General Education Framework Directors and Chairs Meeting Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Topics General Education Committee ◦ Function/Charge ◦ Members ◦ Guiding Principles Proposed General Education Framework ◦ Proposed changes ◦ General Education Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment General Education Approval Procedure ◦ General Education Courses ◦ “Concentrations”

Functions of the GEC To ensure the general education curriculum is established, monitored, reviewed, and assessed To oversee General Education Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan To determine which undergraduate courses qualify for general education credit To maintain the official catalog of RIT’s General Education Curriculum and associated courses

Academic Senate Charge to GEC Create a set of overarching principles to guide general education curricular reform that: ◦ complements RIT’s mission, ◦ serves RIT students, ◦ reflects the diversity of the University, ◦ conforms to New York State’s statutory requirements and ◦ complies with the RIT approved General Education Student Learning Outcomes

Academic Senate Charge to GEC Seek advice and consultation from the curriculum committees of the College of Liberal Arts and College of Science Ensure that the needs and interests of all colleges are appropriately considered

Academic Senate Charge to GEC Take into consideration budgetary implications Benchmark against colleges and universities of interest After consultation with the ICC, forward the proposed curriculum to the Academic Senate for action

GEC Membership Membership of the General Education Committee The chief academic officer or designee, ex-officio, voting, Dick Doolittle Academic dean representative, Robert Ulin Academic Senate representative, Amit Ray The Director of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment, ex-officio, non- voting, Anne Wahl Faculty representative from each college of the University: ◦ COS, Elizabeth Hane, Chair ◦ COLA, Franz Foltz ◦ SCB, TBD ◦ CAST, George Zion ◦ GCCIS, Rajendra Raj ◦ KGCOE, Surendra Gupta ◦ NTID, David Templeton ◦ CIAS, Naomi Orwin

GEC Guiding Principles Existing Framework Meet the New York State Education Department (NYSED) requirements ( Ensure that students achieve RIT’s General Education Learning Outcomes Be consistent with the Academic Program Profiles Support RIT’s goals, values, vision and mission Support the IWC Comprehensive Writing Program initiative Depth and Breadth Contribute to the development of a breadth of knowledge by providing course offerings from a broad range of disciplines, including math, humanities, and the natural and social sciences Allow students to explore a particular area of knowledge in depth through a series of related courses Provide opportunities for students to make connections between courses and across disciplines Be integrated into all four or five years of a student’s education at RIT

GEC Guiding Principles Supporting programs/majors Provide a progression of courses that are integrated with major fields of study Provide courses that support the basic requirements for students in the majors Implementation Be clear and concise to ease processes for: Scheduling, Auditing, Advising Offer students courses and programs that support their major field of study and other interests Provide students choices in how to fulfill their requirements Be clear and easy to understand for students, faculty, and staff Allow for easy adaptation for future reform Other Be intellectually stimulating for faculty and students Be adaptive to changing curricula and a changing world Support innovation, creativity, scholarship, and entrepreneurship

Proposed General Education Framework Proposed changes General Education Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment

How the New Framework Differs University-wide engagement Not disciplinary, but outcome driven First-Year Seminar Opportunities for integrated and inter-/trans-disciplinary experiences Intentional scaffolding Writing intensive

General Education Framework BSBFAASAAS Foundation First-Year Seminar/1 st -year writing intensive course 6666 Perspectives Categories TBD *15 12 Mathematical/Scientific/Tech Literacy 12 (4 courses) 066 Immersion Arts and Sciences Concentration Requirements * Choose 3 additional, related courses 9900 Number of Required Credits General Education Electives18030 TOTAL

First Year Seminar First Year Writing Perspectives 5 Quant Literacy Perspectives 4 Perspectives 3 Perspectives 2 Perspectives 1 Quant Literacy Science Literacy Conc. 3 Conc. 2 Conc. 1 Elective General Education courses to bring total to 60 credits Perspectives Foundation Immersion General Education Framework BS Degree Minor 4 (optional) Minor 4 (optional) Minor 5 ( optional) Basic Writing (optional) Capstone (optional)

First Year Seminar First Year Writing Basic Writing (optional) Conc. 3 Conc. 2 Conc. 1 Capstone (optional) Minor 4 (optional) Minor 4 (optional) Total should be a minimum of 30 credits Minor 5 ( optional) General Education – BFA Degree Perspectives Foundation Immersion Perspectives 5 Perspectives 4 Perspectives 3 Perspectives 2 Perspectives 1 Quant Literacy (optional) Quant Literacy (optional) Science Literacy (optional) Science Literacy (optional)

First Year Seminar First Year Writing Additional program determined or elective courses to bring total to 30 credits General Education – AS Degrees Perspectives Foundation Basic Writing (optional) Perspectives 5 Perspectives 4 Perspectives 3 Perspectives 2 Perspectives 1 Quant Literacy Science Literacy

First Year Seminar First Year Writing Additional program determined or elective courses to bring total to 25 credits General Education – AAS Degrees Choose 4 of 5; TBD Perspectives Foundation Basic Writing (optional) Perspectives 5 Perspectives 4 Perspectives 3 Perspectives 2 Perspectives 1 Quant Literacy Science Literacy

General Education Assessment Alignment/mapping of General Education Student Learning Outcomes to Courses Current Assessment Plan Implementation ◦ General Education Faculty Teams Assessment Management System ◦ Taskstream

Gen Ed Course Review/Approval GEC will review and evaluate all new proposals for courses for General Education credit using: ◦ State of New York Liberal Arts and Sciences Guidelines ◦ RIT Student General Education Student Learning Outcomes

Gen Ed Course Review/Approval The College Curriculum Committee provides: A cover memo (required form) : ◦ Process of approval ◦ Alignment to General Education Framework An outline for the course being reviewed in the ICC New/Revised Course Outline format

Gen Ed Course Review/Approval GEC reviews the proposed course and forwards the recommendation to the Chief Academic Officer GEC informs the ICC of the recommendations and the RIT community of the final decision regarding the course proposal GEC maintains database of currently approved courses

“Concentration” Approval Courses within a concentration go through the same approval process For approval as a General Education Concentration, a group of three courses ideally should: ◦ Explore a perspective area in greater detail ◦ Integrate across perspectives ◦ Lead to a minor with the addition of two courses

Questions?