Basic Studies Committee Progress (10-16-07)
The committee has worked hard to become familiar with the many issues involved in
General Education reform on the national front and to understand the implications of the
Basic Studies Task Force proposal. Perhaps the single most valuable lesson learned by
our study of the national scene is that successful General Education revision always
involves careful consideration of the local culture.
1. The committee examined the Senate-approved set of seven statements of skills,
knowledge, and values that our students are to learn via our new core curriculum.
Our resulting Core Learning Outcomes match the approved version so closely
that the result amounts to some minor editorial changes.
2. In similar fashion there appears to be emerging consensus on the committee that
the distributive menu of courses approved by the Senate will at the least be very
similar to any model that the committee will eventually propose. When almost
four years ago the Chancellor charged the Basic Studies Task Force, she urged
that group to “create a structure that would lead students to overcome their
frequent belief that General Education is an obstacle to overcome as quickly as
possible, rather than something integral to their entire learning experience.” We
are currently working on ways to include interdisciplinary and vertical
components to the models we are considering in an effort to guide students
toward more intentional course selections in Basic Studies.
3. The committee is currently investigating the possibility of integrating more of our
students’ co-curricular activities into our general education framework. Such a
plan might serve as a mechanism to highlight the work of our students in our
laboratories, in leadership positions, in the community, and in study abroad.
4. Dr. Kemille Moore has put together a working group to discuss the varieties of
Freshman Seminar that will eventually populate the landscape.
5. The Task Force (in agreement with most faculty members, I believe) saw a need
to work to improve the writing skills of our students. The committee has met with
representatives from English, Creative Writing, and University Learning Services
to begin to explore how this might be accomplished. This will be a task that
should involve all departments that require writing of their students. We would
like to invite faculty input via a forum where plans for improving student writing
might be discussed. Time (early in November) and place TBA.