University Requirements Curriculum Committee Minutes
Friday, April 20, 2012, 2:30-4:00, Room 62 Johnson
Present: J. Arhar, K. Burhanna, F. Haldar, L. Heoptner-Poling, T. Motter, I. R. Nettey, D. Williams,
D. Coombs, S. Rilling, R. Lorenz, L. Hanson, R. Duncan, A. Jacobson, V. Perera, M. Fisch, M.A.
Haley, J. Folk, C. Uher, N. Caine-Bish
Not Present: P. Buntin, T, Brewer, A. Burns, P. Evans, T. Janson, B. Jermon, T. Kandakai, D.
Knapp, P. Lieske, V. Perera, E. Robison, M. Rooks, S. Stocker, C. Uher, J. VanGeest, R. Walker
1. Call to Order 2:35 D. Williams.
Will be scheduling a meeting on May 11th 2:30.
2. Minutes of the February meeting. Approved with small typo corrected.
3. Curricular Proposals:
A. Kent Core
A discussion was started with how the assessment plans should be reviewed and what is URCC’s
role in the review. The following were major points in the discussion:
• There is limited criteria for reviewing the assessment plans and URCC members are not
experts in individual areas. For example, WIC we have criteria and we don’t have that for
learning outcome assessment plans.
• The objectives of the Kent Core and that they had to meet at least one. Evaluating as an
objective in an outside discipline is difficult.
• Our role is to see that there is an assessment plan and that the assessment plan identifies the
objectives and that they align with the Kent Core learning outcomes and that there is a tool
for assessing. We were not going to evaluate the tool or mechanism for assessment.
• The use of learning objectives as a mechanism of assessment is a learning process and with
review of the assessment plan by departments on a yearly basis especially in the early
phases, departments will have the ability to make changes as necessary. We should view this
as an iterative process and one of continuous improvement.
• We should be able to learn from the proposals and come up with some new evaluations.
Possibly a Clearing House of Best Practice.
• We have not said that we expect to see evaluative process and professional judgment of the
field.
• We are looking for a good faith effort. This is in the spirit of assessment and quality of
improvement.
• Move to the next step of how do we specify when the assessment process occurs.
o Fall, Spring Summer is when course time would be assessed. By the end of the fall
semester would be the deadline of the assessment. Halfway through the spring term
we would make adjustments of the plan.
o It was moved that assessments be turned in to URCC by the end of the fall semester
of the following academic year. The review will including three semesters worth of
data in the assessment. MOTION CARRIED
o It was suggested that URCC must communicate the deadlines in an email to the
Deans with a reminder that assessment plans are being put forth by their programs.
Kent Core Courses:
NUTR 23511, Science of Human Nutrition, 3 cr.
N. Caine-Bish introduced and was available for questions.
Motion Approved.
ENG 21054 Introduction to Shakespeare, 3 cr.
Sarah Rilling introduced and was available for questions.
• Intro to Shakespeare. Small faculty pool teaches class. They teach different work. No
common text or assessment. Demonstrate articulate writing. Faculties assess writing with
rubric. Aggregate the data. Meet as faculty to meet outcomes.
• Encourage assessing fewer than all the objectives for the course.
Motion approved.
ENG 22071 Great Books I, 3 cr. ENG 22072 Great Books II, 3 cr. ENG 22073 Major Modern
Writers: British and United States, 3 cr.
Sarah Rilling also introduced.
• Looking at student writing and the rubric is the same for all three courses. The goals are the
same, but the texts are different. All three courses have a great number of faculty who teach
the course. Tried to make the assessment generic enough so that writing is interpreted to
give flexibility to give some data on how the students are learning.
• Propose to take all courses together
Motion Approved.
ARCS 40114, Theory and Criticism in Architectural Media, 3 cr.
No one available for introduction/questions, but it was agreed upon that the course is within the
normal guidelines. Motion Approved.
B. WIC course proposals
JMC Catalog revision (course substitution)
Only for the course that is completed at the graduate level and only for students who do the
combined baccalaureate and masters degree. The course does have opportunities for guided revision
and over 50% of the course grade is writing. Motion Approved.
C. Diversity Requirement course proposals
ENG 31006 World Englishes, 3 cr.
Request Global Diversity
Students that are English speaking the varieties of English may have difficulty. Dialect differences,
educational context-educational and government policy.
Motion Approved.
ENG 41001 Sociolinguistics in Schooling, 3 cr.
Request Domestic Diversity
2nd dialect issues. Teaching ELS speakers English repertoire. It isn’t a group of slang, but a dialect.
Motion Approved.
4. Other items:
a) Stephanie Booth presented on the future task regarding Kent Core program assessment:
Program assessment is required for the whole Kent Core program with the goal of obtaining that on
the question: Are the students meeting the learning objectives for the Kent Core overall? Assessment
is typically completed on a rolling basis. There is always an assessment going on, but not all of it at
the same time. Need to find a way to assess overall.
The Higher Learning Commission requires an Assessment of General Learning Requirements. S.
Booth would like a draft of the assessment plan next year. The ACC&U has a plethora of information
on value added rubrics. She distributed information to be read for the start of the assessment
discussion for Fall 2012.
5. Subcommittee reports
a. ELR – R. Lorenz introduced the ELR Non-Course Activity Approval Forms. This is the 4th
mechanism available to meet the Experiential learning requirement. The form is a mechanism to
report a non-course activity. The non-course activity will show up on the student record. There is a
function of Banner that allows Non-course activity. The OCCEE office will be the office that with
organize the process and the sign-off would go through that office and registrar would then put in
into the Banner.
Forms will be on the OCCEE website. Advisors are going to need to be aware of this process.
Requirement will appear in the 2012 catalog. The transfer students will be the first group to fulfill
this requirement. This information will be shared in the Chairs and Directors meeting. Form
Approved.
b. WIC –Meet next Fri. look at the responses to the survey and formulating the report for the larger
URCC committee.
c. DIV – M. Rook to formulate the summary and future directions of the diversity requirement.
d. Kent Core – Called subcommittee of the discussion of the assessment issue, but the president
wants to see changes in the Kent Core. No specific purpose identified. Committee looked at the
report of the 21st century with recommendations that identified that most goals of the report had been
accomplished. The following were major topics discussed.
• Freshman seminar and faculty senate. Creating something new that it wouldn’t
replace FYE that would have more connection between and the core.
• Removing the additional category. Would require that replace those courses to falling
into. Put them back where they were.
• Interdisciplinary courses
6. Other items:
Mary Ann Haley distributed information regarding the Basic Science courses in the Core and in the
A&S requirements. She will bring forth a proposal for new language to the Core section on Basic
Sciences at the next meeting.
Next meeting:
*Note: the co-chairs have approved proposed in-activations of the following previously approved
Diversity and Writing Intensive courses (see workflow for materials):
HIST 42397, Colloquium: Women in Europe from Antiquity to Renaissance (DIV,
WIC)
HIST 45597, Colloquium in Russian History (WIC)
HIST 45697, Colloquium: Social History of Latin America (WIC)
HIST 45797, Colloquium: Comparative Latin American Revolutions (WIC)
HIST 46597, Colloquium in Twentieth Century European Diplomacy (WIC)
HIST 47697, Colloquium on Post-1945 Europe (WIC)
HIST 48097, Colloquium in Twentieth Century U.S. Foreign Policy (WIC)