Answers to Questions Regarding General Education Implementation

Table of Contents

• Syllabi
• Intensive Writing
• Knowledge Applications
• Capstone
• Assessment
• Miscellaneous
• Website and department specific requests

SYLLABI

1. Do our syllabi have to have the precise form used in the examples?

   Answer: No

2. In cases where several instructors teach sections of a general education course, would it suffice to present one fully annotated syllabus as a model to the General Education Committee at this point along with a statement of the decisions those people have made about how all of them are going to design their courses to facilitate learning outcomes about literary form and reflection of culture? Or do we need fully annotated syllabi for all sections by November 1?

   Answer: A course with multiple sections may submit a single syllabus as long as:

   1. A detailed response is given to question 4 on the Course Assessment Questionnaire that asks how the sections differ (e.g., different books, different authors studied, etc.)
   2. There is written assurance from the department chair that syllabi for ALL sections of the course will contain the elements required by the General Education Committee (those required on the syllabus format)
   3. All syllabi are submitted for the triennial review (just as they are now)

3. What does the General Education Committee want by way of proving that our objectives meet the learning outcomes? In this regard, what sort of things should appear on the syllabus? Could you give a few concrete examples of outcomes translated into course objectives that the General Education Committee finds acceptable?

   Anwser: The syllabus must contain the two general education learning outcomes. To show how the outcomes will be met the syllabus should also have a set of course objectives a portion of which relate directly to the learning outcomes for general education. In addition under question 2 on the Course Assessment Questionnaire you should explain in general what activities will be used to teach the general education learning outcomes.

INTENSIVE WRITING

1. Could you state specifically where intensive writing will occur in general education.

   Answer: There are two intensive writing requirements outside of RHT 160. The first is an intensive writing requirement in general education. This could be any course in general education that requires substantial writing and meets the requirements for intensive writing. The second is intensive writing in the major.

2. A related question refers only to courses beyond Rhetoric 160. In which general education courses beyond RHT 160 is intensive writing likely to be included? Should we assume it will be in the Knowledge Application courses? Could it be in the Capstone course (departmental) if the department also requires writing a writing intensive course within the major (such as requiring all English majors to take an advanced ENG writing class?

   Answer: Intensive writing courses will likely be those that already have sufficient writing components to meet the requirement without additional assignments and grading being added to the course. These may be Knowledge Applications courses, Capstone courses, or courses in any of the areas outside of the Writing Foundation area (RHT 160).

   There is some discussion/confusion of what is meant by "more than one means" of writing assignments - across courses? Within courses? Degree of complexity? In what way do essay exams count versus lengthy term papers, what about shorter papers? How can we critically evaluate a 500 word paper (2.5 pages) as an example?

   Answers:

   1. Writing intensive course needs to have more than one type of writing. For example, only requiring laboratory reports would not fulfill the requirement to have more than one type of writing.
   2. The instructor specifies the degree to which various writing assignments count in the grade determination.
   3. The degree of complexity will vary between assignments and over the course. The General Education Committee has not set any standard for this.
   4. The person grading an assignment uses a grading rubric, usually a model answer with points assigned, that determines how many points are awarded for certain portions of the writing. Another grader should be able to obtain the same or similar results using the rubric.

KNOWLEDGE APPLICATIONS

1. What is the knowledge application area? What courses can meet knowledge applications? Are these courses universal, or will certain courses serve as knowledge applications for chemistry majors but not for history majors? How will knowledge application courses be determined? Will they be designated as knowledge applications in the catalog and/or schedule of classes? Down the road, chairs will need to work with department advisors so they will need information that will help them advise students what they should take.

   Answers:

   1. Intent: "By taking a Knowledge Applications course students are better able to integrate the theoretical and practical aspects of knowledge. For example: A student might take Foundations of Contemporary Psychology for their Social Science Area and take a course that applies psychological principles to specific populations to meet the Knowledge Applications requirement, or Introduction to Statistical Concepts and Reasoning for the Formal Reasoning Area and Applied Statistics to meet the Knowledge Applications requirement, or Western Art I for the Arts Area and then a course in Studio Art for Knowledge Applications, or General Physics and then a course in the School of Engineering and Computer Science on the physics and mechanics of everyday machines, and so on."
   2. Courses in the Knowledge Application area must build upon a Foundation or Exploration area. Students must complete the general education requirement in the area specified as a pre-requisite before taking a Knowledge Applications course that builds upon that area.
   3. A student may not take a course in his or her major to meet the Knowledge Application area. The intent is to broaden the student's experience. `Major,' in this context, is defined as a single rubric, e.g., MTH for a mathematics major.
   4. Courses will apply for the Knowledge Application area and be screened by a subcommittee in the same way as other courses. They will be listed in the catalog the same way as courses that meet other general education requirements.
   5. Checklists will be updated for advisors to use.

2. Will only specific 300-level courses be identified to count for Knowledge Application, or should we expect students to opt for whatever classes offered by other schools or departments relate best to their own major interests?

   Answer:

   There is no requirement that Knowledge Applications courses be 300 level. However requirements do state:

   • Must be outside of the rubric of the student's major in order to broaden the experience
   • Must demonstrate the application of learning that relates to an area in Foundations or Explorations taken earlier by the student

3. Should departments submit proposals for knowledge applications? What makes an ideal knowledge application course and how might this differ from a capstone course?

   Answers:

   1. Yes, departments should submit Knowledge Applications courses.
   2. Many existing courses may qualify to become Knowledge Applications courses.
   3. The major differences between the Knowledge Applications and Capstone areas, aside from the learning outcomes, are that Capstone requires integration of three general education knowledge areas and capacities and that Knowledge Application is outside of the student's major.

CAPSTONE

1. How would a large major meet the capstone requirement (over 200 graduating majors each year)? Any suggestions?

   Answers:

   1. Large enrollment majors may use differing ways to meet the Capstone requirement. Such as: A planned capstone course for all majors, existing junior or senior level courses, internships, research courses, etc.
   2. A suggestion for a large major might be to examine the list of existing junior and senior level courses to see if there are several candidates for the capstone. Then, several courses might be identified to meet this requirement rather than just one.

2. Does the capstone have to be in the major?

   Answer: No. There may be courses offered by departments that are designed to be capstones for any student. However, remember that the program is 40 credits if the capstone is in the major. If it is not, it will add additional credits to the student's program.

ASSESSMENT

1. With the suggestion of general education that we randomly take 10% of our papers from the writing intensive courses, that comes out to be about 230 annually. Any comments or suggestions?

   Answer: Remember that a subset of sections and then a subset of student work will be used for assessment. But, it is obvious to the GEC that only a reasonable subset of student work will need to be saved and analyzed for the assessment of general education courses. The 10% figure is a guideline only and will be adjusted downward in consultation with the department/program when the 10% figure is deemed unreasonable.

2. How much detail needs to be included in the assessment section of the proposal? What is too little? What is just right for where we are now?

   Answer: The application should answer the questions that are asked on the Course Assessment Questionnaire. At a minimum, the application should identify the subset of the graded material for the course that will be used for general education assessment. The GEC is aware that some new courses and even some existing courses will not have developed the tests questions that will be embedded to assess the general education learning outcomes. However, the more detail that can be incorporated into the application at this time, the better the GEC will be able to advise/consult/suggest improvements.

MISCELLANEOUS

1. Should chairpersons and faculty be advised to read the general education proposal, or would they be better served by attending meetings that explain what is contemplated, or should they wait for additional documents-clearer and briefer-which explain the how's and why's of the new system?

   Answer: Any of the above-mentioned ways and any others that suit an individual would be appropriate. GEC members are willing to answer specific questions. Additional documents on specific aspects of the new program continue to appear on the general education web site. As more faculty and department chairs develop applications for course review, there will be colleagues across the institution who have experience and can answer questions, too. The answers to the questions in this document are being posted for use by anyone wishing to avail themselves of them.

2. Some departments have been offering several 300-level general education courses to meet needs of students who might otherwise have problems meeting the graduation requirement for credits amassed at the 300 level or above. Now that two general education courses are to be introduced specifically for upperclassmen, will there be continuing need for 300-level offerings in the knowledge areas? Should we be thinking about reconceiving these courses as 200 level ones?

   Answer: It is anticipated that the need for 300-level courses will continue.

WEBSITE AND DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC REQUESTS

1. It may be helpful to have a couple of "virtual students" as examples of someone going through the new general education program? What would be their college curriculum over their tenure? Ideally there would be examples of both good (professor ideal) and the usual (student ideal) curriculums. (Note: the person submitting this question had a friend in college who would purposely choose courses with more than 60 seats so that she didn't have to write papers - her curriculum was based on taking multiple choice tests).

   Answer: Appendix J in the General Education Proposal document contains sample student schedules. There are ones for: elementary education, human resource development, linguistics, mechanical engineering, modern languages and literature, nursing, occupational safety and health program, and psychology

2. Could simplified one-page documents be placed on the web rather than the excerpts from the proposal? If the committee needs to deviate, perhaps new bulleted items should be created reflecting the reality today.

   Answer: We will respond to this request as the GEC identifies specifics that should be emphasized or that deviate from the original document. So far, the GEC has identified only one place where the implementation will deviate from the original document. We will not require the percentage subset of student work listed in the document for assessment purposes.

3. Is the intent of the capstone to go outside our "own" general education area, or can it be a part of it? For example, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics might use the History of Mathematics (MTH 414). It ties together what the student has learned in the major and what they have gleaned from history by taking general education courses in western civilization and global perspective. There is no equivalent course for statistics majors and this course would be inappropriate for them as well. The department would prefer not to require it of all math majors anyway. Alternatively, the department could designate Abstract Algebra and/or Advanced Calculus (MTH 351 and MTH 475 respectively) the two required advanced courses all math majors take, and the corresponding advanced theory courses for statistics majors (STA 427-428) as capstone courses. Major capstone course are supposed to relate to general education. The area that mathematics and statistics enters into general education is in the foundation area of formal reasoning, and formal reasoning is precisely what all those courses are about. What criteria MUST all capstone courses meet?

   Answer: All capstone courses will need to document how they fulfill the two learning outcomes for a capstone course whether it is within the major or not. Flexibility was built into the program so that those units that already have capstone courses or would prefer to provide their own majors with the capstone experience within the major would be able to do so. For those units that do not wish to do so, they will need to help convince other units to develop and have approved capstone courses outside of the major.

   Capstone Outcomes - The student will demonstrate:

   • appropriate uses of a variety of methods of inquiry and a recognition of ethical considerations that arise
   • the ability to integrate the knowledge learned in general education and its relevance to the student's life and career

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