General Education Draft Plan Ready for Review

It's decision time for UC's new General Education plan. Three colleges and one school have approved the revised proposal. The College of Nursing was the first to pass the plan last spring, followed by the School of Social Work. Clermont College and the College of Medicine approved the proposal this month.

The General Education task force spent the winter and spring quarters of 2000 revising and developing the plan in response to faculty input. The proposal has been sent to every faculty member for consideration and approval by each college through its own governance process.

The goal is to implement the program with the entering class of Autumn 2001 and to assess the program by April, 2003 to be in compliance with North Central Association accreditation requirements.

The revised program gives colleges a greater voice in meeting General Education requirements within the structure of their program. Under the new plan, the complicated approval process for courses is a thing of the past. Rather, faculty will designate where their courses fit within the General Education curriculum.

"This is no longer a course but rather a competency- based/experience-based program," says General Education task force chair Ann Twinam. "The ultimate goal of General Education will be to guide students to take courses and have experiences that give them breadth, depth in their major and develop the four baccalaureate competencies of critical thinking, knowledge integration, effective communication and social responsibility. Another important component will be assessment of the program's success in meeting those goals."

The hard work of faculty who developed and implemented the courses for the previous General Education plan will not be lost in the program revisions. "I fully expect that the General Education courses that were approved for the old program will be incorporated into the new version," says Anthony Perzigian, senior vice president and provost for baccalaureate and graduate education.

"This is also more inclusive," continued committee member David Lee Smith. "Students in every college should be able to complete some of the General Education requirement through their own college. They will not have to take a lot of additional courses to fulfill General Education."

Each baccalaureate degree program or major is responsible for their General Education requirements as well as designing a capstone experience for students. Assessment of the program will also be the responsibility of the colleges and academic units with assistance and support provided by the university.

A faculty forum on General Education will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, in the Robert Werner Recital Hall, College- Conservatory of Music (CCM). All faculty are invited to attend.

Andrea Leskes, vice president for Education and Quality Initiatives, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) will be guest speaker. Leskes has previously been involved in the restructuring of the General Education program at the American University of Paris and Northeastern University and has presented on General Education forums nationally. The fall All-University Faculty meeting will be held immediately following the forum.

For more information, faculty members can contact their college representatives:

General Education Task Force The General Education task force is composed of faculty throughout the university. It includes the coordinating committee: