FACULTY SENATE ACTION TRANSMITTAL FORM TO THE CHANCELLOR

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1 - DATE: TO: CHANCELLOR'S OFFICE FACULTY SENATE ACTION TRANSMITTAL FORM TO THE CHANCELLOR JUN June 3, 2011 Chancellor Sorensen FROM: Ned Weckmueller, Faculty Senate Chair UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN STOUT SUBJECT: Action Item from Faculty Senate Meeting M"-'-=a'.Ly~I~O:..o...,..::::2~0.!...11~ ' (d""a"_"t~ Topic General Education Program Revisions The attached document (Resolution No. The history of this resolution is as follows: The General Education Committee ----'1'-"0'--.!...1 =1/-"'.5=8 ) has been approved by the Faculty Senate. presented the original version of the General Education Program Revisions to the Faculty Senate on February 15,2011. The Faculty Senate did not approve this version. The committee had a special information session on April 19, Revisions were made to the original version from comments attained at the session. The revised version was presented to the Faculty Senate at the May 10, The Faculty Senate passed this version with amendments. The approved version of the General Education Program Revisions is attached. STANDING COMMITTEE: _~G~e~n~e~ra~I2=E~d~u~ca:!.!:t~io::.!cn~C~o~mm~.!!.itt!:.!:e~e~ _ SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: _ FACULTYSENATE:_~P=as=s=ed~ _ [ ] This resolution is sent to you for information only. ["] This resolution is sent to you for your approval. [ ] This resolution is sent to you for approval as a UW-Stout all-university policy. [ ] This resolution is sent to you as a recommendation for your response to UWS, the Regents, or others. [ ] Report received. Information only, Chancellor's approval not required. [ ] APPROVED as submitted. The recommended Faculty Senate Resolution FS # is now approved and will be established as UW-Stout all-university policy. APPROVED as submitted. I t/' The recommended Faculty Senate Resolution FS #...;1'- _..._1_1,1-...:5----'00 is now approved. ] NOT APPROVED as submitted. I have returned this recommenda ion for the attached reasons. [ Please attach all pertinent documents to this form, including the Faculty Senate "Committee Summary Report.". REV

2 General Education Credit Distribution A. Communication Skills 9 credits ENGL-101 Freshman English -- Composition or ENGL-111 Freshman English -- Honors I 3 ENGL-102 Freshman English -- Reading and Related Writing or ENGL-112 Freshman English -- Honors II or ENGL-113 Honors Seminar I 3 SPCOM-100 Fundamentals of Speech 3 B. Analytic Reasoning and Natural Sciences 10 credits Courses must be from the areas of analytic reasoning and natural sciences. At least one mathematics or statistics course and a natural sciences with a lab are required. C. Arts and Humanities* 6 credits Courses must be from two or more areas including art history, creative arts, foreign language and culture, history, literature, music appreciation, performing arts, and philosophy. D. Social and Behavioral Sciences* 6 credits Courses must be from two or more areas including anthropology, economics, geography, political science, psychology and sociology. E. Contemporary Issues* 3 credits Courses must be selected from the list of approved contemporary issues courses, which includes technology. F. Social Responsibility and Ethical Reasoning 3 credits Courses must be selected from the list of approved social responsibility and ethical reasoning courses, which includes health, health education, and athletics. *Selectives 3 credits Courses/credits may be selected from categories B, C, D, E, and/or F to meet the 40-credit requirement. Total Credits: 40

3 New GE Proposal with Category Definitions A. Communication Skills Definition: Communication Skills are the study and application of expressive and receptive language skills, most often exercised in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These fundamental skills are basic to human development and academic functioning. Criteria: To satisfy GE requirements for Communication Skills, courses must be general in nature. A course must include at least one of the following as the primary instructional purpose: a. The study and application of reading and writing skills in a designated language. b. Delivery of general addresses to an audience in a designated language. c. The study and acquisition of general receptive language skills in a designated language. B. Analytic Reasoning and Natural Sciences Analytic Reasoning Definition: Analytic reasoning is the formulation and critique of deductive and inductive arguments, both quantitative and non-quantitative. This reasoning is essential to many intellectual activities, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, creating and applying. This component requires students to engage in general learning experiences in mathematics, logic, statistics, or computer science. Criteria: A course used to satisfy GE distribution requirements for Analytic Reasoning Skills must include the following as the primary instructional purpose: a. The study and application of processes of inductive or deductive reasoning. b. The study and application of quantitative or formula based reasoning. Natural Sciences Definition: The Natural Sciences are the sciences of the physical world, its phenomena, and the laws governing these phenomena. The branches of Natural Sciences--such as astronomy, geosciences, biological sciences, chemistry, physics--deal primarily with matter, energy, and their interrelations and transformations; with living organisms and vital processes; with the laws and phenomena relating to organisms, plants and animal life; with the physical processes and phenomena of particular systems; and with the physical properties and composition of nature and its products.

4 Criteria: Courses used to satisfy the GE distribution requirements for Natural Sciences must include, as primary instructional intent, all of the following: a. Introduction to major concepts of a natural science discipline, providing insights into its breadth and its relationship to other disciplines. b. Illustration of relationships between experiments, models, theories and laws. c. Illustration of the generation and testing of data and the application of concepts and knowledge to the solution of problems. d. Discussion of the limitations of data and possibility of alternative interpretations. C. Humanities and the Arts Humanities Definition: The Humanities investigate human constructs and values, as opposed to those studies that investigate natural and physical processes and those that are concerned with the development of basic or professional skills. The humanistic disciplines--such as art history, history, music appreciation, literature, and philosophy--are concerned with questions, issues and concepts basic to the formation of character and the establishment of values in a human context; they induce an organic study of letters and knowledge; they provide literary, aesthetic and intellectual experiences which enrich and enlighten human life. Criteria: Courses used to satisfy GE distribution requirements for the Humanities must employ (a) and one other of the following as the primary instructional purposes: a. Humanistic means of inquiry, such as the critical use of sources and evaluation of evidence, the exercise of judgment an expression of ideas, the organization, logical analysis, and creative use of substantial bodies of knowledge. b. Development of capacities for making informed and independent evaluation of the nature of knowledge, language, and representation, and concerning the formation of ethical or aesthetic concepts, or the ways in which values are manifested within diverse theoretical or conceptual frameworks. c. Introduction to substantial and coherent bodies of historical, cultural, literary or philosophical knowledge, as a means of increasing understanding of the complexities and varieties of human events. d. Enhancement and extension of responses to literature and/or other arts by introducing the process of thoughtful and systematic analysis, or by fostering an appreciation of distinctive cultures and traditions, or by increasing sensitivity to language and its nuances.

5 e. Application of humanistic perspectives to other branches of knowledge or to issues of universal concern. Arts Definition: Arts employ conscious use of skill and creative imagination in the production of artistic objects or performances which stress values that stand outside of conventional ideas of utility. Criteria: Courses used to satisfy the GE distribution requirements for the Arts must include either of the following as the primary instructional purpose: a. The creation of a visual, musical, or literary art work. b. Practice in a specific art medium. D. Social and Behavioral Sciences Social Sciences Definition: The social sciences formulate and verify general hypotheses regarding human behavior. The social sciences deal with the behavior of societal, economic, political and cultural groups. Consequently this component focuses on the academic disciplines of sociology, economics, political science and cultural anthropology, insofar as these disciplines deal with general and non-applied knowledge concerning social behavior. Criteria:To satisfy the GE distribution requirements for Social Sciences, a course must include one or more of the following as the primary instructional purpose: a. Intrapersonal, and/or sociocultural factors associated with collective action or societal development. b. Human collectivities, organizations, institutions, and cultures, their infrastructures and interrelationships. c. Methodologies for conducting inquiry into collective action, societies or cultures. d. Alternative theoretical frameworks which have been used to offer meaningful explanations of social phenomena. Behavioral Sciences Definition: The behavioral sciences include general knowledge about the psychological behavior of human beings, insofar as this knowledge concerns the human being's

6 relationships to the self and to other individuals. Criteria focus on the general and applied learning experiences in the field of psychology. Criteria: To satisfy the GE distribution requirements for Behavioral Sciences, a course must include one of the following as the primary instructional purpose: a. Intrapersonal, interpersonal and/or sociocultural factors associated with human behavior. b. Methodologies for conducting inquiry into human behavior. c. Alternative theoretical frameworks which have been used to offer meaningful explanations of human behavior. E. Contemporary Issues (NEW) Definition: Contemporary Issues courses engage students in interdisciplinary learning experiences focused on significant issues. These courses immerse students in the analysis of issues that require two or more disciplinary perspectives to synthesize solutions. Contemporary Issues courses aim at understanding the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge and the application of an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving. Criteria: Courses used to satisfy GE distribution requirements for Contemporary Issues must include all of the following as primary instructional purposes: a. Focus on issues that cross disciplinary boundaries. b. Integrate two or more disciplinary perspectives. At least one of these perspectives must include a discipline from GE categories B, C, or D. c. Develop the student s ability to synthesize information and analyze problems from multiple perspectives. d. Develop the student s ability to creatively synthesize multiple perspectives to solve complex issues. (Note: Relevant departments and disciplines for GE categories B, C, or D will be consulted.) F. Social Responsibility and Ethical Reasoning (NEW) Definition: Social Responsibility and Ethical Reasoning courses engage students in identifying, analyzing, and evaluating issues involving ethical decision making. This can be done in the context of a variety of disciplines (e.g., ethics and government, literature, science and society, wellness) and a variety of pedagogical methods (e.g., case studies, small group discussions, service learning, lectures, reading assignments, and activity courses).

7 Criteria: Courses used to satisfy GE distribution requirements for Social Responsibility and Ethical Reasoning must include at least three of the following criteria as primary instructional purposes: a. Stimulate the ethical imagination b. Develop the student s skills at recognizing ethical issues c. Develop the student s skills at applying moral concepts and principles to ethical decision making d. Encourage individual, professional, and civic responsibility e. Develop a critically examined framework for ethical decision making f. Develop the student s ability to understand, respect, and reason about ethical disagreements.