Liberal Studies Committee

Liberal Studies Committee Annual Report 2004-2005 Members 2004-2005:

Chair: Alan Scot Willis; Vice Chair: James Camrius (Fall 2004), Steve Larson (Winter 2005); Secretary: Stephen Peters; Members: Alan Beauchamp, Steve Oates, Rob Englehardt, James Camarius, Kia Richmond, Carol Strauss (Fall 2004) Jean-Louis Dassier; Ex Officio members: Teresa Hunt, Marilyn Robbert.

Chair’s Overview on the Status of the Liberal Studies Committee:

During the 2004-2005 academic year, the Liberal Studies Committee continued with course review, working through most of Division II and beginning Division VI. The Committee examined several syllabi for new courses in the Liberal Studies program. The Committee continued its work on Liberal Studies outcomes assessment, fully developing the plan for Division I assessment, examining the pilot test results from Division II and Division III, and working to develop a system for student evaluations of Liberal Studies courses. The Committee examined the mission statement and developed a survey (to be administered in mid-April of 2005) to gather input from the faculty regarding information relevant to revising the overall mission and goals o the program.

Course Review:

Division II continued approval PL 181, PL 182, PL 184, PL 185, PL 186, EN 373, PL 180, NAS 310., HS 101, HS 102, SN 312, SP 402, PL 270,

Division II new courses: FR 438.

Division VI continued approval: BC 325, TH 130, TH 360, TH 361, MU 125, MU 320,

Division VI new courses: AD 365.

Determinations of the Liberal Studies Committee:

The Committee recommended, and the Senate approve, that the oral competency requirement be removed from the Division I goals.

The Committee determined not to “cross-list’ departmental special topics courses as Liberal Studies special topics courses.

The Committee examined courses from Kirkland, Kewanaw Bay, and Grand Valley and determined that they would be transferable for Liberal Studies credit at Northern Michigan University The Committee re-visited the question of Double Counting and determined not to discontinue the policy of Double Counting. In the process, the Committee began discussing the possibility of limiting students to eight credit hours of any given prefix in Liberal Studies (exempting Division I); that discussion continues. Steve Oates indicated that the current nature of the Education requirements from the State make Double Counting all-but imperative for students in the School of Education. The Registrar indicated that eliminating Double Counting at this time would be extraordinarily problematic for her office. The Registrar indicated that an eight-hour cap on prefixes (exclusive of Division I) would be workable even with Banner.

General Discussions:

The Liberal Studies Committee consulted with Paul Duby of Institutional Research regarding the results of the National Survey of Student Engagement; Dr. Beauchamp expressed the concern of the Committee regarding that survey’s indication that first-year students at Northern are not being significantly academically challenged. This was also a point of discussion with President Wong.

The Committee received and reviewed a report from SLAM (Student for Liberal Arts Modification) ; the survey data collected by this hard-working group of students conforms to the data gathered elsewhere in pointing to the shortcomings of the existing program. Their data make it clear that students do not clearly—or, in cases, even vaguely—the point of having a liberal studies program.

President Les Wong discussed the future of Liberal Studies at Northern Michigan with the Committee in December of 2004. No specific proposals were set forth, but the President made clear his support for efforts to improve the program and the nature of faculty incentives for participating in and improving the program were discussed. The minutes of that particular meeting are attached as Appendix A.

Reforming the Liberal Studies Program:

Considerable time and effort has been devoted to discussions of reforming the Liberal Studies program and to examining models for such programs at universities around the country. One major concern has been faculty “buy-in” for Liberal Studies reform. The Committee believes that there is a general lack of “ownership” for the current program but seeks way to involve as many faculty members as possible in the reform process so that the end result will achieve a high degree of faculty “ownership” and the least resistance possible.

. In order to obtain the highest possible amount of faculty “buy in” the Committee is conducting a survey and will conduct focus groups based in part on our findings from that survey in the fall of 2005. The survey and the follow-up focus group work will enable the Committee to propose a clear mission statement, a solid set of goals, and the framework for a program designed to meet those goals all of which come from faculty participation.

The Committee has discussed several possible models for Liberal Studies reform ranging from quite modest changes in the existing distribution system to overall structural changes in the program. The Committee will hopefully be ready to propose a program revision to the Senate by the end of the 2005-2006 academic year.

The Committee has also been taking the discussions of the Superior Edge and the Internationalization task forces into consideration as it examines the program; however, the Committee firmly believes that Liberal Studies is (or, at least, ought to be) at the core of the institution’s educational mission and that the cannot be used as a vehicle for accomplishing the work of those task forces.

Unfinished Business:

The Committee continues to work on Outcomes Assessment, the review of courses, and the examination of the mission statement and program goals. Appendix A:

NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

LIBERAL STUDIES COMMITTEE

Minutes December 10, 2004

Present: Alan Willis (chair), James Camerius (vice chair), Stephen Peters (secretary), Alan Beauchamp, Robert Engelhart, Jane Jamsen, Stephan Larson, Steve Oates Kia Richmond

Excused: Carol Strauss

Absent: Marilyn Robbert, Teresa Hunt

Guest: President Les Wong

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by the Chair.

No members of the University community were present to comment.

Chair’s report. Winter semester schedules should be sent to him as soon as possible. Surveys should be sent to Paul Duby as soon as possible.

The remainder of the meeting was devoted to a discussion of liberal studies and core curricula with President Les Wong. Les reported anecdotal evidence that students don’t think that liberal studies has any identity and find the motives for the program difficult to discern, and that they don’t see how it relates to their majors. At the same time, they do seem to want a broad base of knowledge upon which to build. Les also stated his perception that freshmen aren’t intellectually challenged. He expressed his belief that if students are so challenged in their first year, their subsequent years are far more fruitful. Les noted that students do not seem to do a significant amount of reading – or at least critical reading.

One point of discussion revolved around the possibility of requiring a course something like UN 100 for all freshmen. Questions raised: How do we create incentives for faculty to teach such a course? How do we change the culture so that faculty will put students first and their discipline second or third? Steve Oates noted that the original idea in UN 100 involved reading a substantial novel (Brave New World). Two points were made regarding the course: it is only for two credits and it is not consistently taught by faculty members. It was noted that some of our better students are already making connections between courses and integrating knowledge on their own. The question is how to do this for all students—and then help them to apply their knowledge.

Les suggested that some investigation into the Evergreen system might be of help and also mentioned the unique program pursued at Berea College in Eastern Kentucky. He specifically noted that students at Evergreen entered with lower average High School GPAs and ACT scores.

Les told the LSC that the Jacobetti faculty are looking into the Bachelor of Applied Science degree. These programs have the trade courses during the first two years, regular university liberal studies courses during the third year, and a senior project during the fourth year.

The meeting adjourned at 11:02 a.m.

Respectfully submitted, Stephen H. Peters Secretary