MINUTES of the GENERAL EDUCATION REVIEW COMMITTEE
DATE: February 14th, 2014
TIME: 1:00-3:00pm
LOCATION: Hyland Hall 4306
IN ATTENDANCE: Jeff Heinrich, Chris Calvert-Minor, Jeffrey Zimmerman, John Frye, Lauren Smith,
Majorie Rhine, Martha Stephenson (for Noms a Gualla-Ogion?), Barbara Bren, Liz Hachten, Julia Ince,
Geetha Samaranayake, Tammy French, Marie Hornickel (for Beth John), Joan Cook.
Meeting is called to order at 1:07 by J. Heinrich
Announcements:
(1) Everett Long Award
(2) The formal review of “The World of Ideas” (WOI) will take place by the committee in March of
2014.
(3) L. Hachten is doing a poster for Assessment Day and asks committee members for any
advice/help with the project
Agenda:
(1) WOI Self-Study: Because the WOI self-study is coming in March, Heinrich explains what’s
expected from the committee in terms of feedback; we need to evaluate the goals, look for
overlap with the other core courses, identify the strengths, consistency of the syllabi, etc. Rhine
discusses the very low percentage of students in WOI that are not “accomplished” in writing.
Heinrich inquires as to whether GEN ED as a whole should de-emphasize content and move a bit
towards a greater emphasis on skills
(2) Update on the ongoing revision of GEN ED goals: Hachten describes the work occurring over the
previous two months in the Gen Ed Goals Revision Sub-Committee. She begins by reminding
GERC of the sub-committee’s charge and moves on to describe the newly-proposed “philosophy
of GEN ED statement” and the new ELOs/Goal areas. Hachten goes on to ask GERC for feedback
on the proposed ELOs/Goal areas and if they truly reflect our vision for the GEN ED program. A
long conversation results and the conclusion drawn is that GERC broadly agrees with the newlyproposed ELOs/Goal areas and recommends that the sub-committee continue in the process of
fine-tuning them
Meeting is adjourned at 3:00pm