General Education Review Committee (GERC)

General Education Policy Review Committee (GEPRC) University Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Thursday, April 3, 2008 Minutes

Attendance: Greg Summers, Shari Summers, Julie Schneider, John Houghton, Justin Glodowski, Patricia Williams, Randy Olson, Gary Olsen, and Andrew Letson.

Guests: Melissa Phinney.

1. Meeting called to order at 10:00AM by Justin Glodowski. 2. Minutes from 3/27/2008 approved. 3. The meeting opened with discussion about the committee’s ability to develop a General Education Mission Statement and have it ready for the next the meeting of Academic Affairs. Concern was raised again about the compressed timeline of the General Degree Committee. It was decided that a Mission Statement could be generated and submitted to the Academic Affairs meeting in time for approval by Senate before the end of the semester. There is hope that the mission statement would generate more interest in the General Education Policy Review Committee’s process.  A compilation of suggested General Education Mission Statements for UWSP drafted by the committee members was disseminated as a point to start discussion. There was much discussion about the components of each draft mission statement, but there was consensus that a mission statement should be broad enough not to limit future discussion of learning outcomes yet focused enough to guide that discussion. Two mission statements generated the most interest and debate. They are as follows:

To provide the foundation of a liberal education upon which a student can build a program of professional education which prepares them to actively contribute to a diverse and sustainable world.

The General Education Program at UW-Stevens Point provides a foundation for liberal education. It empowers students with knowledge, equips them with skills, and instills in them a lifelong responsibility to improve themselves and the communities in which they live and work.

 There was discussion about whether or not one can actively contribute to diversity and whether the world is sustainable without diversity or whether that is implied. There was also discussion on whether or not the committee wanted to use “communities in which they live and work”, or whether that was too limiting. There was also the suggestion to include some form of personal responsibility and whether “multicultural” should be used in lieu of “diverse.”  The committee agreed that including the language “liberal education” and “professional education” was appropriate because it concisely summarizes the two main educational objectives of UWSP and helps to unite the various college programs and purposes. After several more minutes of discussion, the committee developed a final draft version of General Education Mission Statement: “To provide the foundation of a liberal education upon which a student can build a program of professional education. It will empower students with knowledge, equip them with skills, and enable them to improve themselves and the world in which they live.”  It was decided that the GEPRC will revisit this draft General Education Mission Statement and open it up for discussion at the next meeting. 4. Discussion on next steps for committee to make. a. General education models b. Learning outcomes 5. Meeting adjourned at 10:51AM.

Minutes taken by Melissa Phinney, amended and respectfully submitted by Shari A. Summers.