FSD 17-09 General Education & Experiential Learning Designation Procedures and Application Form
Purdue University Northwest Faculty Senate
Faculty Senate Document 17-09
Submission Date: 9/28/2017 (General Education)
Senate Action and Date:
- For Discussion, 10/13//2017;
- For Action, 11/10//2017;
- Approved, 11/10/2017
Faculty Senate Document 16-24 creates a structure for assessment reporting for PNW. With Faculty Senate Document 16-05, the PNW Faculty adopted the LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes as its General Education Learning Outcomes. This document builds on that one by proposing assessment procedures for the General Education Core Curriculum, as well as Experiential Learning (EL), and general education outside of the Core. These procedures will allow for assessment reporting in these areas, in fulfillment of FSD 16-24. The General Education and Assessment Steering (GEA) Committee therefore proposes adoption of the following procedures and attached form for designation of courses in General Education (GE) or Experiential Learning (EL).
The GE/EL Course Designation/Removal Application Form
The attached form, translated online and housed on the Faculty Senate website, will be used to apply for GE or EL designation. For proposed additions to the approved GE/EL course lists, or deletions of courses from the lists, the due date to submit a completed form to the GEA Committee is December 1, 2017, and will be November 1 in subsequent years. The GEA Committee will review forms, make inquiries if needed, and inform the contact faculty of its recommendation, as well as the Curriculum Committee. This will allow the GEA committee to bring forward a Faculty Senate document in February ratifying its recommendations for modifying the lists for the subsequent academic year, leaving enough time for the PNW catalog to be appropriately updated.
Originating faculty will receive formal responses from the GEA Committee, with written explanations for negative decisions, no later than 10 business days after the second Faculty Senate meeting following submission of the form. Responses will also be sent simultaneously to the chair of the Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee. While the GEA Committee will work informally with faculty to address any concerns, there are three possible formal responses:
- Course is recommended for addition to General Education Core-30 list, FYE, and/or EL status, pending approval by the Faculty Senate
- Course is not ready to be approved, but resubmission is recommended for the following academic year, with revisions
- Course is not appropriate for General Education Core-30 list, FYE, and/or EL status and will not be recommended for Faculty Senate approval
GE Assessment: The Core
Following best practices for General Education assessment, the GEA Committee will rely on departments and programs to conduct GE assessment as part of their regular assessment procedures. This will mean producing annual reports on assessment of general education outcomes in GE courses. These reports will then form the basis of revalidation of GE courses every five years.
The LEAP ELOs include 11 outcomes that have associated rubrics (the VALUE rubrics). Assessment should ordinarily focus on one or two of these outcomes, and make use of the rubrics.
FYE courses may address the LEAP ELOs, but also must address the following core components that were proposed in Faculty Senate Document 16-04, and which this document ratifies:
- Academic Planning
- Campus Resources
- PNW Programs
- Opportunities for Student-Faculty Engagement
- Reflection
- Self-Knowledge
- Self-Advocacy
- Personal Responsibility
- Career Planning
- Critical Thinking
- Relationships
- Communication
- Inclusivity
- Teamwork/Groupwork
GE Assessment: Currently Listed Courses
Since, in anticipation of HLC review, the entire university is currently reviewing and upgrading its assessment procedures, the GEA Committee proposes that all departments and programs with listed GE Core courses take this year to do the following:
- Review the currency of the course offering: Is the course offered frequently? Is it intended for a wide variety of students? If the answers to these questions are “no,” then it may be worthwhile to consider withdrawing the course from the lists.
- Identify LEAP ELOs that are addressed in the GE course or courses. Just one outcome is enough, and no more than two is recommended for useful assessment. These outcomes should be identified in course syllabuses in the future.
- Identify assessment procedures, making use of both direct and indirect assessment.
- Identify procedures for making modifications and improvements to the course based on assessment, and documenting and reporting on the entire cycle annually.
The GEA Committee will follow up with departments in the coming months and provide examples of ways to accomplish these tasks
Reports on LEAP ELO designation, and assessment procedures from each department or program that offers GE Core courses will be due to the GEA Committee by March 30, 2018.
Schedule for GE Core Course revalidation
- December 15, 2018: FYE, Experiential Learning
- December 15, 2019: Quantitative Reasoning, Technology
- December 15, 2020: Natural Sciences, Composition
- December 15, 2021: Humanities, Social Sciences
- December 15, 2022: Oral Communication
Experiential Learning assessment and revalidation
A separate Senate document proposes the creation of an Ad Hoc Committee reporting to the GEA Committee to create procedures for EL assessment and revalidation, to be brought to the Faculty Senate later this year.
Approved on October 5, 2017 by
- Arifin Agriawan
- Paul Hecht (Chair)
- Shoji Nakayama
- Liberty Pelter
- Angela M. Schooley
- Jessica Thomas
PNW General Education (GE) and Experiential Learning (EL) Course Designation/Removal Application Form
Note: All proposed additions or deletions to GE and EL approved lists are due to the General Education and Assessment Steering (GEA) Committee of the Faculty Senate by December 15 of the year prior to the fall in which the additions or deletions are to take effect.
Course number _______________________________________
Course title _______________________________________
Department/Program _______________________________________
Faculty Contact (and email) _______________________________________
Department Head _______________________________________
Date _______________________________________
Effective Academic Year _____________________
Are you applying for the course to be designated as a General Education Core course? If so, in which GE category will it reside? (A drop-down menu will be provided on the online version.)
Are you requesting that this courses be removed from the General Education Core? If so, simply indicate in which GE category it currently resides.
Are you applying for the course to be designated as an Experiential Learning course?
Are you requesting that this course be removed from the list of approved Experiential Learning courses?
How often is the course to be offered in the next four years? (Attach relevant page of program course rotation if available.)
If the course is in General Education, explain why is this course especially appropriate as an offering for the general education of PNW students (as opposed to courses that are offered primarily for majors in a given program)?
Which one or two LEAP ELOs does this course most emphasize? (A drop-down menu will be provided on the online version.)
Note: for FYE courses, the Faculty Senate has adopted a specific set of core components (link to core components). If this course is to be designated as an FYE course, please describe how it will address the PNW core components.
If the course is in Experiential Learning, describe how it fulfills the NSEE Principles of Good Practice (link to principles).
How will the effectiveness of the course with respect to General Education, FYE, and/or Experiential Learning be assessed?