General Education revision (updated 04-14-2020)

54th Senate Meeting Documents
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UPDATE (04-14-2020)

The General Education Working Group used the feedback they received in the fall from campus, the various advisory groups, and the General Education Committee (GEC) to put final touches on the proposed GE revision. Because of the new emphasis (in the Mission and Goals) on global experiences for our students, the Internationalization of UWL Curriculum Group was asked to propose a rich global experience for our students that would be accessible to all students. Their ideas (and original proposals) were incorporated into the draft proposal dated 04-14-2020 (below) which will be sent to GEC and campus for review. 

NEW General Education Program Proposal (DRAFT 04142020)

Dear Colleagues,
 
After nearly three years, the General Education Working Group (GEWG) has drafted what we believe is the best version of a General Education (GE) program possible for this campus based on listening, responding, discussing, editing, consulting, and listening some more. The Senate Executive Committee (SEC) unanimously approved our submission to GEC on April 20 and if approved by GEC, to Faculty Senate for the requisite two readings this spring. 
 
If approved, implementation will occur over the next two years (minimum), and the General Education Committee (GEC) will be responsible for leading that implementation, which will result in a final roll out to students in Fall 2022 (at the earliest). 
 
We want to continue to emphasize that one of the goals for GE is that the program remain dynamic. We do NOT want a program that becomes inflexibly set in stone for another 25 years. (Our current model was developed in 1995). This makes change unnecessarily difficult. Therefore, this is not a "final" version because there is no "final" version, but rather, a program that will continue to be modified as needs arise via GEC, the General Education Assessment Committee (GEAC), and Faculty Senate. 
 
Below is a link to the draft proposal. You will see that the largest change since the October draft is the addition of a non-credit bearing Global Emphasis requirement that helps solidify our commitment (based on our mission and goals) to prepare students to become responsible global citizens and thrive in an increasingly interconnected world. We thank the Internationalization of UWL Curriculum Group for that work. We would also like to thank the Assessment Advisory Board, the Logistical Advisory Group, former members of the GEWG, and so many of our passionate faculty and staff and students for their valuable input over the years. 
 
We will be having an open forum via Webex on Tuesday, April 21, from 10am to noon using this link https://uwlax.webex.com/meet/senate. Please stop by and ask any questions that you have about the proposal. You can also email me (agalbraith@uwlax.edu) and get your questions answered that way. And of course you are welcome to attend the open meetings of the GEC on Monday, April 20 (3:30pm) or the Faculty Senate meetings if/when this proposal is discussed. 
 
Take care of yourselves!
Anne Galbraith (Biology; GEWG Chair) on behalf of the industrious GEWG:
Colin Belby (Geography & Earth Science)
Sam Cocks (Philosophy)
Natalie Eschenbaum (English)
Tav Hawkins (Physics)
Shelley Hay (Global Cultures & Languages)
Adam Hoffer (Economics)
Heather Hulett (Mathematics & Statistics)​
Kenneth Shonk (History; SoE)  

The link to the proposal can be found here. Thanks for your continued interest as we try to remodel the program to make it better for our students!

New General Education Mission Statement/Program Goals

After a summer of work by the GE Working Group, and three open fora and two rounds of Qualtrics surveys to elicit feedback, the Faculty Senate approved the new General Education Mission Statement and Program Goals on October 4, 2018. Thank you all for your help and feedback in this process so far!

The next step for the working group is to continue working with campus to develop assessable program outcomes and a structure for the GE coursework. Please look for requests for help on this part of the project in 2019.

General Education Working Group (GEWG)

Current* Membership expanding section
  • Colin Belby** (Geography & Earth Science; recent GEC chair)
  • Sam Cocks** (Philosophy; recent GEC member)
  • Natalie Eschenbaum (English; SEC, Senate Chair)
  • Anne Galbraith (Biology; recent Senate Chair, current GEC member)
  • Tav Hawkins** (Physics; SEC)
  • Shelley Hay** (Global Cultures & Languages)
  • Adam Hoffer (Economics)***
  • Heather Hulett (Mathematics & Statistics)
  • Kenneth Shonk (History; SoE affiliation)  

Previous members: Lauren Mason-student, Fa17; Aaron Bhatoya-student, Sp17; John Nunley- Economics, Fa17; Laurie Miller- Economics, Sp18; Nadia Carmosini-Chemistry and Biochemistry, Sp18

*Current membership as of June 2018

**Members who attended the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Institute on General Education and Assessment in Chicago (Sp17).

***Joined January 2019

GEWG Meeting Minutes expanding section
Advisory Groups to the GEWG expanding section

The development of three Advisory Groups to the GE Working Group was approved by Faculty Senate in '18-'19: an Assessment Advisory Board, a Logistics Advisory Group, and a Student Advisory Group. (Student Association also approved the development of the Student Advisory Group). 

The Assessment Advisory Board convened to begin discussion of assessment strategies and development of SLOs for the draft proposed model, with the knowledge that the proposed model is a draft, and therefore still quite fluid. Work continued over Summer 2019 by a sub-group of the full committee. The full membership of the AAB includes:

  • Patrick Barlow (IRAP)
  • Natalie Solverson (IRAP)
  • Megan Morey (GEAC)
  • Cordial Gillette (GEAC)
  • Chad Vidden (GEC)
  • Anup Menon Nandialath (GEC)
  • Bryan Kopp (FYS)
  • Darci Thoune (FYE)
  • Alternate: Karen Hart (GEAC)

The Logistical Advisory Group convened in Fall 2019 to provide feedback to the GEWG proposal that was developed over Summer 2019. The membership of the LAG includes:

  • Robert Allen (Mathematics & Statistics)
  • Jo Arney (DIrector of Student Success)
  • TJ Brooks (Economics)
  • Linda Dickmeyer (Communication Studies and SoE)
  • Scott Johns (Admisions)
  • Robin Tuxen (Textbook Rental)
  • Bart VanVoorhis (Psychology)
  • Jan Von Ruden (Registrar)

The Internationalization of UWL Curriculum Group convened in late Fall 2019 to provide a proposal for a non-credit bearing Global Emphasis requirement in March 2020. The membership of the IUCG includes:

  • Gerardo Aponte-Safe (Educational Studies)
  • Rose Brougham (Global Cultures & Languages)
  • Natalie Eschenbaum (English)
  • Nicole Gullekson (Management)
  • Megan Litster (Biology & School of Education)
  • Kristin Koepke (Sociology)
  • Heather Linville (Educational Studies & TESOL)
  • Diane Sasaki (International Education & Engagement)
  • Tim McAndrews (Archaeology & Anthropology, Chair)

The membership of the Student Advisory Group had not been determined as of September 2019. 

GEWG '19-'20 Timeline for Phase II ("the categories")

April 2019

May-August

September

October

Bring GE program draft structure to campus- get feedback from GEC, Deans, Department Chairs, web site

Use feedback to continue working on structure while Assessment Advisory Board works closely with GE Working Group to develop SLOs

Seek campus feedback on structure/SLOs via web site, open sessions

Modify structure and SLOs as needed

Get feedback from campus

Nov-Dec

Mar 2020

April

May

Modify structure; request work on global courses by Internationalization of UWL Curriculum Group

Internationalization of UWL Curriculum Group reports back to GEWG regarding Global courses

Incorporate ideas from Int. of UWL Curriculum Group

Submit to GEC and campus

Informational Readings

  1. Gaston, P. L., & Gaff, J. G. (2009). Revising General Education - and Avoiding the Potholes. Association of American Colleges and Universities.
  2. Hanstedt, P. (2012). General Education Essentials: A Guide for College Faculty. John Wiley & Sons. In particular the first two chapters: Structuring General Education and Some Examples of Integrative Curricular Models.
  3. Rising to the LEAP Challenge 
  4. PowerPoint AAC&U High-Impact Practices that focuses on general education.
  5. Resources made available from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U).
  6. General Education AAC&U Action Team Overview, Summary and Notes.
  7. GEC Report on Size and Purpose of UWL General Education Program, Spring 2017