Present: Faculty—Bruce, Dohse, Friedenberg, Hardy, Konz, Krumpe, Lee, Moseley, Nelms, Pons, Rizzo, Ruiz, White-Carter, Katz; Student—Spencer; Alumni--Perry

1. Students for Task Force: three nominees—Katz reported that Dr. Friedenberg has nominated two students and Dr. Konz has nominated one student for a position on GERTF as Social Science student representative. We should move on this quickly. Drs. Friedenberg and Konz will write up short descriptions of these students and their qualifications; Dr. Katz will distribute the descriptions so that we can read them and vote for one of the nominees.

2. Discussion of General Education program components and APC Reports: Foreign Languages—We concluded discussion of Foreign Languages (with the original Foreign Language report submitted to APC). Dr. Pons reported on meeting with two UNC-system Associate Vice Presidents, Dr. Betsy Brown (Faculty Support and International Programs) and Bobby Kanoy (Access and Outreach). They indicated to her that the question of whether to allow credit for elementary FL courses if student has prior experience is an internal one; GA would not intervene in the formulation of campus policy. She also reported on FL entrance requirements at 4 UNC institutions. At UNCG, students currently receive credit for the first-semester FL course even if they have prior study of that language. At UNCC, UNCW, and NCSU, students are not allowed to take the first semester course for credit if they have prior study of that language. At UNCC and UNCW, students who do not place into second semester go into a special course designed for "false beginners" which covers two semesters’ work in one. (At all three campuses that screen students for prior study of a FL, exceptions are made for non-traditional students who have not recently studied the FL—4 years seems to be the accepted lapse time).

The current FL graduation requirement at each of these institutions is:

UNCG – 6 hrs
UNCC – 9 hrs
UNCW – 3 hrs
NCSU – 6 hrs

Dr. Pons also noted that the current UNCA Placement Exam procedure is not working as effectively as it might to encourage students to place appropriately into their language of choice. She discussed reasons that this might be happening.

3. Discussion of General Education program components and APC Reports: Language 101 and 102—We discussed the Language 101 and 102 requirements and the APC recommendations for this program component. Dr. Cindy Ho, Chairperson of the Department of Literature and Language, and Dr. Gwen Ashburn, Director of Freshman Writing, attended the meeting to answer questions and offer their insights into the requirement.

The Library Research requirement is currently being rethought and revised by the Library faculty. Current thinking is to fold Library Research skills into Language 101 and 102, and possibly into other introductory courses such as FYE classes and Humanities 124. Such alternatives will have to be considered in our curricular design. Drs. Ho and Ashburn discussed current trends in the numbers of students taking 102 alone, those taking 101 and 102, and those placing out of either one or both courses with AP credit. In this last year, out of 455 freshmen, 72.1% will take 6 hours (101 and 102), 13.4% will take 3 hours (102), and 12% will need no language. These numbers are typical of the trend for the past five years or so. Also, 1 AP course with a score of 4-5 exempts a student from 101; 2 AP courses with a score of 4-5 exempts a student from both 101 and 102.

The Literature and Language Department is interested in exploring several alternatives and enhancement for writing instruction at UNCA. These include: linkages with other classes such as Humanities 124, and possibly with introductory-level classes in the Social and Natural Sciences; writing-intensive classes, or writing-across-the-curriculum courses, possibly with a limited number of writing slots in regular sections of courses so that instructors would not be overwhelmed by student numbers or the amount of labor required to participate in disciplinary writing instruction. It was observed that without oversight and buy-in neither of the above approaches will work here. Also, faculty development is essential. Dr. Ashburn noted that a consultant brought in at NCSU recommended that they go to one writing course; she also said that this was not ideal and that if we went to one course, there should be mechanisms in place to ensure that students receive continuing instruction in writing throughout their careers, perhaps through one of the alternatives discussed above. Dr. Ashburn also discussed an attractive model at Union College, which has students enrolled in a year-long seminar and learning community, a significant part of which emphasizes critical thinking, reading, and writing. Dr. Ashburn also said that learning communities are being incorporated into many general education programs and writing programs, noting that Chapel Hill is pursuing this model through linked courses. Learning communities can serve, she said, as a marketing tool for students, who often enjoy the experience, and as an attraction to faculty who are interested in pedagogical innovation.

4. Additional content for the Mission Statement—Drs. Friedenberg and Moseley wrote up a revised Mission Statement and Dr. Katz distributed it. Please read this between now and next meeting, so that we can decide whether to use it as an alternative draft through which to solicit faculty input.

5. Listening Projects—Please continue working on your listening projects. We are doing very labor-intensive, but some very good work in carrying out these sessions. They are proving to be very interesting and enlightening. Also, when writing up your reports, please put them in Word, if you can, and then forward them to Dr. Katz as an attachment.

6. VCAA Search update—Dr. Nelms updated us on the progress of the search process.

7. Next meetings, 28 November and 5 December, 4:30 pm, in the Red Oak Room. Also, as we work on our teaching and service schedules, remember to keep the Wednesday, 4:30-5:30 timeslot clear in the spring and next year.