By Nick Sengstock
The Faculty Association unanimously voted Feb.11 to pass two new motions aimed at bolstering the resources used for decision-making pertaining to the college’s general education courses.
Both of these initiatives focus on dealing with the large number of general education courses – courses with a tag – currently in the undergraduate curriculum.
Some officials believe the number of general education courses are affecting course enrollment, the timetable, and the financial prospects of the institution.
Daniel Mortenson, a member of UCC and Philosophy professor, said students can expect “fewer courses offered across the curriculum, with more students in each course” and that “courses will be cancelled less often.”
Mortenson also said that it is “more likely that general education courses will mesh with the upper level classes in a major.” Refining which courses are needed and offered will allow for the undergraduate curriculum to more effectively align with the goals of the liberal arts-based general education system at Edgewood College.
The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, or UCC, spent the last semester developing the two motions. Both the Needs Assessment and Centers of Expertise were brought to November’s Faculty Association meeting for initial questions and comments. The vote taken at this most recent Faculty Association officially put these two initiatives into motion.
Those deciding which courses are part of the undergraduate curriculum and when they are offered can expect to have a better understanding of student need. The hope is that a more nuanced timetable and further refined general education courses will help students achieve their education goals.
The Centers of Expertise will act as advisory bodies in the process for proposing a new general education course. Each center will be focused upon one of the general education’s ‘tags’ and comprised of staff and faculty members with expertise in the area represented by the tag.
As a course moves through the steps necessary for inclusion in the undergraduate curriculum, centers will offer advice and knowledge to deans, faculty, and others that review the course proposal.
Karen Thomas, chair of the UCC and mathematics professor at Edgewood College, said “a well-maintained general education curriculum leading to a broad liberal arts background” is what students can hope for from the Centers of Expertise.
The other initiative, Needs Assessment, is a set of tool established to analyze general education courses.
The Needs Assessment should provide sets of data pertaining to tags, majors, and minors, specifically how many students need certain tags and which majors or minors need what tags.
This data will be used to create projections of necessary courses for the upcoming semester, the next year, and the next two years.
Officials hope students are able to graduate in a timely manner by offering the right courses at the right time.
Thomas said she believes that this initiative will let students “plan their schedules and map out progress towards graduation with much more confidence than in the past.”
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