General Education Committee Minutes, 10/16/13
Members present: L. Frey, L. Calderon, S. Caro, A. Dresselhaus, P. Frissell, K. Reiser, T.
Squires, N. White, H. Ausland
Members Absent: K. Huthaily, J. Randall, F. Rosensweig
Ex-officio Members present: N. Hinman, B. Holzworth
Guest: S. Bradford
The minutes from 10/2/13 were amended and approved.
Business:

The Committee discussed the items scheduled for consideration. The approved and not
approved items are listed below.
There were questions on several forms. The two courses proposed for Ethics were discussed
and set aside for consideration as schedule with the Ethics group as a whole. Professor
Ausland asked for clarification on whether a course that seems to have only two class
periods devoted to the topic of ethics would satisfy the intent of the group. The Committee
did not think so. He also asked whether about how specialized courses could be and still be
foundational and include an acceptable ethical tradition in context. The Philosophy
Department has a narrow interpretation of acceptable traditions. This has been problematic
with regard to non –western traditions. Professor Ausland will work on a sorting out the
issue.
Three forms submitted for the American & European Group were rejected.
FRCH 350 is not appropriate for a general education course because it requires students to
be fluent in French. General Education courses cannot have more than one prerequisite.
IRSH 345 does not meet the criteria for an American and European course. The
subcommittee recommends that the course be considered for the Literary and Artistic
Studies Group. The requestor accepts this recommendation. The course will be reviewed
by the Literary and Artistic Studies Subcommittee. MSL 101 does not meet the criteria or
learning outcomes for the American & European Group. Professor Frey will contact the
requestor to discuss the possibility of altering the course to meet the requirements.
Several courses in the Historical and Cultural Group were one-time-only Global Leadership
Initiative courses and did not fit the criteria. Chair White asked Professor Frey to work with
the instructors to bring the courses into compliance if possible. There are concerns
regarding the continuation of approving one-time-only GLI courses that don’t quite fit with
the general education program. The GLI seems to be functioning outside of Faculty
Governance in terms of course review. The GLI was approved as a pilot project by the
Faculty Senate. There will be an update at the November Faculty Senate meeting.
Mathematics - Approved
M 191
Ethics – Not Approved
CHMY 302E
LSH 389
Fairness and Social Justice: Quantifying the
Unquantifiable
One-time-only
Chemistry Literature & Scientific Writing
Placebos: The Use of Words
renew
new
American & European – Approved
JRNL 100
Media History and Literacy
New (permanent
number for GLI
course previously
granted one-time only
status
American & European – Not Approved
ENIR / IRSH
345
Introduction to Irish Gaelic Literature
FRCH 350
French Civilization and Culture
MSL 101
Leadership and Personal Development
new
new
new
Literary & Artistic - Approved
LIT 191
Crossing Boundaries: Film, Literature, and Adaptation
LIT 280
The Ecology of Literature
One-time -only
New
Literary & Artistic - Not approved
FRCH 311
Survey of French Literature 17th & 18th Centuries
FRCH 312
Survey of French Literature of the Long 19th Century
FRCH 313
Survey of French Literature of the 20th-21 Centuries
New
New
New
Chair White distributed a draft of the Academic Planning Workgroup’s draft report. Last
spring the President established five groups to work over the summer to consider
fundamental changes in how the university operates and prioritizes resources beyond Fiscal
Year 14. The five groups are:
http://www.umt.edu/planningassessmentcontinuum/Workgroups/default.aspx
Group 1: Strategic Enrollment. The group will address recruitment and retention,
recommending strategies for both.
Group 2: Revenue Enhancement. This group will examine opportunities to
increase revenue through sources other than the general fund.
Group 3: Resource Allocation. This group will explore alternative models for
resource allocation used in higher education to ensure we are making the best use of
our resource base.
Group 4: Cost Savings. This group will look at our expenses to see if we can
accomplish our objectives in more efficient, less expensive ways.
Group 5: Academic Programming. This group will examine the question around
our portfolio of academic programs.
The Academic Planning Group identified three areas/trends of focus: Interdisciplinary,
Internationalism and Online Education. Some of the statements in the report are concerning
in that they seem to lean towards the model of education favored in professional schools.
The group’s draft final report broadly identified “THE GENERAL EDUCATION
PROGRAM” as a fourth issue, “that is cross-cutting … “We seemed unable to avoid it in
consideration of all three areas of focus.” Specific discussion of the role of the General
Education requirements was limited in the draft final report but raised some potential points
of conversation for the Committee:
Chair White asked that the Committee consider three questions/ issues:
1) The relationship of the Global Leadership Initiative and General Education
2) Should the General Education Committee consider ways for the general education
program to accommodate interdisciplinarity or internationalism?
3) What is the role of a traditional liberal arts education at a public research institution?
The discussion will continue next week. There is a joint meeting of the Planning Committee
and the Budget Committee next Monday at which the Group’s recommendations will be
presented.
The meeting adjourned at 5:08 p.m.