Board of General Studies (BOGS)

Member Responsibilities

2005 General Education Guidelines

Please read the Guidelines and keep a copy handy for reference. They may be accessed along with lots of other handy GE information at < (dated Fall 2005 or later) must incorporate all changes from the 2005 Guidelines. Please help the Chairs and Course Coordinators within your respective Colleges understand this process. There is a very important distinction to be made between courses that submit assessment packets are being reviewed for Continuing Certification in GE; whereas new courses submitted are being reviewed for Certificationin GE. (There is no longer any process of “recertification;” that ended after all courses were initially reviewed under the 1998 Guidelines and either received recertification or were discontinued from GE).

BOGS meeting procedures (agendas and minutes sent ~one week in advance via email)

For SJSU Studies proposals: These are upper division courses, formerly known as Advanced GE, usually given course numbers 1XX. Everyone on the Board is expected to read all the SJSU Studies proposals. However, two specific reviewers will be assigned for each course. The reviewers should read the assigned proposals carefully and be prepared to lead the discussion. We follow Robert’s Rules of Order. Any BOGS member my move to continue certification, or give a limited time continuance, or ask for particular information for the next meeting. Following discussion, we vote. The Board tries not to deny certification/continuing certification, but rather to work with a department until concerns have been addressed.

For Core GE (usually lower division, but there are a few exceptions): Only the two assigned reviewers need to have read the summary. If they both agree that the course should pass (and GEAP has recommends continuing certification), then it passes without consideration by BOGS. If the two reviewers are split in their opinions or agree that there are major concerns, then all BOGS members review the summary before the next meeting.

General Procedures

Many faculty confuse assessment of the course (course design; what the students are taught) with assessment of the students (what the students are doing & learning). When reviewing the course materials, it is imperative to determine if students are demonstrating mastery of specific student learning objectives. The activities that the students actually DO are what matter, not HOW the instructor teaches (obviously the teachers effectiveness matters, but BOGS is not an RTP review committee). If many sections of a course are taught and most greensheets have inadequate documentation (i.e., do not give minimum length of written assignments) then choose an exemplary model for response letter. For SJSU Studies courses check that writing assignments meet minimum page count, give the opportunity for practice and feedback (not just a term paper), and are assessed for grammar, clarity, conciseness and coherence.

Your responsibilities as the BOGS liaison to a General Education Advisory Panel (GEAP)

Call the first meeting so that the committee members may elect a Chair (you may NOT serve as the Chair). After the first meeting of the AY the Chair should call and run the meetings. It is a good idea if you give them the GEAP schedule. It’s at the bottom of each BOGS agenda. Supposedly all GEAP members are available at that time, but changing the meeting day or time is OK if everyone agrees. If one person is always not available for the regular time (e.g. has class scheduled then) you can ask Steve to get a new member who will fit the schedule.

Be available at all meetings to answer questions and to serve as liaison between GEAP and BOGS. You don’t have a vote on the GEAP and should not voice your opinion unless asked, or unless you can see the committee is seriously getting off track. If your GEAP has experienced members you won’t have much to do.

After a course has been reviewed by the GEAP members, if there are no major concerns and they are recommending approval to BOGS, then you need to collect the course packets and return them to the UGS Office and ensure that the GEAP Chair writes a letter to BOGS as soon as possible. This letter should include any recommendations regarding the course. If there are major concerns about the submission, at least one GEAP member should schedule a meeting with the Course Coordinator and/or Department Chair to discuss those concerns. A revised proposal addressing the concerns should be submitted to the GEAP within one month of the departmental meeting. We see our role as facilitation, not as “gate-keeping,” so please try to work directly with departments as much as possible. The GEAP Chair should never send letters to departments, only recommendations to BOGS.

Revised 8/27/08