General Education Framework

Directors and Chairs MeetingWednesday, August 25, 2010

Topics General Education Committee

◦ Function/Charge◦ Members◦ Guiding Principles

Proposed General Education Framework◦ Proposed changes◦ General Education Student Learning Outcomes

and Assessment

General Education Approval Procedure◦ General Education Courses◦ “Concentrations”

Functions of the GECTo ensure the general education

curriculum is established, monitored, reviewed, and assessed

To oversee General Education Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan

To determine which undergraduate courses qualify for general education credit

To maintain the official catalog of RIT’s General Education Curriculum and associated courses

Academic Senate Charge to GECCreate a set of overarching

principles to guide general education curricular reform that:◦complements RIT’s mission, ◦serves RIT students, ◦reflects the diversity of the University, ◦conforms to New York State’s statutory

requirements and ◦complies with the RIT approved General

Education Student Learning Outcomes

Academic Senate Charge to GECSeek advice and consultation

from the curriculum committees of the College of Liberal Arts and College of Science

Ensure that the needs and interests of all colleges are appropriately considered

Academic Senate Charge to GECTake into consideration

budgetary implications Benchmark against colleges and

universities of interestAfter consultation with the ICC,

forward the proposed curriculum to the Academic Senate for action

GEC MembershipMembership of the General Education Committee The chief academic officer or designee, ex-officio, voting,

Dick Doolittle Academic dean representative, Robert Ulin Academic Senate representative, Amit Ray The Director of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment, ex-

officio, non-voting, Anne Wahl Faculty representative from each college of the University:

◦ COS, Elizabeth Hane, Chair◦ COLA, Franz Foltz◦ SCB, TBD◦ CAST, George Zion◦ GCCIS, Rajendra Raj◦ KGCOE, Surendra Gupta◦ NTID, David Templeton◦ CIAS, Naomi Orwin

GEC Guiding PrinciplesExisting Framework  Meet the New York State Education Department (NYSED)

requirements (http://www.highered.nysed.gov/ocue/lrp/liberalarts)

Ensure that students achieve RIT’s General Education Learning Outcomes

Be consistent with the Academic Program Profiles Support RIT’s goals, values, vision and mission Support the IWC Comprehensive Writing Program initiative

Depth and Breadth Contribute to the development of a breadth of knowledge

by providing course offerings from a broad range of disciplines, including math, humanities, and the natural and social sciences

Allow students to explore a particular area of knowledge in depth through a series of related courses

Provide opportunities for students to make connections between courses and across disciplines

Be integrated into all four or five years of a student’s education at RIT

GEC Guiding PrinciplesSupporting programs/majors  Provide a progression of courses that are integrated with major

fields of study Provide courses that support the basic requirements for

students in the majors

Implementation  Be clear and concise to ease processes for: Scheduling,

Auditing, Advising Offer students courses and programs that support their major

field of study and other interests Provide students choices in how to fulfill their requirements Be clear and easy to understand for students, faculty, and staff Allow for easy adaptation for future reform

Other Be intellectually stimulating for faculty and students Be adaptive to changing curricula and a changing world Support innovation, creativity, scholarship, and

entrepreneurship

Proposed General Education Framework

Proposed changesGeneral Education Student

Learning Outcomes and Assessment

How the New Framework Differs

University-wide engagement Not disciplinary, but outcome driven

First-Year SeminarOpportunities for integrated and inter-/trans-disciplinary experiences

Intentional scaffoldingWriting intensive

General Education Framework

BS BFA AS AAS

Foundation First-Year Seminar/1st-year writing

intensive course

6 6 6 6

PerspectivesCategories TBD * 15 15 15 12

Mathematical/Scientific/Tech Literacy

12(4

courses)

0 6 6

ImmersionArts and Sciences Concentration

Requirements *Choose 3 additional, related

courses

9 9 0 0

Number of Required Credits 42 30 27 24

General Education Electives 18 0 3 0

TOTAL 60 30 30 24

First Year

Seminar

First Year

Writing

Perspectiv

es 5

Quant Literac

y

Perspectives 4

Perspectives 3

Perspectives 2

Perspectives 1

Quant Literac

y

Science

Literacy

Science

Literacy

Conc. 3

Conc. 2

Conc. 1

Elective General Education courses to bring total to 60 credits

PerspectivesFoundation Immersion

General Education Framework BS Degree

Minor 4

(optional)

Minor 5

(optional)

Basic Writing (option

al)

Capst

one (

opti

onal)

First Year

Seminar

First Year

Writing

Basic Writing (option

al)

Conc. 3

Conc. 2

Conc. 1

Capst

one (

opti

onal)

Minor 4

(optional)

Total should be a minimum of 30 credits

Minor 5

(optional)

General Education – BFA Degree

PerspectivesFoundation Immersion

Perspectiv

es 5

Perspectiv

es 4

Perspectiv

es 3

Perspectiv

es 2

Perspectiv

es 1

Quant Literacy(optiona

l)

Science Literacy(optiona

l)

First Year

Seminar

First Year

Writing

Additional program determined or elective courses to bring total to 30 credits

General Education – AS Degrees

PerspectivesFoundation

Basic Writing (option

al)

Perspectives 5

Perspectives 4

Perspectives 3

Perspectives 2

Perspectives 1

Quant Literac

y

Science

Literacy

First Year

Seminar

First Year

Writing

Additional program determined or elective courses to bring total to 25 credits

General Education – AAS Degrees

Choose 4 of 5; TBD

PerspectivesFoundation

Basic Writing (option

al)

Perspectives 5

Perspectives 4

Perspectives 3

Perspectives 2

Perspectives 1

Quant Literac

y

Science

Literacy

General Education AssessmentAlignment/mapping of General

Education Student Learning Outcomes to Courses

Current Assessment Plan Implementation◦General Education Faculty Teams

Assessment Management System◦Taskstream

Gen Ed Course Review/Approval

GEC will review and evaluate all new proposals for courses for General Education credit using:

◦State of New York Liberal Arts and Sciences Guidelines

◦RIT Student General Education Student Learning Outcomes

Gen Ed Course Review/Approval

The College Curriculum Committee provides:

A cover memo (required form) :◦Process of approval◦Alignment to General Education

Framework An outline for the course being

reviewed in the ICC New/Revised Course Outline format

Gen Ed Course Review/Approval

GEC reviews the proposed course and forwards the recommendation to the Chief Academic Officer

GEC informs the ICC of the recommendations and the RIT community of the final decision regarding the course proposal

GEC maintains database of currently approved courses

“Concentration” ApprovalCourses within a concentration

go through the same approval process

For approval as a General Education Concentration, a group of three courses ideally should:◦Explore a perspective area in greater

detail◦Integrate across perspectives◦Lead to a minor with the addition of

two courses

Questions?