UH HILO FACULTY CONGRESS
AGENDA FOR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
K-127 3:00 - 5:00 pm
OLD BUSINESS
1. Approval of the minutes of the September 1, 2006
2. Report from the Chair. Request approval to change the scheduled Congress meeting from Friday,
March 30, 2007 to Friday, March 23, 2007 (March 30 is during Spring Break). Report on the
ACCFSC meeting held on 9/22 and other meetings attended.
3. Reports from committee chairs:
 Kelly Burke, Academic Policy Committee. Request for approval of membership of committee.
Report from the Chair.
 Gail Makuakane-Lundin, Admissions Committee. Request for approval of membership of
committee. Report from the Chair.
 Barbara Leonard, Budget Committee. Request for approval of membership, report from the
Budget Committee.
 Sevki Erdogan, Assessment Support Committee. Request for approval of membership of
committee. Report from the Chair.
 Philippe Binder, General Education Committee. Request for approval of membership of
committee. Report from the Chair, and a Proposal for the General Education Curriculum will
be discussed in Congress. Please go to:
http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/uhh/congress/documents/CongressGECommitteeReportApr061_0
00.doc
http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/uhh/congress/documents/CongreeGEProposalSummaryApr061_0
00.doc
to read the entire proposal, including a minority report. Please be prepared to discuss the
motion below:
I. The General Education Program in all undergraduate degree programs at UH-Hilo will include
the following requirement areas:

Basic Requirements, which will include coursework in Written
Communication,
Quantitative Reasoning, World Cultures, and Hawaii/Asia Pacific.

Area Requirements, which will include coursework in the Humanities, Social Sciences,
and Natural Sciences. The Natural Sciences Area Requirement must include a laboratory
course in a physical or biological science.

Writing Intensive, satisfaction of a Writing Intensive Requirement.
II. The minimum acceptable coursework for any College’s implementation of this General
Education Program must include, but is not limited to:

Basic Requirements: 6 credits in Written Communication; 6 credits in Quantitative
Reasoning; 6 credits in World Cultures; 3 credits in Hawaii/Asia/Pacific.

Area Requirements: 6 credits in Humanities; 6 credits in Social Sciences; 7 credits in
Natural Sciences, including one laboratory credit.

Writing Intensive: 9 credits, 6 of which must be upper division.
III: Courses used to satisfy the Basic Requirement in Written Communication must:

introduce students to different forms of college-level writing, including, but not limited to,
academic discourse, and guide them in writing for different purposes and audiences

provide students with guided practice of writing processes-planning, drafting, critiquing,
revising, and editing-making effective use of written and oral feedback from the faculty
instructor and from peers

require at least 5000 words of finished prose-equivalent to approximately 20 typewritten
pages

help students develop information literacy by teaching search strategies, critical
evaluation of information and sources, and effective selection of information for specific
purposes and audiences; teach appropriate ways to incorporate such information,
acknowledge sources and provide citations

help students read texts and make use of a variety of sources in expressing their own
ideas, perspectives, and/or opinions in writing.
IV. Courses used to satisfy the Basic Requirement in Quantitative Reasoning must:

enable students to understand the use of mathematical concepts as representations of
real world events and phenomena

require students to develop skills in chains of reasoning from data to conclusions

require students to develop skills in problem-solving using mathematical concepts and
techniques
V. Courses used to satisfy the Basic Requirement in World Cultures must:

analyze the development of human societies and their cultural traditions through time and
throughout the world, including Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and
Oceania (Pacific Basin)

offer a broad, integrated analysis of cultural, economic, political, scientific, and social
development that recognizes the diversity of human societies and their cultural traditions

examine processes of cross-cultural interaction and exchange that have linked the
world's people through time

engage students in the study and analysis of writings, narratives, texts, artifacts, and/or
practices that represent the perspective of different societies and cultural traditions

Exception for language course: Second semester or above language course that
includes a World Cultures component through language or cultural comparison.
VI. Courses used to satisfy the Area Requirements in Humanities must:

involve students actively in critical thinking and in written or oral communication

use the terminology of the visual, performing, or creative arts; or of the study of
philosophy, language, communication, or religion; or of literary representations

engage students in the study of artifacts, texts, performances, processes, theories, or
issues of the concern in studies of the arts, philosophy, language, communication,
religion, or literature

demonstrate the methods or modes of inquiry employed in studies of the arts,
philosophy, language, communication, religion, or literature

illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the
social or natural sciences
VII. Courses used to satisfy the Area Requirements in Social Sciences must:

involve students actively in critical thinking and in written or oral communication

use the terminology of theories, structures, or processes in the social sciences

present theories, concepts, models, practices, research methods, or issues of concern in
the study of these structures or processes

demonstrate inquiry that is guided by theory and/or by quantitative and/or qualitative
methods employed in the study of structures or processes within the social sciences

illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the
humanities or natural sciences
VIII. Lecture courses used to satisfy the Area Requirements in Natural Sciences must:

involve students actively in critical thinking, numeracy, and written or oral communication

use the terminology of computational, physical or biological sciences

include knowledge and theories of the computational, physical or biological sciences

foster a student's ability to perform inquiry that is guided by the scientific method,
including observation/experimentation and scientific reasoning/mathematics

illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the
humanities or social sciences
IX. Laboratory courses used to satisfy the Area Requirements in Natural Sciences must:

use the laboratory methods of physical or biological science

involve the process of, or considers the issues of, experimental design,
testing/measurement, analysis and interpretation of experimental data/results

consider the strengths and limitations of the scientific method

demonstrate the interaction of observation/experiment, and reasoning/analysis.
X. Courses used to satisfy a Study of Hawaii, Asia, or the Pacific requirement must:

involve students actively in written or oral communication

investigate major aspects of the culture, language, economy, history, or natural
environment of Hawai'i or of another indigenous culture or nation or region of the Pacific
or Asia

foster critical understanding of different cultural perspectives, values, and world views
and the ability to acquire additional knowledge about these

illustrate the interrelationships among various disciplines in the study of the culture or
region
XI: Courses used to satisfy a Writing Intensive requirement must:

use writing to promote the learning of course materials. Instructors assign formal and
informal writing, both in class and out, to increase students' understanding of course
material as well as to improve writing skills.

provide interaction between teacher and students while students do assigned writing; in
effect, the instructor acts as an expert and the student as an apprentice in a community
of writers.

be graded to a significant extent by the student's writing performance

require students to do a substantial amount of writing—a minimum of 4000 words, or
about 16 finished pages—formal, or informal, including analytic essays, critical reviews,
journals, lab reports, research reports, or reaction papers, etc.

normally be restricted to 20 students.
XII. The decision to offer a course for General Education credit rests with the offering Department
and College. Offering a course for General Education credit imposes the following obligations on
that department:

Notification to the University community that the course is intended for General Education
credit, and the specific General education requirement that it is intended to satisfy. This
includes an obligation to notify the community of any future changes in the course that
may affect its continued suitability for that General Education requirement.

Public statement of the broad learning objectives of the course, through publication of a
master syllabus or other statement of objectives for the course at an accessible location.

Enforcement of reasonable compliance with the stated learning objectives by instructors
appointed by the department.

Documentation through regular, periodic program review that the course continues to
meet the appropriate set of hallmarks or standards.
XIII. Upon adoption of this program, the following sequence of events must occur:

Each Department must review courses that it may choose to offer for General Education,
and prepare a description of how the each course meets the appropriate set of hallmarks.

Each College Curriculum Committee must review the descriptions provided by the
Departments within the College, and act to approve or deny each course for General
Education.

The results of the Colleges’ reviews must be accumulated, and a combined list of
acceptable courses published. (Mechanism to be determined.)
XIV. The Colleges agree that any course certified by one College’s Curriculum Committee as
meeting a particular set of hallmarks will be accepted by all other Colleges for the same
requirement area. Acceptance of a course by one College, when that course is unacceptable to
another College and the disagreement cannot be resolved through discussion between the
Colleges, may be appealed to, and finally resolved by, the General Education Committee of the
UH-Hilo Congress.
XV. Colleges that offer courses to fulfill General Education requirements may determine
alternative means (credit by examination, or other alternatives) for the satisfaction of any General
Education requirement, subject to the following conditions:

The Department proposing the alternative means must demonstrate how the appropriate
hallmarks are satisfied by the alternative; and,

The alternative, if offered, must be available to any student that requests it.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Discussion of the Quality of Faculty Worklife: The University of Hawaii Survey Results