GENERAL EDUCATION COUNCIL MISSION REVISION

On Wednesday, March 27th, the following email was sent by Dr. Eric Otto to all faculty and staff (via Tiffany Jackson).  General Education Council representatives are seeking input on the draft mission by Tuesday, 4/2/13.
 
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Dear Colleagues,
 
Your participation in the Fall 2012 forums on General Education (GE) at FGCU produced much valuable feedback, including advice to the General Education Council (GEC) to revise the GE Mission Statement before FGCU moves forward with changes to our GE program. Faculty members indicated that “We should focus on [the Mission of GE at FGCU] as the first step—clearly stating our assumptions and understandings” (http://www.fgcu.edu/General_Education/files/Stakeholder_meeting_11-30-2012_transcript.pdf).
 
To draft the Mission Statement below, the GEC consulted the detailed feedback you provided during the Fall 2012 forums, responses to campus surveys, and several faculty emails and personal communications. In keeping with best practices for reviewing and revising GE programs, the GEC also strove to align the draft Mission with FGCU’s institutional Mission. The draft GE Mission reads,
 
Rooted in the tradition of liberal education, FGCU’s General Education Program provides students with unique opportunities to cultivate the curiosity, knowledge, and skills necessary for lifelong learning and responsible global citizenship.
 
I am writing to ask that you review this draft, keeping in mind that the GEC intends to follow this Mission Statement with a more detailed “Purpose” or “Goals” statement. Such a “Purpose/Goals” statement will both flesh out the terminologies in the Mission and articulate the path by which our students achieve General Education competencies. (There will be opportunities for faculty and staff to provide feedback on this longer “Purpose/Goals” statement.)
 
You may contact me or your unit’s GEC representative with your thoughts on the draft Mission Statement. The GEC values your input; we look forward to hearing from you!
 
Sincerely,
Eric Otto
Chair, General Education Council
eotto@fgcu.edu
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

(Update 03/29/13)

The two current bills that contain revisions to General Education (HB 7057 and SB 1720) have passed unanimously out of committees.  The Senate Bill is expected to be heard on the floor 4/4/13.  The House Bill was referred to the House calendar on 3/29/13.

(Update 03/19/13)

The two current bills that contain the general education revisions (HB 7057 and SB 1720) have each passed through a chamber education and appropriations subcommittees.

(Update 03/08/13)

(1)  A bill was filed (HB 1235, links to pdf copy) that revises the general education requirements to include 6 semester hours of United States history at the lower-division level.  It hasn’t yet been referred to any committee.
 
(2)  The House Higher Education and Workforce Committee will be discussing on Wednesday a very large postsecondary education bill, the general education revisions are a part of this bill. PCB HEWS 13-01.  On Wednesday, 03/06/13 the HE and Workforce committee bill (with the proposed changes to Gen Ed) passed unanimously out of committee. This means it goes forward to legislators.  This bill does not include the proposal to require 6  hours in U.S. History.

FL DEPARTMENT of EDUCATION UPDATE

(Update 02/26/13) Three documents have been generated and will be reviewed by the Steering Committee for possible changes to the Draft Recommendations:
      (a)  Institution feedback on the core recommendations from the SUS (summarized, and categorized by themes)
      (b)  Institution feedback on the core recommendations from the FCS (summarized, and categorized by themes)
      (c)  The proposed revisions to the portions of HB 1107 relevant to General Education - CLICK HERE

The Steering Committee will meet sometime in the next 4-6 weeks to develop a plan for how to proceed.  It is possible that the subject area faculty committees will reconvene, and based on charges from the Steering Committee make recommendations to revise select core competencies and select core course options accordingly.

Simultaneously, the House Higher Education and Workforce Committee has included the "glitch bill" provisions in a draft House bill, but which does not yet have a number or a sponsor. 

FGCU INSTITUTIONAL FEEDBACK, FINAL REPORT

(Update 01/31/13)  Please click here for the final version of the report that reflects institutional feedback on the state mandated subject area competencies and core courses proposed by the Faculty and Steering Committees.  The draft and final versions of the report were written collaboratively by Eric Otto, Chair of General Education Council and Kris De Welde, Director of General Education.

FGCU INSTITUTIONAL FEEDBACK, DRAFT REPORT

(Update 01/25/13) After several weeks of soliciting feedback on the draft recommendations for the state-mandated subject area competencies and core courses that will eventually comprise 15 of our 30 hours in the General Education Program, General Education Council and the Director of General Education have developed a draft summary report (click HERE).
 
The report is in draft form, and was sent to all the college Deans on 01/24/13.  We are hopeful that chairs and program leaders will solicit additional feedback from faculty to refine the summary points made.  All of the feedback that faculty sent to their General Education Council representatives, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, or the Director of General Education and/or posted to the Angel discussion forums was collated and is available in the appendix of this report — unaltered, and with names removed.
 
Again, the most helpful feedback for this report is that which reflects concerns (or endorsements) at the program level, with recommendations for change, and rationale for such changes.
 
All additional feedback or commentary on this report should be sent to Kris De Welde (kdewelde@fgcu.edu) by noon on Monday, January 28th.  She will work with the General Education Council Monday and Tuesday of next week to finalize the report, which will be sent to Provost Toll on Wednesday, for final submission to the Steering Committee by the deadline on Thursday, January 31st.

FACULTY SENATE PRESENTATION (01/11/13)

Please click here for the power point that was presented at Faculty Senate (01/11/13).  The presentation summarizes the state-level draft recommendations on subject area competencies and core courses, provides a brief review of activities in the fall 2012 term, a projected spring 2013 timeline, and a summary of upcoming meetings.

DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS:

(Update 01/09/12) We now have the initial recommendations of subject area competencies and core courses that will comprise the 15 hours of General Education mandated by the state.  We have a short window of opportunity, as a campus, to provide feedback to the Steering Committee about these recommendations. Our feedback is due January 31.

We have developed an Angel Community Group (General Education Revision Feedback) to gather input from FGCU faculty, staff, and students on the draft recommendations.  For your convenience, each subject area has its own discussion forum, where the recommended subject area competencies and core courses are listed at the top of each page.  You can also find the summary recommendations just below, and the full report and timeline here: http://www.fldoe.org/articulation/pdf/gesfcir.pdf

Because our time frame is very limited, this site will be open until January 18th.  Shortly after the Angel site closes on January 18^th, our Director of General Education will compile responses from the Angel forums, along with feedback provided to General Education Council representatives, and the state Faculty Committee representatives.  She will do this by subject area, and then circulate the responses to program leaders and/or chairs.  Ideally, they will review the individual concerns, questions, and recommendations with their program or department faculty by January 28^th.  It will be most useful for programs to discuss the impacts of the recommended subject-area competencies and core courses and provide (consensus) input for the final report from FGCU, due January 31st.

This brief period that the BOG and Steering Committee have set aside for institutional feedback is crucial, and your engagement with this stage is very important.  Please utilize whatever means is most comfortable for you and for your programs to provide feedback on these matters. 

In addition to the Angel discussion forums, faculty, staff, and students also are welcome to provide additional feedback directly to their General Education Council representatives (http://www.fgcu.edu/General_Education/council.html), the state-level Faculty Committee representatives: Anne-Marie Bouche (Humanities), Rick Coughlin (Social Science), Chuck Lindsey (Mathematics), and Jim Wohlpart (Communication) and/or to the Director of General Education.

Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively.

Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze communication critically.

 ENC X101            English Composition I

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Humanities

Students will demonstrate interpretive ability and cultural literacy.

Students will demonstrate competence in reflecting critically upon the human condition.

ARH X000             Art Appreciation

HUM X020            Introduction to Humanities

LIT X100               Introduction to World Literature

MUL X010            Introduction to Music Literature/Music Appreciation

PHI X010              Introduction to Philosophy

*****

Mathematics*

Students will determine appropriate mathematical and computational models and methods in problem solving, and demonstrate an understanding of mathematical concepts.

Students will apply appropriate mathematical and computational models and methods in problem solving.

MAC X105            College Algebra

STA X023             Statistical Methods

MGF X106            Liberal Arts Mathematics I

MGF X107            Liberal Arts Mathematics II

 *****

Students will demonstrate the ability to critically examine and evaluate scientific observation, hypothesis, or model construction, and the use of scientific method to explain the natural world.

Students will successfully recognize and comprehend fundamental concepts, principles, and processes about the natural world.

 BSC X005            General Biology

CHM X020            Chemistry for Liberal Studies

PHY X020             Fundamentals of Physics

ESC X000             Introduction to Earth Science

EVR X001             Introduction to Environmental Science

 *****

Social Science

Students will demonstrate the ability to examine behavioral, social, and cultural issues from a variety of points of view.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of basic social and behavioral science concepts and principles used in the analysis of behavioral, social, and cultural issues, past and present, local and global.

 PSY X012            Introduction to Psychology

SYG X000             Principles of Sociology

WOH X040            20th Century World History

CPO X001             Comparative Politics

ANT X000             Introduction to Anthropology

*****

*For the mathematics and natural science core course options, the following policy should apply (this is recommended language that the Steering Committee is proposing):

If a student completes a course in a subject area for which one of the general education core course options in the same subject area is a prerequisite, that student should be considered to have completed the portion of the core in that subject area. In some instances there may be courses similar in content in the general education program that are at a more advanced level, but do not include a core course as a prerequisite, in these instances the more advanced, similar course will be considered to have completed the portion of the core in that subject area. 

STAKEHOLDER MEETING:

(Update 12/10/12)  25 chairs, program leaders, and course coordinators who have oversight of general education courses (along with Faculty Senate President Doug Harrison) met on Friday, November 30th to discuss the campus surveys, Town Hall meetings, and overall direction of recent conversations pertaining to the state mandated changes in the General Education curriculum as well as the changes on our campus.  After a brief presentation summarizing results of the surveys and Town Hall meetings, those present engaged in a discussion of the timeline for the revisions on our campus as well as the direction in which the conversations are going.  The consensus from this meeting was to focus on the General Education mission statement, and spend adequate time revising this with broad input from the university community.  The General Education Council will revisit the current mission statement, approved in 2004, and potentially revise the statement while reflecting on results of the information collected over this semester in the campus surveys and Town Hall meetings (fall 2012).  The resulting mission statement (and possibly a statement of purpose) will guide future conversations about the revisions to FGCU's General Education curriculum.

Click here for the Power Point shared at this meeting.  (Please find the transcript for this meeting here).

GENERAL EDUCATION TOWN HALL MEETINGS:

(Update: 11/21/2012) 20 faculty and staff attended the Town Hall meeting on November 13th.  That brings us to a total of about 70 people attending the Town Hall meetings (some individuals attended more than one). On the 11/13/12 meeting, after a brief presentation summarizing results from the general education campus surveys and previous two Town Hall meetings (November 6 & 7), attendees gathered in four small groups to discuss key questions in a "World Cafe" style dialogue.  This method allows participants to move between tables/questions after a specified amount of time.  The key questions were derived from the results of the surveys and previous town hall meetings.  These included:

• What should be the intent or purpose of FGCU’s General Education Program (GEP)?
• How could we facilitate greater connections between GEP areas and courses, and between the GEP and the majors?
• In order to develop a “signature” GEP, which themes (and sub-themes) are most important for us?
• How could FGCU’s GEP be linked to the mission, vision, and guiding principles of the university?

Click here for a detailed report from the 11/13 Town Hall meeting, and here for the Power Point slides.

The final General Education Revision meeting of the fall 2012 semester will be on November 30th where stakeholders in the GEP (Chairs, program leaders, and course coordinators that oversee courses in the GEP) will gather with the General Education Director to discuss ideas and questions that have emerged as significant over the last months in the surveys, town hall discussions, and General Education Council meetings.

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(Update: 11/10/2012) Nearly 50 people attended the two Town Halls on November 6 & 7 (combined).  Results of the Campus Surveys were shared, and participants worked together in small groups on key questions related to the intent and structure of general education on the FGCU campus. Key themes emerged over these two days.  These included:

• Clear and common understandings of general education need to be developed amongst faculty, and then communicated to all faculty and students.  This would include the purpose or intent of the GEP and its content.  There should be common understandings about the GEP, as well as common language/vocabulary for what we mean in the GEP, particularly with respect to competencies.

• There need to be stronger links between the GEP and the majors – coherence and integration.  This needs to be deliberate and ongoing.  This could be accomplished by developing themes across the curriculum, and assessing them.

•  Structuring our GEP by themes was a popular topic, and well-received.  Several small groups on day 2 (Wednesday) worked on what these themes might be, and how we might depict them visually.

Click here for a detailed report from the 11/6 & 11/7 Town Hall meetings, and here for the Power Point slides.

The third General Education Town Hall Meeting (November 13th) will focus on these points (with additional detail from the previous town hall meetings).

CAMPUS SURVEY:

(Update: 11/10/2012)  Responses to the Campus Surveys were impressieve!  We had over 650 responses: 239 faculty, staff, and administrators, and 387 students. A summary Power Point presentation was devlivered to the faculty during the General Education Town Hall meetings, November 6th & 7th, 2012.  Click here for the presentation.  To review the survey questions, see the links below.

Raw data for the survey will be posted soon.

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(Update: 10/31/2012) In consultation with the General Education Council, the Director of General Education (De Welde) developed two surveys designed to elicit feedback from all members of the campus community about our general education program and generate ideas for moving forward.

The surveys were intended to gather as many diverse perspectives as possible from all members of the campus community.  Interested individuals did not have to be faculty teaching in the GEP, or students currently in general education courses.  The survey results will provide a context for upcoming "Town Hall" meetings (see "Upcoming Meetings" for additional details).

Two surveys were administered to 1) faculty, staff, and administrators and 2) FGCU undergraduate students. The survey was open from Wednesday, October 17th until Sunday, October 28th.   

• Please find a copy of the faculty survey here (this is an inactive survey): http://survey.fgcu.edu/Survey.aspx?s=65783c0b24f741ad8a8c27433499cc27
• Please find a copy of the student survey here (this is an inactive survey): http://survey.fgcu.edu/Survey.aspx?s=5c1b2f006f1b4ddf87476f876a3cb7c4

UPDATES FROM THE STATE:

The Florida Department of Education maintains a website with minutes from Steering Committee meetings, which you can follow here: http://www.fldoe.org/articulation/hb7135gep.asp

• On 10/25/2012 Faculty Committees for each of the five areas in the General Education Program convened at the USF campus, Tampa FL.  All of our representatives attended.  Notes from this meeting are posted to the state website, and include preliminary recommendations for the General Elective Core Course Options.

As additional events unfold on our campus, updates will be posted here.