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PROPOSAL TO RESTRUCTURE THE GENERAL EDUCATION COUNCIL
December 2008
The General Education Council voted 11-0, with one member abstaining, on Dec. 10, 2008 to
recommend to the Senate a restructuring of the GEC.
The key elements of the restructuring proposal are summarized in the proposed charge presented below.
The full proposal is presented on pp. 3-6.
Proposed Charges for the GEC and its Subcommittees
Charge: The General Education Council is charged by the Faculty Senate to provide faculty governance
of the General Education Program. The GEC reports directly to the Faculty Senate.
The GEC is comprised of two subcommittees, the Lower-Division Subcommittee and the Education for
Global Citizenship subcommittee. The GEC also provides oversight of the Campus Reading Board and
Campus Writing Board. The General Education Policy Work Group works on policy issues and problems
identified by the Lower-Division and EGC subcommittees and the ESGE dean.
The Chair of the GEC and the chairs and members of the Lower-Division and EGC subcommittees are
charged to:
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Develop expertise on General Education Programs and issues at a state and national level;
Be advocates of an exceptional, high quality General Education Program, recognizing that the
General Education curriculum represents a third of the required courses of our graduates;
Advise and collaborate with academic administration, primarily through the ESGE Dean, on
issues relevant to ensuring delivery of a quality General Education Program.
Engage, communicate with, work collaboratively with, and serve as a resource for individual
faculty teaching in the General Education Program, department chairs, deans, and directors of
academic service offices to ensure delivery of a quality General Education Program;
Establish and review learning outcomes for the General Education Program;
Establish and oversee goals and processes for assessment of learning in the General Education
Program;
Review curriculum proposals related to the General Education Program and forward approved
proposals to the Curriculum Committee;
Oversee the activities of the Campus Reading Board and Campus Writing Board;
Review policy and process changes proposed by the General Education Policy Work Group..
The GEC Chair will report in writing and in person to the Faculty Senate on activities and important issues
twice each year. Reports should address the work of the Lower-Division Subcommittee, the Education for
Global Citizenship Subcommittee, the Campus Reading Board, Campus Writing Board, and General
Education Policy Work Group to date.
The GEC meets in the 8-8:55 a.m. MWF timeslot.
Membership:
Chair, elected
Lower-Division Subcommittee
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Subcommittee Chair, appointed by GEC chair
1 member representing faculty in CO1-2-3 requirement
1 member representing faculty in MA1 requirement
1 member representing faculty in AH1-2-3-4 requirement
1 member representing faculty in Hi1 requirement
1 member representing faculty in SS1-2-3 requirement
1 member representing faculty in SC1-2 requirement
1 member representing faculty in Physical Well-Being requirement
Dean of Enrollment Services and General Education, ex officio
Director of Assessment, ex officio
Registrar’s Office, ex officio
EGC Subcommittee
Subcommittee Chair, appointed by GEC chair
2 members representing faculty in School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
1 member representing faculty in School of Business Administration
2 members representing faculty in School of Natural and Behavioral Sciences
Dean of Enrollment Services and General Education, ex officio
Director of Assessment, ex officio
Registrar’s Office, ex officio
Campus Reading Board1
Charge: It would be desirable to have the membership of the board remain constant for at least two years
so that valuable experience is not lost during the “learning curve” stages of the program. The Campus
Reading Board chair, elected from the membership, would have the responsibility to maintain
appropriately representative membership and seek the GEC’s consent of new members.
Members:
1 faculty member from Sciences
1 faculty member from Social Sciences
1 faculty member from Humanities
1 faculty member from Arts
1 faculty member from Professional Programs
1 faculty member from the Writing Program
1 faculty member from the Library
2 staff members
1 student representative
Campus Writing Board
Charge: This Committee develops campus-wide initiatives related to writing. Recommendations of the
Committee are heard by the General Education Council for endorsement and/or action. When
appropriate, these recommendations and actions are brought before the Faculty Senate for endorsement
and/or action. The Committee composes and submits to the General Education Council written reports
summarizing its activities. These reports should be submitted at least once per academic year and should
be timed so as to best facilitate their inclusion into a regular General Education Council report to the
Faculty Senate.
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The Campus Reading Board and Campus Writing Board charges were copied from the Faculty Committees
website. However, the Campus Reading Board charge seems to be missing its first paragraph.
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The Chair of the board must be in a tenure-track position, and have experience in teaching writingintensive courses. Board members will serve three-year terms, renewable once if selected again by the
General Education Council for a second three-year term. These terms will be staggered to ensure
continuity. The Chair of the Writing Board will serve a three-year renewable term and must be
recommended by the General Education Council, and approved by the Dean of Enrollment Services and
the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Membership:
1 faculty member from Sciences
1 faculty member from Social Sciences
1 faculty member from Humanities
1 faculty member from Arts
1 faculty member from Teacher Education
1 faculty member from Business
1 faculty member from Exercise Science
1 member from the Library
Writing Program Director
Writing Center Coordinator – ex officio
Director of Assessment – ex officio
1 student representative – ex officio
General Education Policy Work Group
The Work Group addresses “technical” issues and problems identified by advising, the Registrar,
academic administration, and the Lower-Division and EGC subcommittees related to the ongoing
implementation of the General Education Program. The Work Group reports its recommendations to the
Lower-Division or EGC subcommittees, as appropriate. Those committees review impacts of new
policies and procedures on curriculum, advising, departmental and/or school governance practices and
authority prior to implementation.
Membership:
Dean of Enrollment Services and General Education
Registrar
Assistant Registrar
Director of Academic Advising and Student Success Center
Assistant Director of Academic Advising and Student Success Center
Full Proposal
At the General Education Council meeting on Nov. 12, 2008, Les Sommerville posed the question, “Why
do we need the GEC”? This question stemmed from his observations that:
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The GEC doesn’t seem to have much purpose
Departments do not see the GEC as important
Discussion that followed focused on some alternative structures. The sense of the GEC after this
discussion was:
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Members would let their departments know and Chair Peter McCormick would let the Faculty
Senate know that restructuring the GEC was under consideration.
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Gary Gianniny, Peter McCormick, and Carol Smith would meet to develop a proposal for the GEC
to consider on Dec. 10.
At the Dec. 10 meeting the GEC approved the following proposal with revisions. The text presented
below is the revised version.
Define the membership of the GEC as the combined membership of EGC and Lower-Division
Subcommittees (latter would be a new one). Schedule six meetings per term. Four meetings are
available for subcommittee work. Two meetings would be GEC meetings. At the GEC meetings,
visioning and other program-wide issues will be addressed, the subcommittees will apprise others about
their work, and the Reading Board and Writing Board will report at least once per year. The General
Education Policy Work Group will work directly with, and report through, the Lower-Division and EGC
Subcommittees.
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General Education Council
o Chair: Elected through Faculty Senate process.
o Membership: Combined membership of EGC and Lower-Division Subcommittees.
o Purpose: Presented in the proposed charge, p. 1.
o Scheduled to meet: Once in December and once in April in the 8-8:55 a.m. MWF
timeslot.
o Reports to: Faculty Senate.
o Updates and gives voice to faculty at large through annual session scheduled in late
January/early February.
o Keeps faculty, subcommittee members, and Council of Chairs informed of GEC activities
and decisions via monthly email message announcing that the minutes of the
subcommittees have been posted and briefly highlighting the topics of those minutes.
EGC Subcommittee
o Subcommittee chair: Appointed by GEC chair. Must be formally affiliated with EGC
program (developed and/or teaching courses).
o Membership: Three additional members. The subcommittee should be representative of
the three major schools (AHSS, NBS, SOBA). It would be desirable to have members
serve two-year terms.
o Selection: GEC chair, collaborating and consulting with individual faculty and appropriate
department chairs and deans, identifies faculty formally affiliated with the EGC program
who are interested and willing to serve. Appendix A shows the departments that currently
have faculty formally affiliated with the EGC Program.
o Purpose: Accomplish the GEC charge for the EGC component of the General Education
Program.
o Scheduled to meet: Monthly during AY except December and April in the 8-8:55 a.m.
MWF timeslot.
o Reports to: General Education Council.
o Subcommittee chair ensures minutes are prepared promptly and sent to GEC chair so
that s/he can keep campus informed about the subcommittee’s work on a monthly basis.
o Reviews work completed, underway, and planned at the full meetings of the GEC each
April and December.
Lower-Division Subcommittee
o Subcommittee chair: Appointed by GEC chair. Must be formally affiliated with LowerDivision program (developed and/or teaching courses).
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Membership: Six additional members selected so that each component of the lowerdivision curriculum (CO, MA, AH, HI, SS, SC, and Physical Well-Being) is represented. It
would be desirable to have members serve two-year terms.
o Selection: GEC chair, collaborating and consulting with individual faculty and appropriate
department chairs and deans, identifies faculty formally affiliated with each component of
the lower-division curriculum who are interested and willing to serve. Appendix B shows
the departments that have faculty formally affiliated with the various components of the
lower-division General Education curriculum.
o Purpose: Accomplish the GEC charge for the Lower-Division General Education
Program.
o Scheduled to meet: Monthly during AY except December and April in the 8-8:55 MWF
timeslot.
o Reports to: General Education Council
o Curriculum area representatives have responsibility to actively consult with faculty and
department chairs not represented on the Lower-Division Committee.
o Subcommittee chair ensures minutes are prepared promptly and sent to GEC chair so
that s/he can keep campus informed about the subcommittee’s work on a monthly basis.
o Reviews work completed, underway, and planned at the full meetings of the GEC each
April and December.
Campus Reading Board
o No changes.
o Annual report is posted as part of minutes of the meeting (either December or April)
at which the Campus Reading Board presents.
Campus Writing Board
o No changes.
o Annual report is posted as part of minutes of the meeting (either December or April)
at which Campus Writing Board presents.
General Education Policy Work Group
o No changes except that the General Education Policy Work Group would now work
directly and report through with the Lower-Division and EGC subcommittees.
Appendix A: Departmental Involvement in EGC (2008-09 snapshot)
Department/Program
Accounting
Anthropology
Art
Biology & Agriculture
Business Administration
(Management, Law &
Finance, Marketing)
Chemistry
CSIS
Economics
English
Exercise Science,
Adventure Ed, & Athletic
Courses taught by
departmental faculty in
EGC
EGC 310, 311
EGC 303, 309
EGC 302, 318
EGC 301, 311
EGC 306, 307
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Training
Freshman Mathematics
Program
Gender & Women’s
Studies
Geosciences
History
Mathematics
Modern Languages
Music
Philosophy
Physics & Engineering
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
SW Studies
Teacher Education
Theatre
Writing Program
EGC 305
EGC 312, 319
EGC 308
EGC 316
EGC 317, 319
EGC 304, 308
EGC 315
EGC 306, 307, 317, 321
Appendix B: Departmental Involvement by Lower-Division Gen Ed Area (2008-09 snapshot)
Gen Ed Area
CO
MA1
AH
HI1
SS
SC
Physical Well-Being
Writing Program, English, History, Sociology,
Library
Mathematics, FMP, Exercise Science, Business
Administration
Art, English, Modern Languages, Music,
Philosophy, Theatre, Writing Program
History, Southwest Studies
Anthropology, Business Administration, Economics,
Education, Gender & Women’s Studies,
Geosciences, Political Science, Psychology,
Sociology, and Southwest Studies
Biology & Ag, Anthropology, Chemistry,
Geosciences, Physics & Engineering
Exercise Science