Administrative Structure &
Communication Subcommittee
• Members: Sherrilyn Billger (chair),
Daniel Holland, Catherine Kaesberg,
Jonathan Rosenthal, Stewart Winger
• Resources:
http://ilstu.libguides.com/content.php?pi
d=215086&sid=2070348
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee
Administrative Structure and Communication
• Main Recommendations
• Administrative Structure
• Current Structure
• Recommended Structure
• Communication
• Current Communication
• Recommendations for Improvement
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee
Main Recommendations
1. Move Director of General Education position into the Provost’s
Office, to support all important aspects of the program.
2. Add three more workgroups to the existing structure which has
a workgroup for Critical Inquiry. These workgroups should be
discipline-focused: Science and Numeracy, Arts and
Humanities, and Social Sciences.
3. Change the current institutional structure surrounding the
General Education program with consistent, enticing, and
effective communication across all constituents.
4. The General Education Director should coordinate improved
communication about the General Education program,
including advising, Preview, web page, course syllabi, etc.
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee
Current Structure
Director of General Education
and
Associate Dean for Academic
Programs and Student Affairs, CAS
Council on General Education
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee
Director’s Current Responsibilities
• Monitor enrollment patterns
• Work with department chairs to have enough seats for GE
courses
• Work with the Provost to gather and allocate resources for
teaching GE courses
• Facilitate the Council on General Education
• Manage assessment for the GE program
• Chair the Interdisciplinary Studies program
• Serve as primary articulator for GE and Illinois Articulation
Initiative coursework
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee
Council on General Education (CGE)
• Coordinate the undergraduate curriculum for General Education and
Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS), ensuring that the spirit of the philosophy
of General Education is maintained by the program.
• Periodically review and analyze existing General Education and IDS
courses and program, based on program objectives and student
outcomes.
• Report recommendations to the Academic Senate regarding program
modifications.
• Provide consultation to departments, colleges, and other faculty groups
who are planning new additions to the undergraduate curriculum for
General Education and IDS.
• Review and approve or disapprove all proposals for new programs,
courses, and changes in existing programs/courses connected to GE
and IDS in consultation with the Director of General Education.
• Provide the Academic Senate each year with a report of Council on
General Education’s proceedings.
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee
The Good, The Not So Good, & There’s no Ugly
Advantages
Disadvantages
• Council on General
Education works
well
• GE Director is also
CAS Associate
Dean (facilitates
working with chairs)
•
•
•
•
Insufficient professional
development
Insufficient collaboration
between Assessment and
GE
Insufficient focus on
strategy for GE
Lack of effective
communication about GE
Administration and Communication Subcommittee
Recommended Administrative Structure
Director of General Education
(within Provost’s Office)
Council on General Education
Workgroups for disciplinary areas, with one
Facilitator for each group:
Science and Numeracy, Social Sciences,
Arts and Humanities, and Critical Inquiry
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee
Current Communication about GE
•
•
•
•
Advising, Preview, web page
Chairs: assignments and evaluation
“get GE courses out of the way”
“General Education change is not just a
task of curricular change: it is also
cultural change” (Awbrey, 2005, p.4)
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee
To Improve Communication
• Enticing language: Rename the
program? Rename the courses?
• Syllabi relate to GE goals
• Be consistent
• Professional Development: TT & NTT
• Testimonials from employers & alumni
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee
To Improve Communication, Cont’d
• Preview “marketing” e.g., student-made
video about GE
• Student evaluations and course rigor?,
hold student focus groups
• Longer-term contracts for NTTs
teaching in the program
• GE Symposium or more involvement at
T&LS
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee
Create a Slogan / Tagline for the program
Administrative Structure and Communication Subcommittee