Curriculum Action Notice

From:

Academic Affairs Committee

Date:

September 10, 2002

This is a bulletin from the Academic Affairs Committee concerning proposed curriculum actions. Within the next 10 days, please forward any comments or concerns to the AAC Chair, Helen Biblehimer, Elliott Hall 203, ext. 4521, hbiblehi@mnsfld.edu.

The General Education Subcommittee has submitted the attached GE assessment plan for discussion and subsequent approval.

This proposal plus any others submitted by faculty for consideration will be discussed at the Faculty Assembly to be held on September 20, 2002 at 3:30.

SINCE THIS ASSESSMENT PLAN WILL AFFECT ALL WHO TEACH GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES IT IS STRONGLY SUGGESTED THAT YOU READ THE ASSESSMENT PLAN, WHICH IS HYPERLINKED HERE, CAREFULLY AND SEND COMMENTS.

Click here for the complete Gen Ed assessment plan. Below you will find an abbreviation of the plan:

II. General Education Program Outcomes

General Education courses represent multiple disciplines and meet the general education requirements. Specifically, general education is designed to develop student competency across the core and general education blocks in the following:

• thinking skills including critical thinking, problem-solving, and analysis
• communication
• an introduction to the principles, substance, and methodology of humanities, language and literature, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences, in addition to their majors.

III. General Education Program Assessment

Students seeking a baccalaureate degree from Mansfield University are required to take General Education courses in addition to the required core courses. The distribution of required general education courses are selected from the following five blocks:

• Humanities
• Languages and Literature
• Mathematics
• Natural sciences
• Social sciences

One semester prior to graduation, students who began their coursework at Mansfield University (students without transfer credits) will be required to submit a portfolio of works. Each portfolio must contain five artifacts from at least four of the five GE blocks . Taken as a whole, the five artifacts must demonstrate each of the general education outcomes-critical thinking, problem solving, analysis, communication, and an introduction to the principles, substance, and methodology of humanities, language and literature, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences.

It is in the interest of Mansfield University to evaluate the effectiveness of its general education program. This recommendation provides an opportunity for students to integrate general education goals in assignments that are discipline specific and for faculty to demonstrate to students that such integration is an essential mark of one who has received a liberal education. The following guidelines list the responsibilities of each group.

The General Education Subcommittee will

1. Develop, pilot, and revise the General Education Assessment;
2. Identify courses that meet General Education status;
3. Examine the assessment data summary sheets and the Summer Team report;
4. Make a formal report with recommendations to AAC;
5. Forward program change request form to the Academic Affairs Committee; and
6. Forward assessment process change request to the Academic Affairs Committee.

Instructors of General Education Courses will

1. Sign the Portfolio Cover Sheet Form.

Students will

1. Select five artifacts that provide evidence of achievement of the general education goals.
2. Complete a cover sheet for each artifact in the portfolio
3. Submit all five artifacts to the Provost Office. All must be received one semester prior to graduation.

The Provost Office will

1. Compile the portfolios.
2. Check for completion of the requirements.
3. Notify the student of any omissions.
4. Notify Records when the student has completed the portfolio requirement.

Records will

1. Include the portfolio requirement in the graduation requirements;
2. Post completion of the requirement when notified by a degree audit.

The University Assessment Committee will

1. Identify a summer team of faculty to assess student portfolios;
2. Train the summer team;
3. Select two days in May for the summer team to assess the portfolios.

The Associate provost will

1. Obtain two-day summer stipends for faculty interested in participating in assessing portfolios;
2. Ask department chairs to submit names of faculty who are interested in participating;
3. Randomly select a sample of student portfolios to be assessed;
4. Provide results of the assessment in the form of summary tables to the General Education Sub-Committee, AAC, and department chairs.

Summer team will

1. Attend training;
2. Spend two days in May assessing portfolios;
3. Submit the assessment results to the Associate Provost;
4. Recommend to the General Education Sub-Committee improvements for the portfolio assessment process;
5. Recommend to the General Education Sub-Committee program changes that are based on results of the assessment.

Proposed budget

1.	Staff training	$ 3,000
2.	Faculty stipends	$ 6,000
	TOTAL	$ 9,000