USF General Education Council - Minutes of January 7, 2008

Present: Scott Campbell, Ken Caswell, John Ferron, Irene Frank, C. David Frankel, Hunt Hawkins, Ed Kellner, Gladis Kersaint, Kathy Laframboise, Joan Morris, Jane Noll, Paul Reller, Laura Rusnak, Andrew Smith, Nancy White, Cheryl Zambroski

Absent: Sue Bartlett, Allison Cleveland, Sharon Geiger, Kathryn Laframboise, Phil Levy, Kay Perrin, Robert Potter, Jeffery Ryan

Guests: Terri Flateby, Janet Moore, Diane Williams

The meeting was called to order at 3:04 p.m.

1. The minutes of December 3rd, 2007, were approved.

2. Announcements:
   The following changes were made to the agenda by Chair Kersaint.
   • The item under new business, "St Pete Campus GEC Review process and other issues" will be postponed until the next meeting.
   • Courses to be considered for approval include ART2201, ART2203, AMS3230, GEO2400, & WST4522.

3. Course Proposal Review Status

   1. Approved Courses

      Without Funding

      • AMS 3230 - America During the 1920s and 1930s ------------------------Approved contingent upon minor revisions to the proposal.
        This course provides an interdisciplinary examination of American Culture during the turbulent interwar years, 1919 through 1941. Students will examine how the arts, advertising, fashion, and social behavior registered changing cultural values. This course was approved contingent upon minor revisions to the proposal and meets the Gordon Rule Writing requirement.
        Core Area: Humanities       Dimensions: CT, I, CIPE, IRD.

      • GEO 2400 - Human Geography---------Approved.
        Human Geography encompasses those branches of Geography which focus primarily upon the relationships between humans and the environments they construct, both built and social. This course is a survey of the sub-discipline. This course was approved.
        Core Area: Exit Course       Dimensions: CT, I, GC, HCD.

      • STA 2122 - Social Science Statistics---------Approved.
        Students are taught the fundamental vocabulary and symbols of statistics as well as commonly used statistical procedures in social sciences. Students conduct analyses, interpret results and make conclusions about research questions. The course content was approved but the funding request needs to be reviewed by the funding committee before full approval can be given.
        Core Area: Quantitative Reasoning       Dimensions: CT, I, SP, QL.

      • WST 4320 - Politics and Issues in Women's ---------Approved.
        This course will focus on celebrating women's health and wholeness: mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, social, economic, and understanding the potential negative effects of institutional and interpersonal oppression on health and wellness. This course was approved.
        Core Area: Social and Behavioral Sciences       Dimensions: CT, I, HCD, EP, IRD.

      • WST 4522 - Classics in Feminist Theory---------Approved contingent upon minor revisions to proposal.
        This course introduces students to first and second wave feminist theories, which explain the pervasiveness of sexist, racist, classist, heterosexist bias in our everyday lives. This course was approved contingent upon minor revisions to the proposal.
        Core Area: Humanities       Dimensions: CT, I, HHCP, HCD, EP.

      With Funding Request ($$$$)

      • ANT 4401 - Exploring Cross-Cultural Diversity---------Approved contingent upon minor revisions to the proposal.
        This course will address a variety of challenging issues related to the general topic of cross-cultural diversity in contemporary American life. The course content was approved, but the funding request needs to be reviewed by the funding committee before full approval can be given.
        Core Area: Exit Course       Dimensions: CT, I, GC, CHD

      • ART 2201 - Concepts and Practices I---------Approved.
        This course introduces students to diverse art studio practices and concepts where topics include forms of communication, sourcing inspiration, and critical theory. Studio projects are augmented by lecture, discussion, reading, writing and critical analysis. The course content was approved and meets the Gordon Rule Writing requirement, but the funding request needs to be reviewed by the funding committee before full approval can be given.
        Core Area: Fine Arts       Dimensions: CT, I, CIPE

      • ART 2203 - Concepts and Practices II---------Approved.
        This course is a continuation of ART 2201 building on diverse art studio practice and concepts including crafting an artistic self, measuring success, and examining the artist's role. Art projects are augmented by lecture, discussion, reading, writing and critiques. The course content was approved and meets the Gordon Rule Writing requirement, but the funding request needs to be reviewed by the funding committee before full approval can be given.
        Core Area: Fine Arts       Dimensions: CT, I, IRD, CIPE

4. Review Issues
   • Dr. Kersaint reminded everyone that the funding committee will review and prioritize funding for courses that were approved for content in the fall and which included funding requests. The committee will then return official letters to the proposers giving approval and funding status for the course. The plan is to have the funding review completed in February to give enough time for faculty to be able to recruit graduate assistants, if needed, for their courses.
   • Dr. Sullins will be sending letters to the faculty reminding them that they need to get their General Education courses approved before Fall 2009. There will probably be a big surge in review requests after the letter goes out. The General Education committee will probably not meet over the summer so members will need to do the best they can to get courses through the system and approved this spring and next fall.

5. Old Business
   • There is continued discussion of on-line courses and the issue of cheating in on-line courses. The Undergraduate Council has also engaged and will continue to engage in discussion related to online courses.

6. Committee Reports

   1. Marketing Sub-committee
      A message concerning marketing has been forwarded to Dr. Sullins. The sub-committee's first priority is to market changes to the advisors. Next will come marketing to the incoming students. It may be necessary to communicate directly with the faculty regarding changes in the General Education curriculum, as word may not filter down to them.

   2. Recertification Sub-committee
      E-mails were sent out to all members and the results are in, but there is disagreement on forward progress. Better compliance will be obtained if the recertification process is not punitive or time-consuming. In discussion of the sub-committee's findings, Council members agreed that the process should probably focus on department chairs as faculty members teaching a particular course frequently change. Departments will have multiple General Education courses to recertify, so work should be kept to a minimum. Syllabus review is needed for the recertification process at the very least, but recertification should include more than that. The suggestion was made to pilot test some ideas with departments to see what they believe is feasible.

   3. Assessment Sub-committee
      This group is stepping back to look at the big picture. USF needs something easy and straightforward as most of the burden of maintaining course integrity will be borne by the recertification process. Members will be looking at other institutions to see what they are doing in that regard. It is planned that information collected will be assembled and reviewed in three weeks.

The next meeting will be on Monday, February 4, 2008, at 3:00 pm in SVC 5012. The meeting was adjourned at 4:53 pm.

Please send any suggestions or comments to:
Mia Fluitt - webcat@ugs.usf.edu