USF General Education Council - Minutes of November 19, 2007

Present: Scott Campbell, John Ferron, Ilene Frank, C. David Frankel, Hunt Hawkins, Ed Kellner, Gladis Kersaint (Chair), Kathy Laframboise, Jane Noll, Paul Reller, Laura Rusnak, Jeffrey Ryan, Drew Smith, Nancy White, Cheryl Zambroski.

Absent: Sue Bartlett, Sharon Geiger, Joan Morris, (excused), Phil Levy

Guests: Ken Caswell, Cyndi Collins, Terri Flateby, Pat Maher, Janet Moore, Diane Williams.

The meeting was called to order at 3.03 p.m. in SVC 2080. Dr. Kersaint presided.

1. The minutes of October 15th, 2007, were approved with suggested amendments.
   The minutes of November 5th, 2007 were tabled till next meeting.

2. Discussion

   It was announced in the Council, that there is a position open for a graduate assistant who would help in record keeping of the GEC and UGC daily affairs and activities of the department of undergraduate studies.

   1. Dr. Bob Sullins (Dean of Undergraduate Studies) spoke about the implementation of core curriculum course requirements in the new catalog. Emphasis was made on the need for promoting to the students the importance of the core curriculum. It was also discussed that beginning fall 2009, the courses currently listed as General Education courses will be dropped and have to be re-approved as liberal arts General Education courses. The courses for approval must be submitted by September 2008. It was also announced that 90 percent of the General Education courses are in the College of Arts and Sciences.
   2. It was also announced that a visit by the new provost is being planned early next semester.

3. Course Proposal Review Status

   1. Approved Courses

      With Funding Request ($$$$)

      • LIT 2040 - Introduction to Drama -------------------------Content Approved only.
        This course will introduce students to the literary form of drama as well as to the various "schools" of literary criticism. Will not count toward the English major.
        Core Area: Humanities       Dimensions: CT, I, CIPE, ETP.

   2. Review Issues

      1. Gordon Rule Courses
         The Council discussed the limits on the number of students in Gordon Rule courses. It was discussed that the decisions to limit the capacity of Gordon rule classes should be made at the committee level. Members suggested that limiting the number of students in the Gordon rule classes will improve the writing ability of students as there is a more efficient feedback process and less strain on the resources.
      2. Importance of General Education Courses
         The Council discussed that support for General Education courses from the provost is necessary. The provost needs to advocate the importance of General Education courses and the quality of education they provide.
      3. Website Issues
         The GEC members suggested that exit courses be highlighted in the website from the other core areas.
      4. Courses to be included as part of Funding discussion
         It was announced that courses WST 2600, WST 3225 and WST 3440 be included as part of funding discussions as the course proposers met the deadline but due to some technical issues the submission was not indicated correctly at the time of submission.
      5. Courses from Africana Studies.
         The courses from Africana studies can still be submitted as an exception because of the sudden demise of the department chair.
      6. The GEC stated that it cannot support faculty lines and emphasized that the course instructors should highlight the means for teaching the proposed course without extra funding.

   3. Old Business

      1. On-line courses vs face-to-face formats
         The GEC members discussed and compared the quality of on-line courses with those offered face to face. Concerns were raised that students taking some of the on-line courses have not met General Education requirements.
      2. Recertification
         The GEC members discussed recertification and their desire to avoid making it a time consuming process. In order to maintain the certification or get recertified, the course sponsors need to furnish evidence that they are meeting General Education requirements. The members stressed that most of the problems do occur when the courses are being offered by new faculty. Some members also emphasized that General Education courses should provide evidence that they are helping in improving student writing skills and abilities. There was discussion about making the recertification process easy and streamlined. It was also proposed by some members that in order to streamline the recertification process, faculty can provide justification of what has been accomplished in five years.

The next meeting will be on Monday, December 3, 2007, at 3:00 pm in SVC 2080. The meeting was adjourned at 4:55 pm.

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