GENERAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE MINUTES, 4/29/15
CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL
Members present: S. Bradford, S. Caro, M Cracolice, R. Fanning, K. Reiser, T. Shearer, G. Weix
Ex-officio Members present: B. Howard, N. Lindsay
Members Absent/ Excused: L. Calderon, T. Squires
Minutes: The minutes from 4/15/15 were approved.
COMMUNICATION ITEM

ASCRC approved the language exemption for Resource Conservation.
BUSINESS ITEM

The annual report from the Graduation Appeals was discussed. Many appeals have to do with
general education requirements. There were several related to a lack of available American and
European courses.

The remaining language courses (Arabic and Chinese) were approved.

The Committee agreed that Ethics Expressive Arts and Social Science will be reviewed next
spring. The Committee will recruit additional members with expertise in the area to serve on
the review committees, rather than divide the work among the members of the committee. A
communication should go out in the fall explaining the assessment requirement. A training
session was also suggested. Coaching will be necessary to help faculty develop measurement
tools, provide evidence of some type of analysis.

The approved the catalog language that will allow transfer students outside of Montana the
option to use the MUS core if they transfer with 20 credits or more that count toward the core
through course equivalency. This change will facilitate progression for many students. The
Committee would like to assure that advisors are informed when the change goes into effect.

The Committee approved a statement on the form that allows professors to skip the criteria and
learning outcomes review if the course has not changed since the last review. There was some
confusion regarding the revised forms. The form for the Pilot Project and the form for the
normal review are the same. Apparently some members did not understand that the pilot form
would apply to all general education courses. There was concern that there has not been a
formal vote to apply the pilot approach to the normal review process. Faculty in the pilot were
volunteers. There is also concern that there will not be assessment information available for
new courses. Associate Provost Lindsay will work with Camie to revise the forms so it is clear
which sections are not necessary.

Associate Provost Lindsay will work on a report of the Pilot over the summer. Professor
Cracolice’s assessment information would be a good sample. The University needs to show
evidence that it is working on assessment of general education. The pilot should be expanded.
The committee could also explore additional approaches such as learning groups or the
pedagogy project. It seems that most of the committee’s time is spent reviewing forms when
the program itself is being criticized.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.
GENERAL EDUCATION FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS MOTION
Revisions to current catalog language
Students transferring credits from other institutions must meet all requirements by transfer, by
examination, or by completing courses at the University of Montana-Missoula.
According to Board of Regents policy, students who can demonstrate that they have completed the
lower division course work in an approved lower-division general education requirement program at an
approved Montana institution of higher education will be deemed to have completed general education
requirements except for the upper-division writing proficiency assessment and the upper-division
writing requirements in their majors.
Montana University System transfer students who believe they have completed the lower division
course work in an approved lower-division general education requirement program prior to admission
at another Montana school should request that the registrar of the other school certify completion of
the requirements. send a letter to the University Registrar’s Office certifying that the requirement has
been met.
Students who have earned If students transfer 20 or more credits equivalent to the approved Montana
University System Transfer Core core course credits as a degree-seeking student at another institution
prior to with their initial registration at UM-Missoula, they may choose to complete the MUS
Transferable General Education Curriculum rather than the UM-Missoula General Education
requirement.
Students governed by the 2006-2007 catalog or later catalogs must earn a traditional letter grade of Cor better in courses used to satisfy General Education (except English composition and the
Mathematical Literacy course must be a C or better). Students enrolled in a post-secondary institution
prior to autumn 2006 may be eligible to choose an earlier governing catalog. Refer to the Governing
Catalog information in the previous section. See index.
Students who have completed a bachelor degree at the University or elsewhere will be presumed to
have completed the General Education Requirement Program.
Admissions & New Student Services will evaluate all transfer credits for General Education credit.
Students who wish to appeal that evaluation may petition the Graduation Appeals Subcommittee of the
Academic Standards and Curriculum Review Committee. but such petitions must be initiated during the
first semester of the student's attendance following that evaluation.