Report of the Working Group on General Education and Distribution Requirements

Members:

Susan McIntosh (Anthropology), Chair

Graham Bader (Art History)

Rushi Bhalani (SA undergraduate representative)

John Casbarian (Architecture)

David Caprette (Biosciences)

Deme, Palvasha (CUC undergrad representative)

Christian Emden (Classics and European Studies)

Jane Grande-Allen (Bioengineering)

Rob Griffen (CEVE)

Tom Killian (Physics and Astronomy)

Richard Lavenda (Music)

Paula Sanders (Vice Provost for Academic Affairs)

Ric Stoll (Political Science)

Lora Wildenthal (History)

Working Group Charge

1. Identify main areas of concern regarding the current distribution requirement system
2. Review and evaluate existing criteria for distribution courses in groups I, II, and III
3. Make recommendations for changes that will:
a. alleviate or resolve problems and concerns
b. improve the quality of general education for students by improving the quality of the general education requirements

The Working Group was formed in response to increasing dissatisfaction among faculty and students with certain aspects of the current distribution system. Primary among these are:

·  Weak rationale – neither students nor faculty can explain the goals of distribution beyond breadth.

·  36 credit hour gen ed requirement makes new 18-hour course cap more difficult

·  Unhappiness in Humanities with the requirement that FWIS’s carry distribution credit, the majority of which is D1

·  Constraints on interdisciplinary FWIS’s because of need to fit a specific distribution group

·  Use of distribution to enhance or to control course enrollment, rather than to serve the purposes of the general education curriculum

·  Inconsistent application of stated distribution group criteria in the process of identifying distribution courses annually

The working group thus focused on three major problem areas: rationale and criteria for distribution courses, distribution credit for FWIS, and the process for identifying distribution courses.

Current Distribution requirements

(From the GA) “The distribution systemwas designed sothat every Rice student would receive a broad, well-roundededucation along with training in an academic specialty.Distribution courses are broad-based, accessible to nonmajors, and representative of the knowledge, intellectual skills, and habits of thought that are most characteristic of a discipline.

Each student is required to take at least 12 semester hours of designated distribution courses in each of groups I, II and III. The 12 hours in each group must include courses in at least two departments in that group. (Divisional or interdisciplinary designates, e.g. HUMA or NSCI, count as departments for this purpose). Interdivisional courses approved for distribution credit may count toward the 12 semester hours in any relevant group; however, students may not count one such course toward the 12 required hours in more than one group and may count no more than one such course toward the 12 required credit hours in any one group.”

Distribution Groups

Group / Description
Group I / These courses have one or more of the following goals: they develop students' critical and aesthetic understanding of texts and the arts; they lead students to the analytical examination of ideas and values; they introduce students to the variety of approaches and methods with which different disciplines approach intellectual problems; and they engage students with words of culture that have intellectual importance by virtue of the ideas they express, their historical influence, their mode of expression, or their critical engagement with established cultural assumptions and traditions.
Group II / Three types of courses fulfill this requirement. The first are introductory courses which address the problems, methodologies, and substance of different disciplines in the social sciences. The second are departmental courses that draw upon at least two or more disciplines in the social sciences or that cover topics of central importance to a social science discipline. The third are interdisciplinary courses team-taught by faculty from two or more disciplines.
Group III / These courses provide explicit exposure to the scientific method or to theorem development, develop analytical thinking skills and emphasize quantitative analysis, and expose students to subject matter in the various disciplines of science and engineering.

Proposed changes to distribution requirements and the general education curriculum at Rice

In contemplating changes to the existing system, the Working Group was mindful of the SACSCOC minimum requirements for the General Education Curriculum:

·  A minimum of 30 gen ed credit hours for graduation

o  Of these, at least 1 course each from HUM, SOC SCI and NAT SCI to assure breadth of knowledge

§  At least 1 course in each area that does not “narrowly focus on skills, techniques, and procedures” specific to the student’s intended occupation (i.e., not vocational in nature)

§  At least one “pure humanities” course

·  Cannot be a writing composition, oral communication, or introductory foreign language course.

·  Based on a coherent rationale that is reflected in criteria for evaluating courses for inclusion

·  Identification of student learning outcomes for gen ed, specifically, those competencies appropriate to the gen ed program

In considering changes to the existing system, we prioritized the need to maintain flexibility of student course choice and to avoid any increase in the credit burden on students, which would disproportionately affect students in majors with heavy requirement loads, such as engineering, architecture and music, among others. We took a holistic approach, re-envisioning distribution as one component of the general education program, rather than as its sole constituent. This opened up space for the removal of FWIS from the distribution system and its incorporation as a free-standing requirement within the general education program. Leaving distribution at 12 credit hours in each distribution group while adding FWIS as a separate requirement would increase the Gen Ed requirements to 40 credit hours, creating an unacceptable burden for many of our students. In keeping with our objectives to find a solution that resolves the most number of problems with the least number of modifications to the current system, we propose decreasing the number of courses required in each of the three distribution groups to three (nine credit hours, total 27 credit hours). Together with the FWIS requirement, the number of gen ed credit hours required would be 30, instead of 36 currently. For our majors with high degree requirements, this solution provides more flexibility for selecting additional electives, as well as reducing the pressure under the 18-hour semester credit cap.

Proposed change I.

Reduce general education requirements from the current 36 credit hours of distribution courses (12 hours in each of three distribution areas) to 30 hours (nine hours in each of three distribution areas plus a three credit hour FWIS).

The Working Group also deliberated on revisions to the descriptive language for each of the Distribution groups in an effort to provide clearer criteria for inclusion as a distribution course. There was general agreement that the language should emphasize that these courses provide a broad canvas for introducing students to the knowledge and methodologies of particular disciplines or interdisciplinary domains. It should also provide a higher-level rationale for the significance of courses in each distribution area.

Proposed change II.

Revise the descriptive language for distribution and for each distribution group, as follows:

Distribution requirement

Distribution courses introduce the knowledge, intellectual skills and habits of thought characteristic of disciplines within three main areas: humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences and engineering. They are broad-based, accessible to non-majors, and provide a foundation that enables students to integrate knowledge from multiple perspectives.

Three courses of at least 3 credit hours each are required in each of Distribution Groups I, II, and III. . The 3 courses in each group must include courses in at least two departments in that group. Divisional or interdisciplinary designations, e.g., HUMA or NSCI, count as departments. At least one course in Group III must be in the School of Natural Sciences.

Group I. In these courses, which are broad in theme and scope, students probe the modes of knowledge, inquiry or creative practice characteristic of the arts and humanities. Group I courses provide students with essential knowledge and tools for thinking critically about history and culture, and for understanding the centrality of such capacity to informed participation in social, political, and professional life.

Group II. These broad-based courses introduce the theories, problems, methodologies, and substance of the social sciences. They are intended to familiarize students with different approaches to the study of human behavior and how individuals interact with and are shaped by cultural, social, economic, and political groups and institutions. Because of the complexity and scope of human behavior, these courses may be multi-disciplinary in nature. Group II courses provide a foundation for thinking about the social worlds we inhabit and the diverse behavioral factors that both structure human activity at multiple scales and contribute to the dynamism of social and cultural systems.

Group III. In these courses students undertake a broad overview of subject matter in the various disciplines of science and engineering and discover the importance of thesetopics to contemporary society.They receive a grounding in the scientific method, engineering design, or theorem development. Group III courses provide students with the essential knowledge and tools required to appreciate, understand, and critically assess the elegance and power of the natural world and our effect upon it, and to rigorously engage in civic and ethical issues that lie at the intersection of technology and human activity.

Narrowly cast courses and courses that presume students' special expertise or that teach techniques or career-based skills without exposure to modes of analysis and scholarship in the relevant discipline are not eligible for distribution credit.

Research or independent study courses and internships and practica are also excluded.

As a third area of change, the Working Group discussed the process by which distribution courses are identified in the annual spring Roll Call by the Registrar. Years ago, the Committee on the Undergraduate Curriculum, which still has the distribution system within its charge, delegated distribution course designation authority to the Deans. Although the General Announcements indicate that a distribution list is the result of a consensus among deans, in practice the decision-making process is largely conducted within each school, either by the dean or an associate dean or by some other mechanism.

(From the GA). The master Distribution Course Listing, in each of the Group I, II and III categories,is compiled annually each Spring for the following academic year. During thespring semester, the Office of the Registrar will send a "roll-call"listing to each Academic Dean's office. The Dean's offices are then asked to review the courses that have historically been offered with distribution credit and determine whether or not they will continue to be distribution credit eligible. During this "roll-call" the Academic Deans also have the opportunity to identify and add new courses to the distribution list. This compiled course list is then circulated and reviewed by all of Rice's Academic Deans. Upon consensus, the master Distribution Course Listing for the upcoming academic year is approved and posted. (https://registrar.rice.edu/facstaff/distribution_credit)

The current system has resulted in a lack of consistency in the number and type of distribution courses in the three groups. While D1 courses are abundant and range widely from the 100 to 400 level, D3 courses are far more restricted in number and tend to be in the 100 to low 300 level range. We recommend that, once new Distribution Group descriptions and criteria are established, the School Course Review Committee of each of the Schools review the distribution course lists for all departments in the School and recommend to the dean the courses that the SCRC agrees, by consensus, are appropriate for distribution credit.

The Working Group chair met with the SCRC chairs and support staff on Feb. 4, 2017. At that meeting, the SCRC chairs agreed to add this task to their agenda. They suggested that new courses be reviewed for distribution each semester, so that they can be added to the distribution list by mid-semester, in time for inclusion in the student planner.

Proposed change III.

Enhance consistency of process across schools by including the School Course Review Committee as the primary group responsible for recommending courses for distribution to the dean of the school during the initial review under the new criteria and thereafter during the annual “roll call” by the OTR. Among new courses submitted for the New Course Review process by the March 1 or October 1 deadlines, identify those that are appropriate for distribution credit by mid-term each semester, rather than annually in the spring.

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