CAS Meeting Minutes

November 20, 2006

3:00-4:15 p.m.

1. Call to Order

2. A motion was proposed and seconded to approve the October minutes. The motion was approved.

3. Kaye Gapen discussed improvements to the library:

• Six new workstations were added.
• We now have access to JStor Arts and Sciences collection 1. There was a large fee to join, but we may add other collections at a lower rate. Kaye will be contacting department chairs to discuss adding other collections.

4. On behalf of CAS CAP, Kathy McGinnis and Anne Henderson presented two proposals on curricular reform. Before the December CAS faculty meeting, open meetings will be held to discuss the proposals and offer suggestions for revision. Then at the December CAS meeting, a formal vote will be held on the two curricular reform proposals presented at the November meeting. Also at the December 14 CAS meeting, a proposal on general education categories and credits will be presented for faculty consideration. A vote will be scheduled on this proposal for the January 2007 CAS meeting.

Kathy McGinnis presented the proposal on goals and objectives for the new general education curriculum and first year experience. She noted that the following principles informed the proposal:

• The goals and objectives should be simple, clear, and straightforward.
• The goals and objectives should be understandable to students. From orientation onward, students need to understand why they are taking general education courses.
• The objectives must be measurable so we can assess student progress.

A question was raised about how to operationalize goals and objectives in the design of specific courses. The response was that courses should be designed to incorporate and assess the objectives associated with the relevant curricular goal. In response to a question about whether faculty members would be required to incorporate the general education goals and objectives verbatim into their syllabi, Kathy McGinnis responded that wording consistent with the relevant goals and objectives would suffice.

The following points were made about the communication of goals to students and faculty:

• The language we use in the catalog must help students understand why they take particular courses and how they fit into the “intellectual whole” of the general education curriculum.
• It must be easy to advise and handle transfer students.
• The general education curriculum must accommodate a wide range of learners.
• There must be intake assessments.

Roxana Moayedi asked whether CAS CAP would be in charge of approving courses for the new general education curriculum. Kathy McGinnis responded in the affirmative, stressing that the approval process would be straightforward and transparent. Mary Hayes asked whether programs would have the right to choose which of their courses to include in the general education curriculum. Kathy McGinnis responded that programs would decide which courses to propose, and CAS CAP would review the proposals.

Anne Henderson led a discussion on the proposed structure for the first year curriculum. Mary Hayes wondered how to make the first year experience attractive to students. Sue Blanshan mentioned that positive reinforcement from advisors is a big motivator to students. In the proposed new curriculum, each student’s faculty advisor will also be her instructor in a first semester course. This instructor will serve as a mentor and monitor progress. Jamie Piland remarked that the instructors’ passion for the discipline also makes it attractive. Roberta Goldberg argued that the new curriculum must offer stimulating and challenging courses in order to attract and retain students.

Shelly Tomkin mentioned that the size of the incoming class, and of instructors’ existing advising loads, must be taken into consideration when assigning advisors.

The role of foreign language in the general education curriculum was discussed. The more detailed proposal on general education categories and credits will include a foreign language requirement, though it is not required as part of the first year curriculum.

Brunella Bowditch mentioned that science majors need to start right away on math and science courses. There must be room in the first year curriculum for those courses.

Someone asked whether the concept of linked courses has been retained. The answer is that there is not enough time to design course linkages on a large scale across the curriculum for fall 2007, although individual faculty have the freedom to link courses.

5. Mary Hayes voiced a concern that was echoed by many faculty members about the registration of students across SPS/CAS boundaries. She feels that there should be allowance for this not as a special case, but as a regular feature of the curriculum. Many faculty members called for a solution to fulfill current CAS students’ expectations that they could take SPS courses, based on the advertised ability to do this earlier in their college careers. Discussion continued.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Moniz