Faculty Retreat on General Education GE Taskforce Presentation

1. Faculty Retreat on General EducationGE Taskforce Presentation November 18, 2011

2. Phase I: GE Revision Process • Revise General Education Mission and Goals • Susan Taylor, LAS and Steve Tragesser, ENG • Taskforce work and campus dialogue: fall 2009 to fall 2010 • Nov 2010: UCCS campus-wide faculty vote approving revised GE Goals (93% approval)

3. UCCS General Education Goals Vision: General education at UCCS prepares students for success in their majors, professional pursuits, and lives as creative, thoughtful, informed, and engaged members of our diverse, global society. The goals of our general education program focus on three interrelated areas of learning, all of which are essential to an undergraduate education. Through the general education curriculum, students will develop competencies in each area and the ability to integrate these competencies as a foundation for lifelong learning. • Evaluate and Create • Know and Explore • Act and Interact

4. Phase II: GE Revision Process • Christina Jiménez, LAS and Jeff Ferguson, COB • Taskforce work began in March 2011, continued through summer and fall 2011 • Our charge: to design a structure to implement the faculty-approved GE Goals and a structure of faculty governance for the university-wide general education curriculum

5. GE Committee Members Chris Bell Sue Byerley Tom Christensen Jenny Dorrington Julaine Field Traci Freeman Lea Gaydos Peter Gorder David Havlick Katie Kaukinen Sherry Moreale Nina Polok Steve Tragesser Kee Warner David Weiss Glen Whitehead Regina Winters

6. Our goal for today: to get faculty ideas and input • Overview of the current GE structure • Present preliminary ideas from our committee work • No proposal at this point • Need faculty ideas, feedback, and input • First of many opportunities to dialogue with the faculty about our GE program

7. Where did we start? • Studied our current GE curricula • Read the research about effective General Education programs • Assessed the strengths and challenges of our current GE curricula

8. Strengths of our current GE curricula • Breadth • Strong disciplinary-based course offerings • University-wide writing programs • Plenty of flexibility for students to choose

9. Challenges of our current GE curricula • Lack of coherence: a list of courses to “get through” • Lack of integration • Lack of intentionality • Transferability of skills from GE course work to a student’s major • Ineffective communication about our GE vision to faculty and students

10. Our key GE challenge to create • Intentionality • Vision • Coherence • Integration

11. What does the research show? • AAC&U’s (American Association of Colleges and Universities) LEAP (Liberal Education, America’s Promise) Initiative • High-Impact Educational Practices • Research report: (http://www.aacu.org/leap/hip.cfm)

12. High impact practices • What is UCCS already doing? • How can we build on existing practices? • What are other practices to consider?

13. High impact practices for consideration in UCCS GE program • First-Year Seminars and Experiences • Capstone Courses and Projects • Common Intellectual Experiences --- Core Course --- Themes connecting courses Possible “components”

14. Some insights: • Consider courses and course content, but also the intentional connections made between courses • Several “means” exist to get us to our identified “end”

15. Our current GE curricula at UCCS • Varies by college • UCCS does not have a university-wide GE curriculum

16. = current total credit hours in UCCS college-based GE curricula (some examples) Nursing Elementary Education 53-54 cr. LAS Criminal Justice 45-49 cr. 49 cr. Business 48 cr. Engineering 37 cr. 31 cr.

17. Current Engineering BS GE Curriculum 31 Credits PES 1110 PES 1120 portfolio Up to 4 added cr. in Natural Science ENG 2090 3 cr. Hum or Soc. Sci. 3 cr. Hum or Soc. Sci. MATH 1350 English 1310 3 cr. Hum or Soc. Sci. 2nd Quantitative Reasoning 2nd Writing Course Quantitative Reasoning MATH 1360

18. Current LAS Humanities BA GE Curriculum 45 Credits 3 cr. in Natural Sci. 1 hr. Lab 3 cr. in Natural Sci. 3 cr. in Natural Sci. portfolio 3 cr. in Natural Sci. 3 cr. in Social Sci. English 1310 3 cr. in Social Sci. 3 cr. in Social Sci. Oral 3 cr. in Social Sci. ENG 1410 Diversity 3 cr. in Humanities 3 cr. in Humanities Global 2nd Writing Course 3 cr. in Humanities Quantitative Reasoning ID 105 or 200 HUM 3990

19. = existing common GE requirements across the colleges totals 22 credits Nursing Elementary Education 53-54 LAS Criminal Justice 45-49 49 Business 48 Engineering 37 31

20. Existing common GE requirements across the colleges (22 credit hours) 4 cr. Natural Sci. portfolio English 1310 3 cr. Hum or Soc. Sci. 3 cr. Hum or Soc. Sci. 3 cr. Hum or Soc. Sci. 2nd Writing Course Quantitative Reasoning

21. = remaining GE credit hours to be decided by each college = existing common GE requirements across colleges = possible additional GE requirements across colleges Nursing Elementary Education 53-54 LAS Criminal Justice 45-49 49 Business 48 Engineering 37 31

22. High impact practice: first-year experience • Gateway Experience: • Introduces students to GE vision and goals • Explores knowledge of self and the world around us • Introduces new perspectives in learning and understanding 1st Year Gateway Experience

23. Capstone Experience 4th Year • Capstone Experience: • Requires students to integrate and apply what they have learned • Could be a research project, internship, performance, exhibit, or other experience, not necessarily a course • Can link GE Goals to major High impact practice: capstone experience

24. Capstone Experience 4th Year ? 1st Year Gateway Experience

25. Capstone Experience Gateway Experience

26. High impact practice: common intellectual experience • Core Integrative Course: • Study complex problems from multiple perspectives • Learn tools of analysis from multiple disciplines • Provide cohesive, intentional linkages to GE goals Core Integrative Course 2nd Year 1st Year Gateway Experience

27. Core Integrative Course 3rd Year Core Integrative Course 2nd Year 1st Year Gateway Experience

28. Capstone Experience 4th Year Core Integrative Course 3rd Year Core Integrative Course 2nd Year 1st Year Gateway Experience

29. College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences’ Distributed List for Area Requirements Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Arts or Humanities Natural Sciences Social Sciences Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Social Sciences Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Arts or Humanities Natural Sciences Social Sciences Social Sciences Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences

30. “Structured List” of courses for university-wide GE curriculum Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Social Sciences Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities

31. How should we organize the Structured List? One idea Know & Explore Act & Interact Know & Explore Act & Interact Create & Evaluate Create & Evaluate Act & Interact Know & Explore Create & Evaluate Act & Interact Know & Explore Create & Evaluate Act & Interact Know & Explore Create & Evaluate Know & Explore Act & Interact Create & Evaluate

32. How should we organize the Structured List? Another Idea Sustainability Engagement Inclusiveness Responsibility Sustainability Inclusiveness Engagement Responsibility Sustainability Inclusiveness Responsibility Engagement Inclusiveness Engagement Responsibility Sustainability Sustainability Inclusiveness Engagement Responsibility Inclusiveness Engagement Responsibility Sustainability Sustainability Inclusiveness Responsibility Engagement Responsibility

33. Themes within the Structured List • Provide coherence as a common intellectual experience, a high impact practice • More clearly show the vision of GE • Provide the experience of addressing complex problems using frameworks and methodologies from several disciplines • Achieve GE goals in an integrated way

34. Themes within Structured List Natural Sciences Natural Sciences Natural Sciences Natural Sciences Natural Sciences Natural Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Social Sciences Arts or Humanities Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Arts or Humanities Social Sciences Self & Society Gateway Experience

35. Themes within Structured List Create & Evaluate Know & Explore Act & Interact Know & Explore Create & Evaluate Act & Interact Create & Evaluate Know & Explore Act & Interact Act & Interact Create & Evaluate Know & Explore Know & Explore Create & Evaluate Act & Interact Know & Explore Create & Evaluate Act & Interact Creativity, Art & Innovation Gateway Experience

36. Themes within Structured List Responsibility Inclusiveness Sustainability Engagement Sustainability Responsibility Engagement Inclusiveness Inclusiveness Engagement Responsibility Sustainability Sustainability Responsibility Engagement Inclusiveness Responsibility Engagement Inclusiveness Sustainability Inclusiveness Responsibility Engagement Sustainability Power Gateway Experience

37. Existing Common Courses • Increase connection to GE Goals? • Other ways to increase coherence and intentionality? • Participate in themes? • Include high impact practice? Quantitative Reasoning English 1310 2nd Writing

38. Combination of possible components Natural Sciences portfolio 3rd Year Arts or Humanities 2nd Year Social Sciences English 1310 2nd Writing Course Quantitative Reasoning

39. Social Sciences Social Sciences Sustainability Arts or Humanities Natural Sciences Natural Sciences Natural Sciences Inclusiveness Social Sciences portfolio 3rd Year ? Arts or Humanities 2nd Year Act & Interact Know & Explore English 1310 ? Arts or Humanities 2nd English Course Quantitative Reasoning

40. FACULTY CONVERSATION TABLES • Discuss possible components with other faculty at your table • Provide focused feedback based on group conversations using the “component cards” • Also complete your individual feedback form

41. PLEASE COMPLETE THE INDIVIDUAL FEEDBACK FORMS. WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR IDEAS, QUESTIONS, AND CONCERNS. COME HAVE A COFFEE BREAK with members of the GE taskforce. Share ideas, ask questions, voice concerns. Where:The Overlook “Nook” • Wed, Dec 7, 2-4pm • Thurs, Dec 8, 2-4pm • Fri, Dec 9, 2-4pm Coffee provided by Provost’s Office.