Council on General Education Report
Council on General Education Report
Options to Consider for the
Board of Regents Strategic Plan, 2002
March 31, 2003
Goal 1, Recommendation 1: Encourage Academic Structures that promote interdisciplinary learning, learning communities, and highlight the interconnectedness of knowledge.
Rationale
By bringing separate disciplines into conjunction as interdisciplinary courses, or by bundling two or more separate courses together as learning communities, students are better able to experience the relevance of one discipline to another and understand the linkages between them. Finding effective ways to connect disciplines with each other provides students with a deeper understanding of the world around them. Such connections also generate more effective habits of the mind among students, including critical thinking, synthesis, and a heightened sense of inquiry. It should also be recognized that interdisciplinary learning can be achieved through a combination of formal coursework and co-curricular activities. Regardless of the specific method employed, the desired outcome is for students to gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of knowledge and the interconnectedness of learning.
Resources
Each institution offers lower division courses and has qualified faculty in place to teach them. Those resources can be realigned and reallocated when interdisciplinary opportunities are presented. Each campus also employs some level of instructional development and faculty development capability. Most if not all institutions have in place a center for teaching and learning. Many schools have well-developed interdisciplinary courses and learning communities that can be replicated. Resources are also available to the University System and its institutions through national organizations like AACC and AACU.
Action Plan
The centerpiece of an action plan for this recommendation is to establish a web site that will provide communication, resources, and encouragement for interdisciplinary learning.
The web site should include links to national resources. It should also include an inventory of System faculty who have experience in developing successful interdisciplinary courses and learning communities, as well as case studies of successful interdisciplinary learning available within the System.
The System should secure grant funding which will enable a program to be established for the development of interdisciplinary learning at the various campuses. This program should include competitive opportunities for summer fellowships and academic year release time. Newly developed interdisciplinary initiatives thus generated should be added to the web site as case studies.
Institutions should develop means by which to foster interest in the creation and implementation of interdisciplinary learning at the local level. A rewards system should be concurrently developed, using internal or external resources depending upon budgetary pressures. Institutions should be afforded broad latitude in this respect. Successful efforts should be added to the web site as case studies.
Goal 1, Recommendation 2: Integrate ethical studies and diversity more fully into the core curriculum and general studies.
Rationale
A new emphasis targeting the study of ethics and diversity needs to be approached with the clear intent of developing a greater degree of understanding among students, which will then influence their attitudes and behaviors. The implication of this strategic plan recommendation is that college-educated individuals will develop a greater sense of awareness concerning ethical behavior and that they will more clearly understand both the dangers of prejudice and the realization that diversity is ubiquitous in their personal and professional lives. The common element present in the study of ethics and diversity involves knowing the difference between what is good and what is bad within the context of a 21st century global society. Thus the desired outcome is two-fold: 1) to make ethical thinking a natural part of every societal interaction encountered by the individual, and 2) to create in students a sense of responsibility to reduce the consequences of inequity while developing an appreciation for inclusion in public life.
Resources
Faculty expertise in ethics and ethical behavior exists in a wide variety of discipline areas. Student organizations frequently undertake activities and programs designed to promote ethical behavior. And there is a record of both philanthropic and corporate support for promoting ethics among college students. Likewise, each System institution has an established minority advising program and most System schools are actively involved in promoting diversity. Many System faculty have expertise in diversity issues and a number of courses are currently taught that contain diversity as subject matter. Centers, institutes, and programs on some campuses provide sources of regionally and nationally recognized expertise. And a number of grant sources are available for diversity initiatives.
Action Plan
The centerpiece of an ethical studies and diversity action plan is a web site that will serve as a clearinghouse for the coordination and promotion of ethical studies and diversity in the core curriculum.
The web site should include links to regional and national resources, an inventory of faculty throughout the System with experience in integrating ethical studies and/or diversity into core instruction, and case studies of successful integration that can be replicated by other institutions.
The System should secure grant funding which will enable a program to be established for the development of ethical studies and diversity subject matter, either as part of existing courses or the creation of new ones. This program should include competitive opportunities for summer fellowships and academic year release time. Newly developed efforts thus generated in ethical studies and/or diversity should be added to the web site as case studies.
Institutions should foster means by which to generate interest in the creation and implementation of ethical studies and diversity subject matter at the local level. A rewards system should be concurrently developed, using internal or external resources depending upon budgetary pressures. Institutions should be afforded broad latitude in this respect. Successful efforts should be added to the web site as case studies.
The System should identify best practices in minority recruitment, advising, retention, and enrichment initiatives so that more uniformly effective co-curricular diversity efforts can be designed and implemented at all System institutions.
Goal 3, Recommendation 4: Encourage more collaboration between two-year and four-year institutions in the revision of curricula and the refinement of course objectives.
Rationale
Developing more effective collaboration between two-year and four-year institutions in the revision of curricula will require more effective communication, a greater degree of commitment to the needs of students, and a broader understanding of the natural differences in mission and perspective that exist between two-year and four-year schools. Moving beyond current practice with respect to inter-institutional collaboration in this wise will also require a clearly articulated set of expectations on the part of the University System. At the heart of this strategic plan recommendation is the desire to establish greater consistency and continuity in the undergraduate curriculum so that any current transfer of credit obstacles are eliminated. The key to achieving this desired outcome lies within the University System core curriculum, its operational apparatus, and the spirit with which it is embraced at the institutional level.
Resources
Each System institution has a functioning core curriculum and a functioning assessment system for general education. Each of these institutions also has a transfer ombudsperson designated to serve as a point of contact for transfer of credit issues. Likewise, the University System has a workable transfer of credit policy that is tied to the System's core curriculum. The System also utilizes a Council on General Education whose purpose is to help ensure that general education programs at the various institutions conform to a prescribed set of guidelines and learning outcomes. The University System has recently initiated a program to increase the number of 2 + 2 programs available on the campuses of two-year institutions.
Action Plan
The institutional transfer ombudspersons should be re-tasked to provide assistance to transferring students prior to transfer with the aim of facilitating their success at the receiving institutions. The ombudspersons should receive regular training and should have direct access to their registrars and chief academic officers.
The System should facilitate the creation of a web-site on which every institution will place links for potential transfer students. This action will help transfer students more easily find an institution and major suitable to their qualifications and needs, and it will provide another information resource outlet for both students and institutional officials.
The System should assess the extent to which all 34 institutions have embraced both the letter and the spirit of the System wide core curriculum and should take steps to correct any inconsistencies that may exist.
The System should reassess the scope and responsibilities of the existing discipline-level academic advisory committees and should make necessary adjustments to fill any major gaps that are discovered. In addition, the relationship between the academic advisory committees and the consistency of core curriculum general education courses should be clarified.
The System should sponsor regional meetings of sending and receiving institutions. These meetings should be held at least once per year and should include broad representation from administrators and faculty.