During the September forum, faculty and staff were put in workgroups to brainstorm the strengths of our current Liberal Studies program – these are the ideas generated:
-It is broad enough for students to be able to take many different classes
-New goals and abilities
During the September forum, faculty and staff were put in workgroups to brainstorm the weaknesses of our current Liberal Studies program – these are the ideas generated (in come cases, the individual groups themselves were not unanimous in terms of these weaknesses):
-How do we assess current Liberal Studies courses in light of the new goals and abilities?
-How do we communicate the value of the new goals and abilities to vocational students?
-Current structure offers no guarantee that students will meet the new goals
-No applications in some courses taken – memorization rather than the application of the skill in terms of what is leaned – ability to evaluate
-In order to get the application, must be taught the skill (which may not be taught)
-At 300 level, are often teaching a 100 level skill set
-Courses are designed to meet some other goals – is then pigeon holed into the program (courses are not designed as liberal studies – are designed to meet some need in the major – being a liberal studies is generally secondary)
-No foreign language requirement
-What do we want NMU student to know? Not clear.
-Possible need to redesign divisions in light of new goals
-Each class needs to be reassessed in light of new goals
-The new skills are hard to define – making assessment difficult
-Do not see connection between liberal studies and major courses – this is from alums who have been surveyed – the connection between liberal studies and the major needs to be more obvious
-Support for mathematical proficiency – not just how to do math, but the whole problem solving is a good skill for everyone
-How do we implement new goals – realizing that practical problems should not drive our goals
-Should we have a language requirement, or are critical thinking and writing skills more important?
-Do we need current HP requirements?
-World Cultures is a good idea, but in practice does not work since many of the current course offerings are basically about cultures very much like the US culture – should teach about cultures different than our own
-Students do not see a clear connection of liberal studies to their program or the larger world (choice is based on requirement, schedule and convenience)
-300 level courses lack appropriate building steps
-The six divisions segregate content – as a result, students do not see cross-disciplinary relevance and connections
-Courses are not always added to liberal studies for pedagogical reasons – may be to fill seats or keep jobs (fear)