Proposed Revisions to the UH Hilo General Education Program
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UH Hilo Congress General Education Committee, February-March 2004
- Introduction
- Overview of General Education at UH Hilo
- Basic Requirements
- Area Requirements
- Integrative Requirements
- Review Process
- Proposal Form
Introduction
- The GE committee's objectives
in revising the current General Education program:
- Ensure that our General Education goals are promoted throughout the undergraduate curriculum.
- Encourage faculty to provide their students with clear, specific statements of their course objectives that indicate how their courses promote our General Education goals and their departmental student learning goals
- Establish a system of review and, eventually, of assessment, that will enable the university to describe and then document the kinds and the quality of learning acquired by students in the General Education program
- Respect the distinctive missions and academic emphases of the four colleges and the divisions and departments within those colleges
- Ensure that UH Hilo's General Education program meets accreditation guidelines with respect to number of credits, inclusion of upper-division as well as lower-division courses, review of course syllabi, and assessment of student learning in GE courses.
- The GE committee retained the current GE framework rather than designing a new framework because we believe that our objectives can be met within that relatively simple framework. Individual colleges, divisions, and departments are free to add requirements appropriate to their own missions, academic emphases, and resources.
- The General Education program belongs to all colleges, all faculty, and
all students. While it might not be possible to develop a program that is completely
satisfactory to all, we believe that we can revise the current GE program so
that it is explicitly focused on student learning and on our stated GE goals.
The committee envisions the following timeline:
2003-2004: proposal, review, and approval of the revisions
2004-2005: educating students and faculty about the revisions; review of GE course proposals; posting of approved courses by April 1; design of GE assessment plan
2005- : revised program is fully implemented
The committee invites all faculty to review the proposed revisions and to share their comments and suggestions with everyone. Those who wish to propose more profound changes or more modest ones are invited to share these. All proposals will be posted on the faculty General Education website.
The committee invites all faculty to participate in a forum on GE revision in UCB 100 on Friday, March 12, 2004, from 3 pm to 5 pm.
Overview of General Education at UH Hilo
Proposed Changes are labeled "Proposed" and blocked to the right.
General Education is conceived as providing a series of experiences which enable the student to become a broadly educated person, with skills for continuing, life-long education. General Education skills and knowledge are fostered throughout the undergraduate curriculum: in the lower-division courses classified as General Education Basic Requirements and General Education Area Requirements; in Writing Intensive courses; in courses that meet the Hawaiian/Asian/Pacific requirement; and in upper-division courses in all major programs. Many majors require a senior seminar or capstone course, an opportunity for students to integrate what they have learned in their general education and major programs.
The University's General Education program is designed to provide the college student and graduate with the means to:
- Think clearly and logically, communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; find, examine, and use information, and carry out fundamental numerical operations.
- Gain knowledge of one's body and mind; understand how human societies develop and operate; learn about the natural world--its forces, principles and occupants; and develop a familiarity with the cultural heritage and contributions of world cultures including their art, music, literature, and science.
- Develop an understanding and awareness of the principles, methods, and thought processes utilized in academic/intellectual inquiries.
- Recognize and understand the interdependence between mankind's view of the biological and physical continuum and the development of culture, literature, and aesthetics.
Proposed : Courses that can be applied towards the basic, area, and graduation requirements will be characterized by statements of student learning outcomes that are consistent with the student learning goals of the departments that offer them as well as with the goals of General Education. In keeping with the university's mission of providing students a high-quality undergraduate liberal arts education, faculty will be able to document the skills and knowledge achieved by their students in these courses in terms of those learning objectives. Review committees will be comprised of faculty nominated by the college senates and the university congress.
Students will be informed of these learning objectives in GE course syllabi, which have been reviewed by the university's faculty congress General Education committee. GE-qualified courses will be labeled in each semester's course schedule and in students' academic records, and listed on the UH Hilo website, at http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/academics .
Within the university's over-arching mission, each of the university's four colleges has distinctive goals and its own programs. Nevertheless, all share a common core of basic and area requirements that are designed by faculty to introduce and cultivate college-level skills and knowledge and to meet the university's General Education goals.
Proposed : Each college is free to add to the core requirements so as to align their students' education with distinctive college learning goals. For example, the College of Hawaiian Language will require students to complete at least one course in Asia or the Pacific exclusive of Hawai`i and at least one course involving the study of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, or the Americas. CHL students will be required to complete at least one WI course in Hawaiian and at least one in English. As the liberal studies unit of the university, the College of Arts and Sciences might choose to require its students to complete a year of college-level study of a language other than English, and to require six credits rather than three in quantitative reasoning.
In addition, major programs may specify courses that students must complete to meet the General Education requirements.
Proposed : To distinguish UH Hilo's GE course criteria from the GE hallmarks of UH Mānoa, the committee proposes that the Hawaiian term "mākia" be used to refer to these criteria. This term not only reflects the distinctive nature of UH Hilo in the system, as the home of the College of Hawaiian Language, but can also function as a distinctive code in the Banner system.
1. Basic Requirements
These basic requirements are introductory, 100- or 200-level courses that develop skills in writing, information retrieval, and numeracy (quantitative skills), and that provide an understanding of the historical and cultural processes that have shaped our world. Basic requirements should be completed within the first 24 credits of a student's career at UH Hilo.
Proposed: Any basic requirements that are unmet by the end of the freshman year or first transfer year must be addressed by enrollment in the appropriate course(s) in the subsequent semester. This requirement can be enforced by blocking enrollment in all courses until the student enrolls in the appropriate courses.
Proposed: A course that meets the hallmarks of a requirement category can be applied towards that category, regardless of the originating department.
Departments and colleges may increase the number of courses or credits in these categories or may specify which approved courses should be taken to meet a basic requirement.
Written Communication: 3 credits.
Currently UH Hilo's English 100, English 100T, and ESL 100 meet the following system-wide hallmarks for written communication courses. It is proposed that these hallmarks will be made available to students and to the public.
- introduce students to different forms of college-level writing, including, but not limited to, academic discourse, and guide them in writing for different purposes and audiences
- provide students with guided practice of writing processes-planning, drafting, critiquing, revising, and editing-making effective use of written and oral feedback from the faculty instructor and from peers
- require at least 5000 words of finished prose-equivalent to approximately 20 typewritten pages
- help students develop information literacy by teaching search strategies, critical evaluation of information and sources, and effective selection of information for specific purposes and audiences; teach appropriate ways to incorporate such information, acknowledge sources and provide citations
- help students read texts and make use of a variety of sources in expressing their own ideas, perspectives, and/or opinions in writing.
Quantitative Reasoning: 3 credits.
Proposed hallmarks: To qualify to fulfill the quantitative reasoning requirement, a course will
- enable students to understand the use of mathematical concepts as representations of real world events and phenomena
- require students to develop skills in chains of reasoning from data to conclusions
- require students to develop skills in problem-solving using mathematical concepts and techniques
World Cultures: 6 credits.
Proposed hallmarks: To qualify to fulfill the world cultures requirement, a course will
- analyze the development of human societies and their cultural traditions through time and throughout the world, including Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Oceania (Pacific Basin)offer a broad, integrated analysis of cultural, economic, political, scientific, and social development that recognizes the diversity of human societies and their cultural traditions
- examine processes of cross-cultural interaction and exchange that have linked the world's people through time
- engage students in the study and analysis of writings, narratives, texts, artifacts, and/or practices that represent the perspective of different societies and cultural traditions
2. Area Requirements
Courses applied to the basic requirements can not be used towards the area requirements.Colleges or programs may specify which courses student majors should complete to meet the area requirements.
Proposed : While the area requirements will in general be met with introductory lower-division courses, upper-division courses that meet the hallmarks may also be applied toward these requirements.
Proposed: Courses applied towards the area requirements can also count towards the major, the Hawai'i-Asia-Pacific requirement, and/or the Writing Intensive requirement.
Humanities: 9 credits.
The Humanities area courses enable students to begin to " develop a familiarity with the cultural heritage and contributions of world cultures including their art, music, [and] literature," and to "develop an understanding and awareness of the principles, methods, and thought processes utilized in academic/intellectual inquiries." They expand on the communication skills introduced in the basic writing course. In some humanities courses, students will consider "the interdependence between mankind's view of the biological and physical continuum and the development of culture, literature, and aesthetics."
Students must complete three courses from three different fields or disciplines. Typically, courses that satisfy the humanities area requirements include the fields of Hawaiian studies, art, communication, English, languages, performing arts, philosophy, and religious studies.
Proposed hallmarks: To count towards the Humanities area requirement, a course will
- involve students actively in critical thinking and in written or oral communication
- use the terminology of the visual, performing, or creative arts; or of the study of philosophy, language, communication, or religion; or of literary representations
- engage students in the study of artifacts, texts, performances, processes, theories, or issues of the concern in studies of the arts, philosophy, language, communication, religion, or literature
- demonstrate the methodology or modes of inquiry employed in studies of the arts, philosophy, language, communication, religion, or literature
- illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the social or natural sciences
Social Sciences: 9 credits
The social sciences area courses introduce students to the study of human psychology and to the development and operation of human societies in their historical and physical contexts. They enable students to begin to "develop a familiarity with the . . . heritage and contributions of world cultures" and "an understanding and awareness of the principles, methods, and thought processes utilized in academic and intellectual inquiries as they are undertaken in the social sciences." Some social science courses will demonstrate the use of statistics and quantitative reasoning in the study of human behavior and human cultures."
Students must complete three courses from three different fields or disciplines. Typically, courses that satisfy the social sciences area requirements include the fields of anthropology, business, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology.
Proposed hallmarks: To count towards the Social Sciences area requirement, a course will
- involve students actively in critical thinking and in written or oral communication
- use the terminology of theories, structures, or processes in the social sciences
- present theories, concepts, models, practices, research methods, or issues of concern in the study of these structures or processes
- demonstrate inquiry that is guided by theory and/or by quantitative and/or qualitative methods employed in the study of structures or processes within the social sciences
- illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the humanities or natural sciences
Natural Sciences: 10 credits
In natural sciences area courses, students will learn about "the natural world--its forces, principles and occupants" and will "develop an understanding and awareness of the principles, methods, and thought processes utilized" in scientific inquiry. Some natural science courses will also consider "the interdependence between mankind's view of the biological and physical continuum and the development of culture, literature, and aesthetics."
The natural sciences include the biological, physical , and computational sciences. Biological science courses typically include the fields of biology and agriculture; computational science courses, the fields of computer science and mathematics; and physical sciences, the fields of astronomy, chemistry, geology, and physics. Some disciplines, like marine science, offer some physical science courses and some biological science courses.
Students must complete three lecture courses and one laboratory course.
Proposed: At least one lecture course must be in biological science and one in physical science. The laboratory course must be in a biological or a physical science.
Proposed hallmarks: To count towards the Natural Sciences area requirement, a lecture course will
- involve students actively in critical thinking, numeracy, and written or oral communication
- use the terminology of computational, physical or biological sciences
- include knowledge and theories of the computational, physical or biological sciences
- foster a student's ability to perform inquiry that is guided by the scientific method, including observation/experimentation and scientific reasoning/mathematics
- illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the humanities or social sciences
Proposed hallmarks: To satisfy the natural sciences laboratory course requirement, a course will
- use the laboratory methods of physical or biological science
- involve the process of, or considers the issues of, experimental design, testing/measurement, analysis and interpretation of experimental data/results
- consider the strengths and limitations of the scientific method
- demonstrate the interaction of observation/experiment, and reasoning/analysis.
3. Integrative Requirements
Proposed: That certain upper-division courses be acknowledged as falling under the rubric "General Education." Together with senior seminars, senior internships, and other capstone experiences, upper-division Writing Intensive and Hawai`i-Asia-Pacific courses offer students the opportunity to further develop those writing skills and knowledge acquired in lower-division study.
Courses used to fulfill integrative requirements may also be counted towards the area requirements or for major, minor, or certificate requirements. A course may count towards both the Writing Intensive and the Hawai`i-Asia-Pacific requirement.
CAFNRM does not hold students to the Hawai`i-Asia-Pacific (H-A-P) requirement or to the Writing Intensive (WI) requirement. The college is presently developing a capstone course for their majors. The other three colleges require H-A-P and WI coursework, and CBE and many departments in CAS require a capstone experience for their majors. Colleges and programs may specify which courses a student major must use to satisfy these requirements.
Proposed: Each college will require at least one of the integrative categories: the capstone experience, the Hawaii-Asia-Pacific requirement, or the Writing Intensive requirement.
Recommended: Each college will require all three of the integrative categories.
Capstone Experience: 1 course
Senior seminars, internships, and other senior-level integrative courses are required in most UH Hilo majors and are being developed in others.
These capstone courses integrate learning in the major program with written and/or oral communication skills and critical thinking skills.
Study of Hawai'i, Asia, or the Pacific:
Proposed: The requirement for study of Hawai'i, Asia, or the Pacific (H/A/P) will be met by completing two of these courses,including one course at the upper division.
Proposed: To count towards the H/A/P requirement, a course will
- involve students actively in written or oral communication
- investigate major aspects of the culture, language, economy, history, or natural environment of Hawai'i or of another indigenous culture or nation or region of the Pacific or Asia
- foster critical understanding of different cultural perspectives, values, and world views and the ability to acquire additional knowledge about these
- illustrate the interrelationships among various disciplines in the study of the culture or region
Writing Intensive: 3 courses
Proposed: At least two of the three WI courses completed by a degree candidate must be at the upper division.
Transfer students entering in their junior year must complete two WI courses, both in the upper division; those entering in their senior year must complete one upper-division WI course. The number of credits per course is immaterial; students are expected to experience a range of courses in which writing is a tool for learning.
UH Hilo WI courses currently meet WI criteria established for the UH system: To count towards the WI requirement, a course will
- use writing to promote the learning of course materials. Instructors assign formal and informal writing, both in class and out, to increase students' understanding of course material as well as to improve writing skills.
- provide interaction between teacher and students while students do assigned writing; in effect, the instructor acts as an expert and the student as an apprentice in a community of writers.
- be graded to a significant extent by the student's writing performance
- require students to do a substantial amount of writing--a minimum of 4000 words, or about 16 pages-formal or informal, including analytic essays, critical reviews, journals, lab reports, research reports, or reaction papers, etc.
To allow for meaningful professor-student interaction on each student's writing, Writing Intensive courses are normally restricted to 20 students.
Proposed Review Process for General Education Courses
Review Committees. There will be three committees to review GE course proposals: the Basic Requirements committee, the Area Requirements committee, and the Hawai'i-Asia-Pacific committee. Each committee will include one GE committee member and faculty representatives appointed by the congress on the basis of recommendations from the college senates. The basis for appointment to a subcommittee will be scholarly and pedagogical expertise in the fields reviewed by that subcommittee.
Courses proposed for the Writing Intensive requirement will be submitted to and processed by the Writing Intensive Committee, as is the current practice.
Department Approval. The review committees will review proposals for GE designations for individual courses submitted by departments or submitted by individual faculty with the approval of the originating department. Departments are encouraged to submit "master syllabi" for multiple-section courses; these will state the core learning objectives shared by all sections, with individual instructors free to add other objectives. In either case, the department will attest that the course proposal is consistent with the student learning goals of that department. The review committees will review the proposal for assessable student learning outcomes that are consistent with GE goals and GE category hallmarks. The committees will either recommend acceptance or will return the proposals with suggestions for revision.
Course Proposals. Each proposal will include the proposal form (next page)and the current or proposed course syllabus or course master syllabus. The syllabus will indicate clearly how the course meets GE goals and the GE category hallmarks and will state student learning outcomes in assessable terms.
Examples of statements of assessable student learning outcomes are posted at the faculty GE webpage: http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/uhh/genedfac/objectives.php
Courses recommended for approval by the review committees will be submitted to the GE committee, which will forward these to the Congress for final acceptance. The deadlines have been set so as to ensure proper review by the committees and by the Congress. Once approved, a course is reviewed every five years, the renewal process being initiated by a new proposal and updated syllabus.
Announcement of Approved Courses. A list of approved courses will be posted on the UH Hilo website before early registration begins--by April 15 and November 1 of each calendar year--beginning April 15, 2005,.
The proposal form will be available from the faculty General Education information webpage.
Submission deadlines and posting dates for course proposals.
For Fall semester: January 15, Approved courses posted April 15
For Spring semester: September 15, Approved courses posted November 1
DRAFT Proposal Form for GE Courses
GE course proposals will be submitted electronically to the GE committee.
Check GE category or categories for which this course is proposed __ Written Communication __ Quantitative Reasoning __ World Cultures __ Humanities __ Social Sciences __ Natural Sciences __ Hawai'i, Asia or Pacific __ Writing Intensive Course alpha, number, title ________________________________________________ Instructor _________________________________________________________________ This course syllabus is consistent with the student learning goals of the department and the proposal is endorsed by the department. ______________________________ _________________________ ____________ Signature of Department Chair Department Date Date of proposal ___________________________________________________________ Be sure the syllabus clearly indicates how the course meets hallmarks for the GE category/categories for which it is being proposed and that the student learning objectives are clearly stated and assessable. Attach a copy of the course syllabus in Word, WordPerfect, PDF, or HTML.