The General Education Council met on Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 3:30 pm in room 224 of I.G. Greer Hall. Members present were: Dr. Mike Mayfield, Ms. Carter Hammett-McGarry, Dr. Pat Beaver, Dr. Rick Klima, Dr. Paulette Marty, Ms. Kelly McBride, Dr. Tom McLaughlin, Dr. Terri Mitchell, Dr. Tim Silver, Dr. Neva Specht, Dr. Johnny Waters, Mr. Zach Grier, Mr. Peter Rowe, Mr. Nick Rudisill, Ms. Lynne Waugh, Dr. Pete Wachs, Dr. Dave Haney, and Ms. Tina Parlier. Members excused were: Dr. Lynn Moss Sanders and Dr. Georgia Rhoades.

Dr. Mayfield called the meeting to order at 3:35 pm.

OTHER BUSINESS

Dr. Mike Mayfield asked each of the faculty coordinating committee chairs to briefly update the council on their committee’s work. In-depth updates included:

  1. Quantitative Literacy- Dr. Rick Klima, Dr. George Ehrhardt, and Mr. Frank Barry spoke about the committee’s progress. The committee is considering dividing the 4 required credit hours into 2 hours of foundational math at the 1000 level and 2 hours of contextual content at the 2000 level or above. This option would require students to take courses that are content-driven and require them to develop quantitative reasoning skills in a vertical model. The initial math class could still be a 4 semester hour course, but only 2 of the hours would count toward general education credit. Dr. Mayfield noted that it could become a hidden requirement if Math doesn’t create 2 semester hour courses. The committee members said the 2+2 option could exist alongside the 4 semester hour courses and students could self-select into it. This would not be an option implemented in fall 2009, so the committee is thinking more long-term.
  2. First Year Seminar- Mr. Nick Rudisill reported that Dr. Lynn Moss Sanders is actively recruiting instructors to teach UCO 1200, First Year Seminar, for the fall 2009 semester. The final draft of forms will be available on the website in the near future. Proposals are due on November 5th and applicants will be notified by Thanksgiving if their course has been approved. (NOTE: notification date has been changed to December 3rd.)
  3. Writing Across the Curriculum- Dr. Georgia Rhoades has been trying to initiate contact with chairs and faculty regarding WAC. Please encourage your chairs and colleagues to be responsive.
  4. Wellness Literacy- Dr. Terri Mitchell asked who needs to remind faculty to keep on task. Dr. Mayfield said it would be helpful for the FCC members to stay in contact with faculty likely to propose courses for their particular component of the program.

MOTIONS

  1. Motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the May 2, 2008 General Education Council meeting.

VOTE 1 YES 13NO 0 ABSTAIN 0

  1. Dr. Tim Silver spoke about the themes to be considered for the Historical and Social perspective. The committee used the General Education Task Force Report as the guiding principle when evaluating theme proposals. Out of thirteen proposals received, the committee selected the following nine: Religion, Myth, and Society; Appalachia; This American Life; Ancient Worlds; Cultural Diversity; Mind; Individual and Society; Capitalism and Its Critics; and Revolutions and Social Change.

The themes forwarded by the faculty coordinating committee for the Historical and Social perspective were approved by the council

VOTE 2YES 13NO 0ABSTAIN 0

  1. Dr. Paulette Marty spoke about the themes to be considered for the Aesthetic perspective. Dr. Marty noted that the committee was concerned with the relative lack of response to the Aesthetic themes from the campus and they were worried that there may not be enough seats to meet student demand. The committee selected the following eight themes: The Body: Expression, Presentation, and Representation; Expressions of Belief; Analyzing Style and Form; How We Tell Stories; Shaping the Human Environment; Traditions and Innovations; Cultivating Creative Expression; and Social Change Through the Arts.

The themes forwarded by the faculty coordinating committee for the Aesthetic perspective were approved by the council.

VOTE 3YES 13NO 0ABSTAIN 0

  1. Dr. Pat Beaver spoke about the themes to be considered for the Local to Global perspective. Eight of the eleven themes proposed for accepted by the committee. The selected themes are: Empire, Colonialism, and Globalization; Identity, Culture, and Media; Origins and Migrations; Sustainability and Global Change; Regions in a Global Context; Performance of Culture; Latin America; and Global Resources.

The themes forwarded by the faculty coordinating committee for the Local to Global perspective were approved by the council.

VOTE 4YES 13NO 0ABSTAIN 0

  1. Dr. Johnny Waters spoke about the themes to be considered for the Science Inquiry perspective. Nine themes were approved by the committee, three of those provisionally while the committee waits for changes to be made to the proposals. The selected themes are: The Blue Planet; Life, Earth, and Evolution; Global Environmental Change; Biology in Society; The Restless Planet: Earth, Environment, and Evolution; Chemistry: Connections to Our Changing World; Physics (How Things Work); Astronomy; and General Science.

The themes forwarded by the faculty coordinating committee for the Science Inquiry perspective were approved by the council.

VOTE 5YES 13NO 0ABSTAIN 0

OTHER BUSINESS

  1. Council members discussed deadlines for course proposal submission. Because of the need to get courses approved by the various college councils, it was suggested that one option would be to push back the deadline for new courses to November 5th. The chairs of the perspective committees said they would not begin to consider any courses for themes until they had the proposals for all potential courses. Dr. Dave Haney asked if the council members would like him to ask the deans if they would be willing to allow simultaneous submission of course proposals, so that courses could be considered by the faculty coordinating committees and General Education Council prior to being approved by their own college council. (NOTE: the deans did agree to this.)
  2. Dr. Mike Mayfield reminded the council about the faculty collaboration events happening the week of September 15-19 and asked for each perspective chair to ensure there would be a facilitator present for each of their approved themes.
  3. Several council members asked about communication with the campus. Dr. Mike Mayfield and Ms. Carter Hammett-McGarry have invited department chairs to a meeting on September 23rd to discuss the next steps in the course proposal process.
  4. Dr. Pete Wachs asked if themes need to show how they meet the outcomes identified in the curriculum map. Ms. Carter Hammett-McGarry said that it needs to be demonstrated that by the completion of the themes, the student has met the outcomes for that particular perspective. She also noted that the General Education Faculty Development Steering Committee is working to improve the curriculum map to show the increasingly sophisticated levels expected for each outcome.
  5. Dr. Neva Specht suggested developing a set of Frequently Asked Questions so there is one consistent answer to common questions. There is already an FAQ section on the General Education website, but the staff will move it to a more prominent location on the website.

ADJOURNMENT

The committee voted to adjourn at 4:58 pm.

VOTE 6YES 13NO 0ABSTAIN 0