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Overview of the General Education
Review Task Force: Its Composition, Role, and Mission This is UNCA's fourth
comprehensive review and revision of general education.
These reviews have generally been conducted at intervals of about
10 years, so this one is a bit overdue. Historically, for
these reviews, a committee is appointed by the VCAA after consulting with
the Faculty Senate or Senate Executive Committee.
The committees are typically large (around 15-17) and consist of
widely respected faculty members from each of the University's
divisions. The committee must
represent a wide range of interests and intellectual points of view.
Its task is not only to produce a well-conceived revision of the
general education program, but also to build support for its proposal
among the faculty. Like any other
curricular proposal, the committee's findings are referred to the APC and
Faculty Senate for their consideration. The only difference
between this review and previous reviews is that
this one is connected to the SACS self-study project.
Goals for general education will be derived from a campus-wide re-examination
of UNCA's goals for student development.
General education programs will be considered in light of these
goals, which offers us an excellent opportunity to understand this
curriculum in the context of the student experience we wish to shape for
those enrolled at UNCA. The General Education
Review Task Force reports to Dr. Sherry Gale, chair of the Enhancement
portion of the self study, as well as, eventually, to the VCAA and the
Faculty Senate. The committee
will be in touch with the Chancellor's task forces on diversity,
retention, and community relations, with individuals who participated in
the discussion circles on student
development, and with other important campus representatives and programs.
Its conclusions will be entered into the self-study report. Finally, how is the
work of this committee related to APC's present review of general
education? APC is charged
with evaluating how well general education courses have been fulfilling
the purposes established for them in our previous general-education
review. APC's findings will
be central in the process of reviewing and revising the general education
curriculum. To summarize: the
General Education Review Task Force has begun by participating in the
campus-wide self study and has discussed general education in the context of student
development. It will consider
carefully the APC's
findings on and recommendations regarding our current general-education
curriculum. It will consider
the reports made by the Chancellor's
task forces. Then, reviewing
our program on the basis of these extensive resources--and responding to
the interests, needs, and values of our faculty from across the
divisions--the committee will prepare a revision of the general-education
curriculum, one that answers to the changing conditions faced by students,
faculty, and the community. At
the end of this process, the committee will forward its plan to the APC
and to the Senate. The Senate
and APC are then charged with acting on the plan.
The revised curriculum, if approved, is then forwarded to the VCAA
for implementation. All
stages of the review process are faculty-driven. |