flexible. Participants represent
themselves as humans, not their title or departments and should understand that they are
unaccountable to the University hierarchy for their comments. Allowing for working points to
arise for the next event. Dean Tessman is open to whatever substance emerges. It could be
structured similar to a un-conference where anyone can suggest a discussion topic.
It is not clear that the X and Y groups will be in final draft before the date. A possibility would be
to get feedback on multiple options along with the re-alignment. So that students, faculty,
advisors and other stakeholders can see the opportunities for reframing and initiate ongoing
discussions of possibilities. It may be a good idea to communicate the working assumptions
(preserve the majority of existing diverse general education courses, categories should be
optimal not redundant) to participants.
The listening session should be framed as a participatory activity. The main space can
accommodate 60-80 people with 5 rooms for breakout sessions of 20 participants. The
invitation could pose some initial questions but allow others to develop. Can we improve the
general education framework? Does our general education program prepare students to
navigate life after college? There could be a question about humanities, about coordination
with the MUS core, and streamlining. Other questions may ask about current frustrations or
friction points or what’s missing from the program. There is a list of imperatives identified at
the fall conference.
Chair Reiser is happy to do the introduction and welcome. Then the committee will need to
decide the topics for the breakout sessions. It was suggested that each group have the same
questions and can decide which ones to address or discuss something that is missing. Each
breakout session should have a member of the General Education Committee taking notes. It is
hoped that a mix of students, faculty that teach general education courses, and advisors or
other campus community members be in each breakout session. It is hoped that at a minimum
30 students will attend. Asking for an RSVP on the invitation will help the committee plan for
the specific logistics of the breakout groups.
Chair Reiser and Professor Bradford will work on the Invitation so that a draft can be sent to the
committee by Monday for distribution next Wednesday (appended below).

Chair Reiser worked on a tentative alignment for the Mapping project and found that creative
expressions, ethics, and historical and culture categories could align with multiple areas in the
knowledge and skill areas of the passport.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 5:35 p.m.
Revitalizing UM’s General Education Framework
Please join the General Education Committee for café style breakout discussions to brainstorm ideas for
improving UM’s general education framework. Take off your departmental hats and provide
unauthorized, anonymous, and provocative feedback on these important questions:



What aspects of our general education curriculum make UM great? What enhancements could
make us greater? Are there holes or redundancies in our general education requirements?
Can we improve the current articulation of the American and European and Global and
Indigenous perspectives?
Can we make the current framework better for students, or easier to understand? How do UM’s
requirements compare to those in the MUS transfer core?
Who: Students, General Education Faculty, Advisors, and anyone passionate about general education
When: March 30, 3:10-5:00 p.m.
Where: Davidson Honors College
How: Please RSVP to faculty.senate@mso.umt.edu by Friday, March 25th to assist us with the planning
for this event.