Faculty Senate

University College and General Education Committee

Report #2002-03-2

The University College and General Education Committee considered the following matters at their meeting of February 6, 2003. They are now presented to the Faculty Senate. Some matters are for informational purposes and others require approval by the Faculty Senate and the President. Those actions that require approval are so identified.

I. Current General Education Program (1981)

A. Letters INFORMATIONAL (No action required)

The UCGE Committee approved "Francophone Hip-Hop Culture" as a topic under LET 151(L)

B. Natural Sciences RECOMMENDATION (Requires Approval)

The UCGE Committee recommends that BIO 105 "Biology for Daily Life with Laboratory" and BIO 106 "Biology for Daily Life with Recitation" be included in the Natural Sciences (N) area of the existing General Education Program for a limited period of time. These courses are replacing BIO 103 "Topics in Biology with Recitation" and BIO 104 "Topics in Biology with Laboratory" and will be subject to the provisions of the 2001 general education legislation requiring that each course in each area be reviewed and, if faculty members wish, re-proposed in accordance with the new guidelines..

II. Revised General Education Program (2001)

A. English Communication Core Area (EC) (ECw)

1. INFORMATIONAL (No action required)

The UCGE Committee agreed to the following guidelines proposed by the English Communication working group:

• "EC" courses and "ECw" courses present knowledge and content that develop and extend an understanding of effective written or oral interactions between a writer or speaker and a listening or reading audience, and they provide extensive guided practice in these interactions. ECw courses focus specifically on written communication.

• Supplementary guidelines for "EC" courses:

  a. "EC" courses and "ECw" courses examine the elements and conditions of effective writing or speaking through the use of a variety of basic disciplinary sources and critical explorations.

  b. "EC" courses enhance students' ability to critically receive, analyze and interpret texts, information, and persuasive messages for interaction with multiple audiences, in specified contexts, for specific purposes. "ECw" courses focus particularly on the analysis and production of written texts for a variety of purposes and contexts.

  c. "EC" courses and "ECw" courses promote progressive skill acquisition in critical analysis and production that results from ample opportunities for guided practice as well as feedback from peers, the instructor, the public or other audiences.

  d. "EC" and "ECw" courses provide multiple opportunities for writing and/or speaking and listening in different modes or genres and for varying audiences, purposes and contexts.

  It has been the committee's position that the guidelines do not require Faculty Senate approval because they are consistent with the approved definitions for the core area.

  2. RECOMMENDATION (Requires Approval)

The UCGE Committee recommends that the Faculty Senate approve the following course for the (EC) area of the revised General Education Program (2001):

LIB 120 Introduction to Information Literacy (speaking effectively, use of information technology, writing effectively)

B. Foreign Language/Cross-cultural Competence Core Area (FC) INFORMATIONAL (No action required)

At the direction of the UCGE Committee, the Chairperson sent a memorandum to all department chairs and deans on November 19, 2002 asking for submission of proposals for the Foreign Language/Cross-cultural Competence core area via the appropriate college deans by March15, 2003.

C. Social Sciences Core Area (S) RECOMMENDATION (Requires Approval)

The UCGE Committee recommends that the Faculty Senate approve the following courses for the (S) area of the revised General Education Program (2001, including the assignment of the Diversity designation:

APG 203 Cultural Anthropology (examining human differences, use of qualitative data, writing effectively) [D]

BGS 390 Social Science Seminar (examining human differences and 2 of the following: reading complex texts, use of information technology, writing effectively) [D]

D. Letters Core Area (L) INFORMATIONAL (No action required)

At the direction of the UCGE Committee, the Chairperson sent a memorandum to all department chairs and deans on November 25, 2002 asking for submission of proposals for the Letters core area via the appropriate college deans by March15, 2003.

E. Remaining Core Areas INFORMATIONAL (No action required)

The UCGE has established working groups for the remaining three areas. They are at varying stages in the process of developing guidelines for courses in each of the core areas.

1. Fine Arts and Literature (A)

2. Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning (MQ)

3. Natural Sciences (N)

Members of the University College and General Education Committee:

Arts and Sciences: Timothy George, HIS, (03)

Arts and Sciences: Judy Van Wyk, SOC& APG, (05)

Arts and Sciences: Lewis Pakula, MTH, (03)

Arts and Sciences: Linda Shamoon, ENG, (04)

Business Administration: Mark Higgins, CBA, (03)

Engineering: Leland Jackson, ELE, (05), Chairperson

Human Science and Services: Peter Blanpied, PEX, (05)

Nursing: Evelyn Yeaw, (05)

Pharmacy, Sara Rosenbaum, APS, (04)

The Environment and Life Sciences: Anthony Mallilo, FAVS, (03)

University Libraries: Mary MacDonald, (05)

Provost's Representative: Richard Rhodes, Interim Vice Provost

ASFCCE Representative: Edmund Ferszt, Associate Dean

Student Affairs Representative: Pamela Rohland

Dean of University College: Jayne Richmond

Faculty Senate Coordinator: Sheila Black Grubman