Grand Rapids Community College Academic Governing Council

1. Grand Rapids Community College Academic Governing Council General Education Distribution Task GroupSteve Abid M.A., Arts & Sciences, Interim Associate Dean and Social Sciences Ric Underhile, Ph.D., Instructional Support & Interdisciplinary Studies, Associate DeanSeptember 2010

2. Issue • GRCC currently does not have a process to determine where a course fits into the General Education distribution system • GRCC lacks a process to determine if a course fits into the General Education distribution • The College does not articulate the learner outcomes it expects students to achieve as a result of satisfying the General Education distribution requirements

3. Scope of the Issue • Handicaps the College from being programmatically responsive to students, faculty, and departments • Changes must be harmonious with the Michigan Association for College Registrars and Admissions Officers Agreement (MACRAO)

4. Charge • Establish a definition of each distribution area • Define the criteria that will be used in making decisions about inclusion of courses in the distribution areas • Articulate expectations for outcomes upon successful completion of the distribution areas

5. *Current Associate’s Degree Group Distribution Requirements • Group I: Humanities • Group II: Social Sciences • Group III: Natural Sciences and Mathematics *Note:The next 3 slides are copied from Educational Planning Guide for Associate in Arts Degree with MACRAO MACROA

6. Group I: HumanitiesCourses must be taken from two or more disciplines (subject area) • Architecture (AR) 111 • Art (AT) 105, 106, 270, 271 • Communications (COM) (formerly SC) 131, 135, 227, 228, 232, 235, 236, 240, 241, 250 • English (EN) 233, 235, 237, 242, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, • 261, 262, 270, 271, 272, 275, 278, 281, 282, 284, 291, 293 • Foreign Language (ARA, CHI, FR, GR, SP) 101, 102, 231, 232, 294 • Humanities (HU) 204, 205, 210, 240, 245, 270, 273, 274, 280, 281 • Music (MU) 107, 109, 235, 236, 237 • Philosophy (PL) 201, 202, 205, 206, 207, 209, 212 • Photography (PO) 105 • Sign Language (SL) 150, 155, 171, 172 • Theater (TH) 248

7. Group II–Social SciencesCourses must be taken from two or more disciplines (subject area) • Anthropology (AN) 201, 205, 210, 280, 285 • Criminal Justice (CJ) 110, 111, 140, 235, 236, 237 • Economics (EC) 251, 252, 290 • Geography (GE) 132, 135, 140, 210, 253, 281 • Gerontology (GO) 203, 261, 262, 263 • History (HS) 101, 102, 120, 121, 215, 225, 230, 239, 240, 241, 242, 249, 250,251, 260, 276, 281, 290, 295 • Political Science (PS) 110, 200, 201, 202, 215, 225, 230, 245, 250 • Psychology (PY) 101, 106, 201, 203, 231, 232, 233, 234, 251, 260, 263, 281 • Social Science (SS) 120, 293 • Sociology (SO) 205, 251, 254, 260, 261, 262, 263, 265, 270, 295 • Social Work (SW) 102, 103

8. Group III–Natural Science & Mathematics Courses must be taken from two or more disciplines (subject area) Non-lab courses: • Astronomy (AS) 102 • Biology (BI) 125, 160, 171, 232 • Business (BA) 150, 254 • Computer (CO) 124, 127, 225, 227 • Electronics (EL) 132 • Mathematics (MA)(except MA 003, 095, 096, 097), 104, 105, 107, 108, 110, 124, 127, 129, 131 133, 134, 138, 210, 211, 215, 245, 255, 257 • Psychology (PY) 281 • Technology (TE) 103, 104 • Lab Courses: • Astronomy (AS) 103, 106, 108 • Biology (BI) 101, 103, 104, 117, 121 122, 126, 127, 151, 152, 204, 207, 215 • Chemistry (CM) (except CM 100 and 102), 101, 103, 104, 109, 113, 114, 210, 212, 231,229+230, 236+237, 238+239, 241, 252, 282 • Geography (GE) 132 (counts as lab fall 2004 or later) • Geology (GL) 101, 104, 105, 111 • Physical Science (PC) 101, 111, 141, 151 • Physics (PH) 115, 125, 126, 245, 246

9. (Current; under review)General Learner Outcomes • Technology Skills • Communication Skills • Computation Skills • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills • Information Management Skills • Interpersonal Skills • Personal Skills • Diversity Skills • (Sustainability and Community Engagement Skills [proposed])

10. Status of GLOs • The General Learner Outcomes are currently being revised for unity and clarity so that they express competencies, not merely content. • Additionally, it is likely that the General Learner Outcomes will evolve to Institutional Learning Outcomes. • Notably, there will be fewer, but each will be broad enough to embrace the skills and competencies expressed in many of the current GLOs.

11. *Team members • Steve Abid (Co-chair) • Sandy Andrews • Janice Balyeat • Rebecca Brinks • Glenn Gelderloos • Bernie Manker • Fatima Nieves • Deb Nordman • Diane Patrick • Ric Underhile (Co-chair) • Doug Wabeke *Additional faculty & staff may be added as needed to serve in a resource capacity.

12. Status of this effort • Three formal planning meetings that resulted in a review of how other institutions have addressed this common problem • The review of a complex rubric that illustrates a strategy for organizing general education • A kick-off meeting with the original team, many of whom have now retired • A repopulation of the committee • A new kick-off and working meeting (Oct. 22nd)

13. What we need from you • Communicate your ideas to team members • Patience • Assistance in helping faculty make greater meaning of the significance of general education • Recognition that this work is separate, but inseparable from assessment of student learning efforts

14. Discussion and Next Steps