Structural Reform #1: Do Nothing

Make no changes to the General Education program.

Remove the moratorium on new IN and ID courses.
Resume 5-year reviews of existing IN and ID courses.
Rationale: Our Gen Ed program isnt broken, so dont try to fix it.
Addendum to Structural Reform #1: Specific Feedback from a Faculty

I feel that this process of reform is greatly flawed; however, because it is

the process at hand, I will submit a proposal.
I would like to propose that General Education (GE) at SLCC NOT undergo a
major reform process.
I propose that we look carefully at the GE system that we are currently using and
find ways to strengthen said system without undergoing sweeping changes that
may lead to unexpected impacts college-wide.
I believe that this reform needs to have larger final assessment and approval than
just the GE committee, and that the best place to obtain this larger input is
through the school curriculum committees. Curriculum development is a central
key to quality education and I feel that it should be carefully assessed by the
largest possible body of faculty.
1. Carefully define the content criteria for each designation, using input from
the appropriate school curriculum committees.
a. Define, and include in the handbook, a process by which each class
will be placed into a designated category. This process should involve
the appropriate school curriculum committees. The school curriculum
committees would approve the content of the course for a specific
designation; whereas the GE committee would have final approval for
the other GE criteria.
2. Carefully define the meaning of the content criteria for the ID designation.
The CCO for any course that is given ID designation should clearly state the
two or more disciplines that the course is integrating.
a. Define, and include in the handbook, a process by which each class
will be placed into the ID category. This process should involve the
appropriate school curriculum committees; however, the GE
committee would have the final approval for a course obtaining ID
designation
3. Carefully define the meaning of the content criteria for the IN designation.
The CCO for any course that is given IN designation should clearly state
how that course fulfills this content area.
a. Define, and include in the handbook, a process by which each class
will be placed into the IN category. This process should involve the
appropriate school curriculum committees; however, the GE
committee would have the final approval for a course obtaining ID
designation

4. Carefully define the meaning of the content criteria for the DV

designation. The CCO for any course that is given DV designation should
clearly state the two or more disciplines that the course is integrating.
a. Define, and include in the handbook, a process by which each class
will be placed into the DV category. This process should involve the
appropriate school curriculum committees; however, the GE
committee would have the final approval for a course obtaining DV
designation
The Northwest Accreditation Team found no issues with our GE. The SLCC GE
system is often referred to as an exemplary model in state and even some
national meetings. Thus, I feel that the underlying format of our system seems to
be quite sound. I feel that one of the goals of GE should be, as it has been in the
past, to expose students to multiple ways of thinking, learning, and viewing the
world. The ideas of critical thinking, aesthetics, communication, etc. provide the
commonality among the various GE classes and should allow students to feel the
connectedness of their GE classes. It is in the area of content, knowledge that
each class can shine as an individual type of class to provide that diversity of
thought.
I propose that, during the process of rewriting the GE handbook, the GE
committee and the appropriate school curriculum committees look carefully at
the criteria for each designation and record these criteria in a manner that will aid
future committees in the assessment of proposed and reviewed courses. Because
the area of content is what separates the courses into the different distribution
areas, it is this content that needs to be assessed by the faculty in those areas.
I agree that no department owns a GE designation; however, I do believe that
distinct schools should be designated, not to own, but to oversee the content of
specific GE designations. For example, it seems obvious that the School of
Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) should have the final say as to appropriate
content in courses that receive an SS, HU, or FA designation. It seems obvious
that the School of Science, Math, and Engineering(SME) should have the final say
as to the appropriate content in courses that receive a QL, PS, BS, or LW
designation. This is not to say that a course from outside of the School of HSS
cannot receive an SS, HU, or FA designation, or the composition and American
Institutions designations, it only means that the faculty in that school should be
the ones to decide if said class meets the content required to receive that
designation. I have just presented two examples here; the college curriculum
committee should probably assign oversight responsibility for these variations to
the appropriate schools.

Structural Reform #2: Six-Credit Student Choice

Create a new Student Choice Category that replaces the IN and ID
categories.
Students take two courses from Student Choice, each course from a
different designation.
The new Student Choice category will have the following sub-designations:
Global Learning (GL), which might include the following: ANTH 1030
World Prehistory (GL) 3; ENGL 2630 Global Literature (LT) 3; HIST 1100
Western Civ. to 1300 (GL) 3; HIST 1110 Western Civ. Since 1300 (GL) 3;
HIST 1300 Colonial Latin America (GL) 3; HIST 1310 Modern Latin
America (GL) 3; HIST 1450 Middle Eastern Civilization (GL) 3; HIST 1460
Modern Middle Eastern Civ (GL) 3; HIST 1500 World History to 1500 (GL)
3; HIST 1510 World History Since 1500 (GL) 3; HUMA 2300 World
Religions (GL) 3; INTL 2040 The Immigrant Experience (GL, DV) 3; INTL
2060 Intl Lit and Culture (LT, DV) 3; INTL 2230 Global French Cultures
(GL) 3; INTL 2240 Latin American Studies (GL) 3; INTL 2980 Travel
Studies (GL) 3; INTL 2990 Study Abroad (GL) 3; POLS 2100 Intro to
International Politics (GL) 3; POLS 2200 Intro to Comparative Politics (GL)
3; POLS 2700 Model United Nations (GL) 3.
Personal Skills and Capacities (PC), which might include the
following: BUS 1010 Intro to Business (PC) 3; COMM 2110 Interpersonal
Comm (PC, HR) 3; EDU 1020 Essentials of College Study (PC) 3; LE 1350
Values and Self Image (PC) 3; LE 1360 Opening Diverse Doors (PC, DV) 3;
FIN 1050 Personal Finance (PC) 3; HLTH 1050 Life, Society and Drugs
(PC) 3; HLTH 1500 Lifetime Wellness and Fitness (PC) 3; MKTG 1050
Consumerism (PC) 3.
Technology and Society (TS), which might include the following:
BMAN 1110 Intro to Biomanufacturing (TS) 3; BMAN 1130 Bioengineering
in Society (TS) 3; CIS 1070 Living in a Digital World (TS) 3; ENGR 1050
Intro to Nanotechnology (TS) 3; GEOG 1800 Mapping Our World (TS) 3;
MUSC 1500 Music and Technology (TS) 3; TECH 1010 Technology and the
Future (TS) 3; TECH 1030 Complex Devices Simplified (TS) 3.
Communication, Thinking, and Argumentation (CA), which might
include the following: BUS 1040 Ethics at Work (CA) 3; BUS 2200
Business Communication (CA) 3; COMM 1010 Elements of Effective
Comm (CA, CM) 3; COMM 1020 Principles of Public Speaking (CA, CM) 3;
COMM 1270 Analysis of Argument (CA) 3; COMM 1500 Introduction to
Mass Communication (CA) 3; COMM 1560 Radio Production (CA) 3;
COMM 2500 Elements and Issues of Digital Media (CA) 4; COMM 2150
Intercultural Communication (CA, DV) 3; LE 1310 Mind, Machine,
Consciousness (CA) 3; PHIL 1250 Resonbl. & Ratl Decsn-Makng (CA) 3.
Rationale: This is a conservative proposal that keeps all existing courses, but
reorganizes them into more rational Student Choice categories that will be
relevant to student interests.

Structural Reform #3: Student Choice and Integrated Studies

Create a new 3-4 credit Student Choice category that replaces the IN and
ID categories, with the four designations in option 2 above.
Students take one course from one of the following Student Choice subdesignations.
o Global Learning (GL), which might include the following: ANTH
1030 World Prehistory (GL) 3; ENGL 2630 Global Literature (LT) 3;
HIST 1100 Western Civ. to 1300 (GL) 3; HIST 1110 Western Civ.
Since 1300 (GL) 3; HIST 1300 Colonial Latin America (GL) 3; HIST
1310 Modern Latin America (GL) 3; HIST 1450 Middle Eastern
Civilization (GL) 3; HIST 1460 Modern Middle Eastern Civ (GL) 3;
HIST 1500 World History to 1500 (GL) 3; HIST 1510 World History
Since 1500 (GL) 3; HUMA 2300 World Religions (GL) 3; INTL 2040
The Immigrant Experience (GL, DV) 3; INTL 2060 Intl Lit and
Culture (LT, DV) 3; INTL 2230 Global French Cultures (GL) 3; INTL
2240 Latin American Studies (GL) 3; INTL 2980 Travel Studies (GL)
3; INTL 2990 Study Abroad (GL) 3; POLS 2100 Intro to International
Politics (GL) 3; POLS 2200 Intro to Comparative Politics (GL) 3;
POLS 2700 Model United Nations (GL) 3.
o Personal Skills and Capacities (PC), which might include the
following: BUS 1010 Intro to Business (PC) 3; COMM 2110
Interpersonal Comm (PC, HR) 3; EDU 1020 Essentials of College
Study (PC) 3; LE 1350 Values and Self Image (PC) 3; LE 1360
Opening Diverse Doors (PC, DV) 3; FIN 1050 Personal Finance (PC)
3; HLTH 1050 Life, Society and Drugs (PC) 3; HLTH 1500 Lifetime
Wellness and Fitness (PC) 3; MKTG 1050 Consumerism (PC) 3.
o Technology and Society (TS), which might include the following:
BMAN 1110 Intro to Biomanufacturing (TS) 3; BMAN 1130
Bioengineering in Society (TS) 3; CIS 1070 Living in a Digital World
(TS) 3; ENGR 1050 Intro to Nanotechnology (TS) 3; GEOG 1800
Mapping Our World (TS) 3; MUSC 1500 Music and Technology (TS)
3; TECH 1010 Technology and the Future (TS) 3; TECH 1030
Complex Devices Simplified (TS) 3.
o Communication, Thinking, and Argumentation (CA), which
might include the following: BUS 1040 Ethics at Work (CA) 3; BUS
2200 Business Communication (CA) 3; COMM 1010 Elements of
Effective Comm (CA, CM) 3; COMM 1020 Principles of Public
Speaking (CA, CM) 3; COMM 1270 Analysis of Argument (CA) 3;
COMM 1500 Introduction to Mass Communication (CA) 3; COMM
1560 Radio Production (CA) 3; COMM 2500 Elements and Issues of
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Digital Media (CA) 4; COMM 2150 Intercultural Communication (CA,

DV) 3; LE 1310 Mind, Machine, Consciousness (CA) 3; PHIL 1250
Resonbl. & Ratl Decsn-Makng (CA) 3.
Create a set of new 3-credit Integrated Studies courses (IS) that focus on
key unstructured problems (e.g., Climate Change, The Individual in
Society). Students would be required to take one IS designated course.
No Department can offer more than one IS designated course.

Rationale: This reform keeps the new Student Choice categories from proposal
#2, but injects more integration into Gen Ed by asking departments to come up
with one integrated studies course.
Structural Reform #4: Eliminate Diversity Requirement
Eliminate the Diversity requirement, but not the Diversity courses
themselves.
The existing Diversity courses would revert to their primary designation.
For example, ART 1375 Photographing Diversity (FA, DV) would simply
retain its (FA) designation.
Begin a conversation about replacing the Diversity requirement with a
different double-dip requirement in Gen Ed, or do away with double-dip
requirement altogether because of its impact on student course-taking
patterns.
Rationale: It is unclear what impact the Diversity requirement has had on
students. The ideas inherent in the Diversity requirement are well-infused
throughout SLCCs Gen Ed curriculumin the DV courses and in others that are
not so designated. This reform could be coupled with any of the other proposals.

Structural Reform #5: Expanded American Institutions

Eliminate either Student Choice (Depth or IN) or Interdisciplinary (ID)

designations.
Expand the American Institutions (AI) requirement to 6 credits instead of 3.
In other words, to satisfy the AI category, students would take a two-course
POLS, HIST, or ECON sequence.

Rationale: There just isnt enough time in one semester to adequately introduce
students to U.S. history, politics, or economics. Many institutions around the
country require a two-course sequence.

Structural Reform #6: Emphasize Liberal Arts and Sciences (Comm and
Argumentation)
Eliminate Student Choice (Depth or IN) and Interdisciplinary (ID)
designations.
Create two new institutional requirements, from each of which students
would take one course:
o Global Learning (GL), which might include the following: ANTH
1030 World Prehistory (GL) 3; ENGL 2630 Global Literature (LT) 3;
HIST 1100 Western Civ. to 1300 (GL) 3; HIST 1110 Western Civ. Since
1300 (GL) 3; HIST 1300 Colonial Latin America (GL) 3; HIST 1310
Modern Latin America (GL) 3; HIST 1450 Middle Eastern Civilization
(GL) 3; HIST 1460 Modern Middle Eastern Civ (GL) 3; HIST 1500 World
History to 1500 (GL) 3; HIST 1510 World History Since 1500 (GL) 3;
HUMA 2300 World Religions (GL) 3; INTL 2040 The Immigrant
Experience (GL, DV) 3; INTL 2060 Intl Lit and Culture (LT, DV) 3; INTL
2230 Global French Cultures (GL) 3; INTL 2240 Latin American Studies
(GL) 3; INTL 2980 Travel Studies (GL) 3; INTL 2990 Study Abroad (GL)
3; POLS 2100 Intro to International Politics (GL) 3; POLS 2200 Intro to
Comparative Politics (GL) 3; POLS 2700 Model United Nations (GL) 3.
o Communication and Argumentation (CA), which might include
the following: BUS 1040 Ethics at Work (CA) 3; BUS 2200 Business
Communication (CA) 3; COMM 1010 Elements of Effective Comm (CA,
CM) 3; COMM 1020 Principles of Public Speaking (CA, CM) 3; COMM
1270 Analysis of Argument (CA) 3; COMM 1500 Introduction to Mass
Communication (CA) 3; COMM 1560 Radio Production (CA) 3; COMM
2500 Elements and Issues of Digital Media (CA) 4; COMM 2150
Intercultural Communication (CA, DV) 3; LE 1310 Mind, Machine,
Consciousness (CA) 3; PHIL 1250 Resonbl. & Ratl Decsn-Makng (CA)
3.
Courses currently designated IN or ID would need to either fit into one of
the above categories, into the existing distribution areas (FA, SS, HU, BS,
and PS), or lose their Gen Ed status.
Rationale: Students need a firm grounding in the traditional disciplines of the
liberal arts and sciences, plus experience with communication and
argumentation. This proposal better groups our courses into seven distribution
areas, five of which (FA, SS, HU, BS, and PS) are mandated by the state. We would
be adding Global Learning (GL) and Communication and Argumentation (CA)
categories as institution-level requirements.

Structural Reform #7: Emphasize Liberal Arts and Sciences

(Communication and Writing)

Eliminate the Student Choice (IN or Depth) and the Interdisciplinary (ID)
designations.
Create two new institutional requirements, from each of which students
would take one course:
o Global Learning (GL), which might include the following: ANTH
1030 World Prehistory (GL) 3; ENGL 2630 Global Literature (LT) 3;
HIST 1100 Western Civ. to 1300 (GL) 3; HIST 1110 Western Civ. Since
1300 (GL) 3; HIST 1300 Colonial Latin America (GL) 3; HIST 1310
Modern Latin America (GL) 3; HIST 1450 Middle Eastern Civilization
(GL) 3; HIST 1460 Modern Middle Eastern Civ (GL) 3; HIST 1500 World
History to 1500 (GL) 3; HIST 1510 World History Since 1500 (GL) 3;
HUMA 2300 World Religions (GL) 3; INTL 2040 The Immigrant
Experience (GL, DV) 3; INTL 2060 Intl Lit and Culture (LT, DV) 3; INTL
2230 Global French Cultures (GL) 3; INTL 2240 Latin American Studies
(GL) 3; INTL 2980 Travel Studies (GL) 3; INTL 2990 Study Abroad (GL)
3; POLS 2100 Intro to International Politics (GL) 3; POLS 2200 Intro to
Comparative Politics (GL) 3; POLS 2700 Model United Nations (GL) 3.
o Communication and Writing (CW), which might include the
following: BUS 2200 Business Communication (CW) 3; COMM 1010
Elements of Effective Communication (CW) 3; COMM 1020 Principles
of Public Speaking (CW) 3; COMM 1050 Elem. of Human
Communication (CW) 3; COMM 1080 Conflict Mgmt & Diversity (CW,
DV) 3; COMM 1500 Intro to Mass Communication (CW) 3; COMM 1560
Radio Perf and Production (CW) 3; COMM 2110 Interpersonal Comm
(CW) 3; COMM 2150 Intercultural Comm (CW, DV) 3; COMM 2500
Digital Media (CW) 3; COMM 2570 Intro to Visual Comm (CW) 3; ENGL
2250 Intro to Imaginative Writing (CW) 3; ENGL 2260 Intro to Writing
Poetry (CW) 3; ENGL 2270 Intro to Writing Fiction (CW) 3; ENGL 2280
Intro to Creative Nonfiction (CW) 3; ENGL 2640 Writing and Social
Justice (CW) 3.
Courses currently designated IN or ID would need to either fit into one of
the above categories, into the existing distribution areas (FA, SS, HU, BS,
and PS), or lose their Gen Ed status.

Rationale: Students need a firm grounding in the traditional disciplines of the

liberal arts and sciences, plus experience with writing and communication. This
proposal better groups our courses into seven distribution areas, five of which (FA,
SS, HU, BS, and PS) are mandated by the state. We would be adding Global
Learning (GL) and Communication and Writing (CW) categories as institution-level
requirements.

Structural Reform #8: General Education Foundations Courses*

Eliminate either Student Choice (Depth or IN) or Interdisciplinary (ID)

designations.
Create General Education foundation courses intended for freshmen
students.
Make the Gen Ed Foundations Courses prerequisites or co-requisites with
certain key Gen Ed courses to ensure that students take them early.
Each Foundation course would be 3 credits, and students would need to
take one.
The Gen Ed Foundations Courses might have the following characteristics:
o Be organized around broad Gen Ed areas such as Writing Studies,
Physical and Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences,
Humanities, Communications, and Fine Arts.
o Introduce students to threshold concepts in the Gen Ed area that is
the focus of the course.
o Introduce students to the idea of General Education, and contain a
set-up assignment for SLCCs ePortfolio.

Rationale: We want to catch students early in their educational career and

provide them with an intellectually stimulating, integrative educational
experience that will help them better understand the rest of the Gen Ed courses
they take. These foundations courses could anchor First Year Experience learning
communities.
* In its original draft, this proposal was called General Education Seminars, which
confused some who read it. Name changed to Foundations Courses, as that is
more descriptive.

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Structural Reform #9: Emphasize Critical Inquiry*

Eliminate the Student Choice (Depth or IN) and Interdisciplinary (ID)

designations.
Replace the ID designation with the four categories in Structural Reforms
#2 and #3: Global Learning (GL), Personal Skills and Capacities (PC),
Technology and Society (TS), and Communication and Argumentation (CA).
Students would need to take one of those courses.
Replace the Student Choice (Depth or IN) designation with a discrete
number of Critical Inquiry (CI) courses that would be created by schools, but
follow essential design characteristics (see below).
Students would need to take one CI course at any time in their General
Education studies, but we would try to incentivize students to take them
early.
The number of Critical Inquiry courses would be divided as follows: Two
courses from the School of Arts, Communication and Media; One course
from the School of Business; Three courses from the School of Humanities
and Social Sciences; Three courses from the School of Science, Math and
Engineering.
Critical Inquiry courses would focus on particular subject matter (e.g., the
School of Humanities and Social Sciences might have one focused on
History and Political Science, one on Psychology and Sociology, and one on
the Humanities), but would all have the following common design
characteristics:
o Their content would be centered on a significant reading load of
primary source documents and/or secondary chapters, articles, or
websites that explicate substantial concepts, events, or developments
in the subject matter of the course. For example, one reading in a CI
course in physical science might be The Nature of Science and the
Scientific Method by the Geological Society of America. In another
example, a CI course in History and Political Science might assign
Frederick Douglass What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? or
Margaret Chase Smiths Declaration of Conscience, among many
others. The readings would not be technical in nature, but intended
for a generally educated audience.
o Their pedagogy would focus on two elements:
Critical InquiryAs developed most explicitly by Brooklyn
College (see here and here), critical inquiry refers to a set of
active reading strategies that compel academically at-risk
students to preview texts, take layers of notes from those texts,
and formulate questions from their notes. Students are trained
to think of the act of reading as an activity that requires
multiple drafts in much the same way that they are trained to
write multiple drafts of an essay.
Writing to Learn Activities, which might include informal
responses, reflections, journaling, etc. instead of more formal
recall and reporting-based writing activities.
11

Rationale: The abilities to read critically and write to learn are perhaps the two
most important skills a college-educated person should possess. One of the key
findings of Academically Adrift was that student intellectual growth was most
closely associated with the amount of reading and writing they were assigned.
* This reform proposal was developed in response to the original eight structural
proposals.

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Non-Structural Reform Proposals

#1: Do Nothing
Rationale: Our General Education program is fine, so dont make changes.
#2: Breadth Alignment with State Practices
Biological Sciences to Life Sciences; Social Sciences to Social and
Behavioral Sciences; Physical Science to Physical Sciences.
No current change to criteria, but criteria language to be revisited in the
near future through a process determined by the Gen Ed Committee.
Rationale: These changes would be in accordance with the terminology used in
the Board of Regents R.470 document on General Education.
#3: HIPs in General Education
Change the Gen Ed 5-year course review process to encourage
departments to emphasize high impact educational practices.
Charge the FTLC and the Office of the Gen Ed Director with fostering HIPs.
Showcase student HIP work in their ePortfolios.
Rationale: This reform would improve our Gen Ed program by infusing it with the
kinds of educational practices that have been shown to engage students and
improve their learning.
#4: Clearer Pathways in General Education
Define a relatively few number of meta-majors (e.g., Health Sciences,
Business).
Within each meta-major, define a set of General Education courses that are
recommended to students.
This would essentially be a different way to package Gen Ed for students
who have a major outside of General Studies.
Rationale: The purpose of this reform is to help students make choices in
General Education if they have declared a major.
#5: Writing in General Education Courses
Make the following changes to the Gen Ed course review criteria:
o Emphasize writing to learn activities as the basis of the writing
requirement in 1000-level courses. (Writing to learn activities include
informal responses, reflections, journaling, etc. instead of more formal
recall and reporting-based writing activities.)
o Emphasize writing from research activities in 2000-level courses.
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Rationale: The purpose of this reform is to help students to help students

achieve the Effective Communication, Substantive Knowledge, and Critical
Thinking learning outcomes.

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