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The lack of numeracy is a focal concern: students need to develop the ability to use numbers. There is a tendency toward a “bloating” of the major; that is, the major tends to add more credit hours to the requirement if those hours are not protected as part of general education or as electives.

Arts 310 may not be working. Currently, though, there seem to be changes underway and these make me more interested in learning more about the program. Faculty, however, have not seemed satisfied with it and alumni don’t comment on it very often. Arts 310 is perceived as distinct from Humanities, but does not seem valued as highly.

The interdisciplinary science courses are looking a lot like regular science courses. It is unclear how they are different other than that one has a lab. It seems wrong to allow science students to be exempt from a general education science requirement. The general education science requirement should be science for non-majors; it should be historical and interdisciplinary. We need to revisit this element of the general education curriculum.

Library Research: Requiring Library Research for transfer students creates a barrier for those students who need to declare a major immediately.

Humanities: Students in the department see the Humanities as a world history sequence. They are not engaged with the material. They need more choice.

Sections are too large. There needs to be more time for experiential learning and student collaboration. The program also needs to be more inclusive of other cultures and perspectives. If the Humanities program is our “core,” then more faculty should be involved.

FYE classes should be integrated in Gen. Ed. These classes fulfill broad Gen. Ed. objectives such as the acclimation to college and development of communication, library, and study skills. These courses also promote achievement of the liberal education mission by bring students into conversation immediately. The faculty expressed concern that only some FYE classes can be used for Gen. Ed. credit. Why do some of the FYE classes count for Gen. Ed and others do not?

Design a freshman seminar. Perhaps creating such a course could be done by removing some humanities hours and including some global and diversity issues in the content of the seminar. Explore the possibility of learning communities assigned to the same freshman advisor / advising team.

We need an international experience for our students. Expand the study-abroad options or tie the international experience to the humanities sequence.

Gen. Ed. courses need to be transferable to other institutions. Conversely, UNCA needs to be more flexible about accepting for Gen. Ed. credit courses from other institutions. UNCA should pay particular attention to reviewing criteria for transfer courses that are
acceptable for Gen. Ed. credit in the social sciences.

Arts: Would work best when allowed to be experiential and hands-on. Students need to be engaged by participating in the creative process. Arts 310 and the arts lab should be integrated or tied together and taken at the same time. Arts 310 should be more than an arts appreciation class. What is 310 doing that Humanities isn’t?

General Education program has too many hours. If there were only 45 hours in Gen. Ed, then students would be able to have more free electives. Students would then have time to take classes to explore various disciplines.

Gen. Ed. be more flexible and allow students to meet competencies through other courses?

Could there be a more open-ended course, one that is not tied to a major. Interdisciplinary courses integrating different branches of science?

Would like to see more points of contact between General Education and major. Complementarity.

Would like to see more Foreign Language

Dislike the ducking by dumbing B present system encourages incompetence by rewarding students who have taken high school foreign language, but who retake the basic language requirement. Students should be competent in a foreign language on an intermediate level.

A new system should signal that students should learn as much language as they can in high school so it can speed them through college.

If they start new language, it would take two years

They assume that a small number of students would wish to start a new language and they would probably be Foreign Language majors.

A foreign language should not only be a usable skill but should relate to diversity, communication, writing research, critical thinking.

Students don't apply writing skills at upper levels.

Not sure that Arts and Ideas is where it should be, but understand that it is undergoing revision.

Students have a hard time seeing the point of A & I B may change after being reworked.

Value of Health and Fitness requirement is questionable.

Departmental majors have different attitudes than general advisees. Foreign language majors see the integrative nature B other advisees see General Education as a disjointed collection of classes. They especially see social sciences as more relevant to social science majors.

Lost two students because of inadequate variety in General Education courses.

Not all feedback on Humanities or other requirements is positive. Core reading Ais less more"?

Teaching out of specialty. Interdisciplinary is a challenge. Takes an investment of resources.

Introductory classes in S. S. are General Education.

The nature-of-math course trivializes math as do the Arts Labs; students should be required to learn something in depth.

An artist should direct the program and it should not be taught by adjuncts (who tend to be more practitioners that do not provide the philosophical theoretical dimension to esthetics as would a research scholar).

Arts 310 fails to achieve the mission of "making the arts integral to the liberal arts experience."

The arts are not generally supported here by anyone in the campus community --- this too sends the message that the arts are not important.

Humanities' monopoly on Lipinsky harms the Arts program; it should use HLH, perhaps twice a day.

Interdisciplinary courses are not always the, best approach to good General Education. Sometimes sampling provides a better picture of science. Biology is probably more interdisciplinary than other sciences. Interdisciplinary is a loaded term. Part of learning is to sample. Bright students can make the connections when they see there are parts that overlap among disciplines. Too much interdisciplinary science can be so broad the student loses all depth.

Are students getting basic skills developed? Remediation may or may not be a function of General Education, but someone has to do it?