By Jonathan Stankiewicz
The Faculty Senate Ad Hoc Committee for General Education has four plans that would reform general education from its current state. The “goal program” is the most radical of the four and would take away the first-year experience classes for freshmen and English 110.
Those are just a few examples of what “Plan D” on the draft proposal changes. It gets rid of all of the major categories for general education that we know today and changes or eliminates them.
Students would be able to pick classes from categories like “human cultures,” “ethical and civil engagement,” “physical and natural worlds,” “mathematics and statistics” and “writing across the curriculum.” These are much different categories from the current “arts & humanities,” “social sciences,” “behavioral sciences,” “communication skills” and “mathematics.”
The committee is made up by Thomas Burkholder, Robert Wolff, Mary Anne Nunn, Olga Petkova, Paul Resetarits, Thomas Burkholder and Rachel Siporin of CCSU. They saw from the online polling of faculty on campus that it’s time for a look at general education on campus, said Wolff. Wolff mentioned that the general education system in place hasn’t been changed for more than 13 years. Burkholder added that the committee only has 44 credits to work with, at least one-third of the credits in an undergraduate degree, due to a state mandate.
Two weeks ago an open meeting was held and faculty were able to ask the committee questions about their draft proposals in an open discussion.
Under the “goal program” mathematics and statistics would still be a six-credit minimum, with a 12-credit maximum, but would require students to take at least one calculus class.
Stephen Cohen, English Department Chair, asked the committee if they were prioritizing mathematics in the “goal program” by placing the “six credit minimum” on mathematics and statistics while only requiring a “three credit minimum” for all of the other categories in the plan. Burkholder quickly said that from the polling, faculty want students to have “good quantitative skills.”
That question sparked a debate about the category in the “goal program” requiring students to take at least one calculus class. Faculty in the room didn’t take that addition lightly, but Burkholder was quick to respond.
“The traditional calculus class has multiple pieces to it,” said Burkholder. He maintained that understanding those types of concepts is very important and that students need to have the ability to interpret graphical information. His thinking is to have more of an understanding than students just understanding algebra concepts.
The proposed “first-year critical inquiry seminar” was explained as a course to substitute English 110 and to allow students to choose a course that they would be interested in. It would be a writing course for freshman and incoming transfer students, but would have to be tailored by the faculty member teaching the course. Transfer students would have a separate section since they aren’t first-year students. The committee said that the course would be taught by faculty from many areas of study so that students would actually be able to pick a course that they would like. The goal is to allow students to get a well-rounded education, but keep them interested in the subjects that are being taught.
Another open meeting is scheduled on Nov. 17 for the General Education Committee. Any further discussion, comments or questions can be addressed at the committee’s blog at www.you.ccsu.edu/gened or email committee member Robert Wolff directly at [email protected]. In order to comment you have to register for the site.
