General Education Review Task Force
Student Forum on General Education
11-12 November 2002

 

I.  WHAT IS YOUR VISION OF GENERAL EDUCATION?

An ideal general education program should encourage students to:

· Know about a lot of different things
· Be well-rounded and explore possibilities, new ideas
· Talk intelligently about a variety of subjects
· Experience life/culture outside "comfort zone"
· Become more tolerant and understanding of others
· "Sample" possible majors
· Form a solid educational foundation
· Become informed citizens
· It should allow for student flexibility
· It ought to encourage exploration of majors and disciplines, especially early in the program.
· Gen Ed ought to prepare students to "engage the world from a base of knowledge"
· It needs to enable transfer students to come into the program without wasted time and credit hours.
· Gen Ed augments the major; it's not the enemy of the major.
· I must allow for absolutely free electives
· There should be a balance between the major and Gen Ed
· Humanities ought to expand our thought and provide us with skills to learn about specific content areas rather than try to cover everything.

II.  WHAT WORKS IN OUR CURRENT GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM?

In our current system, the following items "work":

· Trying out new subject areas students might not ordinarily elect to take
· Having something in common with other learners
· Learning from teachers who come from various backgrounds/areas of expertise (ex: HUM professor with degrees in Philosophy)
· HUM works because it introduces different and new ideas in the context of interdisciplinary studies (science, econ, lit….)
· The telescopic nature of Humanities (124--3000 years; 214--1000years; 324--300 years; 414--50 years).
· Language composition requirements.
· Requiring lab science.
· Distribution requirements in the social sciences.
· The blend of core and distributional requirements.
· Requiring an Arts lab is great because it encourages hand-on experiences in the arts.

III.  WHAT DOESN’T WORK IN OUR CURRENT GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM?

In our current system, the following items do not work:

· Not enough cross-listing/connections/themes (ex: HUM 414 and social science)
· Transfer credit confusion/dissatisfaction, especially in light of 60-hour limit
· Conflict between History and Humanities for transfer students
· Strictness on transfer credit; lack of flexibility here (Registrar’s Office)
· Lack of clarity in terms of course selection and sequencing (when to take HUM 124? When to take 414? Arts 310?)
· HUM requires too many credit hours (4 too many, 3 ideal)
· Another student argues that 4 is about right
· HUM professor differences cause students to feel frustrated; some require lots of work, others not as much – this should be evaluated/regulated
· People are often reluctant to take what’s "forced" on them; choice is good
· The Humanities Program isn't diverse enough from a cultural perspective.
· We need a stronger focus on the contemporary world.
· Attempts at incorporating service learning seem disconnected from course material.
· Humanities courses need to be three-hour courses to enable more exploration within the major.
· HF requirements seem silly; they don't really change behavior.
· The current structure of Arts 310--it alternates between being too esoteric and being too "fluffy."
· Math 155/Stat 185 are too elementary.
· Arts 310: If it isn't "arts appreciation," what exactly is it?

IV.  WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN OUR GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM?

· Diversity must be better-incorporated in terms of curriculum and pedagogy
· More linked courses
· Advertise a "theme" for certain classes
· There must be more understanding of certain diversity-related issues (sexual orientation, race relations, gender identity) and more discussion of these issues in gen ed classes (There was some debate about this issue… if students aren’t tested on "multiculturalism" in a CHEM class, why bother with it? One student’s answer: "We SHOULD be tested on issues of diversity/multiculturalism")
· Instructors/students tend to "shrug off" gen ed classes… notion of, "getting these out of the way" – this shouldn’t be the case, and it’s a cycle
· There should be more balance in gen ed structure (it’s heavy on history)
· Students should be able to choose from other, less-emphasized, subjects (ex: Music)
· There should be more variety in terms of HF activity course (why doesn’t Yoga or kayaking count?)
· In light of ARTS criticism, consider designing "Math and Ideas" or "Science and Ideas" to give some choice
· The structure of ARTS 310 should be standardized, as instructors approach it in so many different ways
· We need less structure and more freedom in the program.
· Arts ought to allow for more exploration and experiencing of the arts.
· Move away from the core philosophy toward student choice.
· Humanities needs more of a balance between Western Civ and consideration of other cultures--perhaps two courses on Western Civ and two on World Civ issues?
· Humanities should provide us with a broader basis for understanding the world rather than focusing so heavily on a European perspective.
· Require service learning.
· All HF activity courses should count toward Gen Ed.
· Either fewer adjuncts in Gen Ed courses or better oversight and quality control.
· Change the mentality from seeing Gen Ed as hoops to jump through for graduation to seeing it as an integral part of our education. We need student and faculty buy-in.
· Clearly identify the topical coverage of Language 101,102.
· Allow Humanities courses to have a topical focus in individual sections.
· LR: Explain precisely what we are supposed to be getting out of it; integrate it into Language or other courses.
· Enable transfer credit for Gen Ed requirements.

V.  WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO MAKING THESE CHANGES?