Meeting of the Faculty Senate
General Education Committee
325 Main Hall
20 September 2010
Meeting convened at 3:33pm, Galbraith presiding
Attending: Rafique Ahmed, Michael Current, Anne Galbraith, Tom Gendreau,
Jean Hindson, Gerald Iguchi, Michele Pettit, James Pierce, Tom Pribek
Guests & Consultants: Patrick Barlow, Carla Burkhardt, Amelia Dittman,
Kathleen Enz Finken, Bob Hoar, Tim walls
M/S/P, approved minutes of May 3, 2010; voice voice,
one abstaining
Personal introductions of GEC members
Elections: M/S/P, Anne Galbraith as chair; voice vote, unanimous
M/S/P, Tom Pribek as recorder; voice vote, unanimous
Introduction of Patrick Barlow, assessment co-ordinator, & remarks:
- not faculty, defer to policy makers
- assist GEC in reporting, as well as course/program ass.;
can mean solidifying current practice and/or creating questions
for future
- not in favor of using ass. for any PTS decisions
chair's remarks, & discussion:
- summary of report of last year's GEC work (document submitted to FS)
- this year, FS has to decide what to do with GEAC
- also new, ass. co-ord.
- charge: change or defend Program;
"close the loop" on nearly 3 years of ass. data;
what can we get from the data we have rather than change process?
further discussion:
- need to show ass. is "informing" GE program
- we hope to achieve something in the core 6 areas of SLO,
by variety of instructional methods, course size, etc.
- set some pre-defined %, some benchmarks, of successful "outcome":
what is a good program?
- "when students finish GE, they look like this..."
"Is GE contributing to what students look like when they finish"
- # credits probably larger than many; available courses to acquire
credits perhaps smaller than other unv.s’ GE
- "why?" question: what's good about GE, wrong with it: GE has
proposed change in past without justifying it; wasn't based on data,
but a value judgment; we "must come to some SHARED value system"
- improve the program, make a "healthy, vibrant program"
- how many students are taking how much of the curriculum?
Next meeting: compose a paragraph description of GE; start setting goals
for defining success of courses
Meeting adjourned at 4:29pm
Notes compiled by T. Pribek