Summary of Meeting
College of Education
May 13, 2003

1. Introduction - Dr. Debra Lynch - Dr. Lynch began the meeting by welcoming members of the College of Education to the meeting. Committee members were then introduced.

  • Dr. Lynch indicated that the meeting would be taped in order to provide feedback to the committee.
  • Dr. Lynch encouraged faculty members to check the committee’s web site periodically for the latest developments in the general education review.
  • Dr. Lynch reviewed the process for the review of general education on campus.

2. General Education Mission Statement - Dr. Debra Lynch

  • Dr. Lynch distributed copies of the Mission Statement for General Education at Kutztown University. She read the mission statement and the floor was opened for discussion.
  • Comments/questions relative to the mission statement were as follows:
    • What does the committee have in mind relative to "a carefully selected set of questions and competencies?"
    • Doesn’t "fundamental principles and assumptions" in line 5 of the mission statement contradict "a body of knowledge" in line 6?
    • Possibly replace "integrated examination of a carefully selected set of questions and competencies" with "integrated development of selected competencies." This would point to general education’s focus of developing communication skills, critical thinking, etc.
    • Will the "carefully selected set of questions and competencies" be consumed into the goals?
    • Is there a common body of knowledge that all people should have?
    • Possibly add "appropriate to various disciplines" after "competencies" in line 3 of the mission statement.
    • The mission statement should be broad based since the purpose of general education is to look at the world through different viewpoints.

3. Discussion of General Education Issues - Dr. Linda Goldberg

  • Dr. Goldberg and members of the General Education Restructuring Team answered questions relative to various general education issues.
  • Comments/questions relative to general education issues included:
    • Is the committee looking at one general education model for all the colleges?
    • Is it the committee’s thought that the new general education model will be more interdisciplinary?
    • Will there be a set of courses that everyone will take in general education?
    • In the past, the general education model was approved by both APSCUF and the Senate.
    • Will the referendum be a majority vote?
    • What happens if there is a negative vote relative to the referendum?
    • The previous general education revision developed into a turf war.
    • What is broken with the current general education program? If there isn’t a common general education model on campus, how can it be broken?
    • The real issue relative to why our current general education needs to be changed is being ignored. The real issue is that employer surveys indicate that our students are lacking in skills relating to writing, speaking, etc., which means our present model is not sufficient in teaching these skills.
    • In addition to a model change, there also needs to be a mind set change on campus.
    • Resources need to be made available in order to make a new model work.
    • The committee needs to keep in mind that since some colleges are so bound by accreditation issues, there may need to be some flexibility relative to general education courses and those accreditation requirements.
    • There was concern expressed relative to the timeline for the general education review in relation to changes to program check sheets, etc.
    • The outcome of a course approved for general education could be different in light of the fact that different faculty members teach the same course. We could have a course in place but since the course may be taught by different faculty members, all students may not learn the same thing in the course.
    • Life issues need to also be kept in perspective when looking at a general education model.