Structural Reform #??

: Six-Credit Student Choice (Experiential Learning

and Communication & Argumentation)
1. Eliminate the existing Student Choice (Depth or IN) and Interdisciplinary (ID)
categories.
2. Create a new Experiential Learning (EL) designation. AA and AS students take
one course from this category.
3. Create a new Communication and Argumentation (CA) designation. AA and AS
students take one course from this category.
4. General education requirements for AA and AS degrees would remain 34 credit
hours.
Experiential Learning (EL)
Experiential Learning (EL) is a way of teaching and learning that immerses students
in real life situations that helps them learn content, develop skills, apply knowledge
to real world problems, make connections, and create relationships. Experiential
learning crosses all disciplines and can be implemented in such ways as internships,
co-op experiences, field courses, travel and study abroad, undergraduate research,
clinicals, service learning, community-based projects, and other methods. All
experiential learning courses must include application of content to real world
situations, use of critical thinking skills to make informed decisions, and reflection
on their learning and experience.
Communication & Argumentation (CA)
These objectives are quoted from reform proposal #11:
Communication and Argumentation (CA) courses focus on the principles, skills and
art of reasoning, in written, verbal, nonverbal and multi-modal forms of
communication. They strive to help students enhance their critical thinking and
analysis skills, develop and support beliefs, and evaluate the strength of arguments
made by oneself and others in real-life situations.
How does this proposal address the Guiding Principles?
1. Provide the best possible educational solution for our students that will prepare
them for their next steps in life (transfer or career pursuits) and for lifelong
learning.
In a recent survey, the majority of employers valued the ability of potential
employees to apply learning in real world situations. However, they felt that most
students lacked that ability. Additionally, 73% of those surveyed think that
requiring college students to complete a significant applied learning project before
graduation would improve the quality of their preparation for careers. (Hart
Research Associates 2015)
The particular choice of experiential learning would be flexible and suited to
help students apply their knowledge and skills to a real-world problem in their
particular area of interest.
Experiential learning includes high-impact practices such as undergraduate
research which are known to increase retention and completion rates. Since
community colleges struggle with retention and completion rates, General
Education designations that address retention and completion can be the beneficial

to students (National Academies of Sciences 2015; PCAST 2012; NRC 2012). In

addition, some college courses are consistently difficult for many students (i.e. Math
1050 and science courses) and these can serve as barriers to student completion
and retention (NRC, 2012). An EL designation is likely to increase the teaching of
high-impact practices and thus increase retention and completion rates.
A survey of national employers shows that they are seeking graduates with
effective communication and critical thinking skills.
2. Keep it simple.
By creating only two new designations of which students need to take one
course each creates straightforward simplicity for students, advisors, and faculty.
This aligns with how most other designations are structured. One course from each
designation.
a. Gen Ed categories should be intuitive and rational and not cause an undue
burden for students (especially one that outweighs the benefit received).
Students will build skills in two areas that will benefit them in their future
studies and in the workforce. Communication and real world experiential
experiences will be a benefit to the students. The course offerings will be available
in a variety of subjects and in a variety of modes allowing students to tailor their
choice of courses to their educational and career plans.
b. Student decision-making should be easy.
Students will have the clarity of only two new designations of which they will
take one course each. They will be free to take whichever course they would like
within the designation, but can tailor their learning experience based on which
subject matter would be of most interest and usefulness to them.
c. Have a clear set of criteria for the category with a specific educational goal in
mind.
This proposal aims to created simplicity and clarity for students, but also to
help them build skills they will need in their professional lives in further education or
in the workforce. First, students will build communication skills that are multi-modal
and integrative. Second, they will apply knowledge to real world situations. In both
of these they will integrate the college wide learning outcomes, particularly
communication, critical and creative thinking, and community engagement.
3. Provide a format that ensures maximum integration of learning across required
designations.
These two designations are preferable to others as they are transdisciplinary
and can create platforms for learning across designations. They can acts as a bridge
for the subject matter in the distribution areas.
a. Build on HIPs such as ePortfolio (reflection), 1st year experience, learning
communities, common intellectual experiences, etc.
Experiential learning particularly lends itself to integration of HIPs including
collaborative assignments and projects, undergraduate research, service or
community based learning, and internships. Depending on the subject matter or
course goals, faculty can focus on these or other HIPs in their course development
and integration. Communication courses have the flexibility to be integrated with

other subjects and cross disciplines and can be tailored to the HIPs that the faculty
finds are most appropriate.
4. Have minimal impact of on department/division enrollment and budgets.
One of the goals of these designations is to have new designations that do
not preference one department, program, or school above another. These
designations preserve as many existing Gen Ed courses as possible, but also allow
the possibility of other existing courses to become general education courses, which
would be a benefit to the students.
a. Encourage faculty to consider re-classification of some courses into one of the
new, or existing Gen Ed categories.
With these two designations most of the courses currently designated as ID
or IN could likely find a new home in the two new designations. Some could likely
move to the new designations with no changes. Others may require some amount of
redesign in order to meeting the learning outcomes of the new designation.
b. This includes addressing the ID/IN problem in a way that is clearly defined.
This proposal would eliminate ID and IN and create new designations that
have clearly defined learning outcomes and criteria. Some current ID and IN
designated courses would likely fit into these new categories with no changes, while
others might require some redesign to fit the new or other existing designations.
References
Hart Research Associates (2015) Falling Short? College Learning and Career
Success. Retrieved May 31, 2016, from http://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinionresearch/2015-survey-results
National Academies of Sciences (2015) Integrating Discovery-Based Research into
the Undergraduate Curriculum: Report of a Convocation. Washington, DC: National
Academies Press. Retrieved May 31, 2016, from
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/21851/integrating-discovery-based-research-into-theundergraduate-curriculum-report-of
National Research Council, Community Colleges in the Evolving STEM Education
Landscape: Summary of a Summit. 2012: The National Academies. Retrieved May
31, 2016, from http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13399/community-colleges-in-theevolving-stem-education-landscape-summary-of
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) (2012) Engage
to Excel: Producing One Million Additonal College Graduates with Degrees in
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathmatics. p. 130. Retreived May 31, 2016
from https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/pcast/docsreports

Possible Courses (that are currently designated IN or ID)

IN or ID Courses that *might* fit the Experiential Learning (EL) designation
include (Note: some courses may require some redesign to fit designation criteria
OR some courses may prefer to redesign to fit in one of the distribution areas rather
than EL):
ANTH 2530 - Historical Archaeology (ID)
BMAN 1130 - Bioengineering in Society (ID)
BMAN 1110 - Intro to Biomanufacturing (ID)
BUS 1010 - Introduction to Business (IN,HR)
BUS 1050 - Foundations of Business (ID)
EDU 1020 - Essentials College Study (ID)
ENGR 1600 - Engineering the Guitar (ID)
FIN 1050 - Personal Finance (ID)
GEOG 1300 - Regional Geography (ID)
GEOG 1400 - Human Geography (ID)
GEOG 1800 - Mapping Our World (ID)
GEOG 2200 - Urban/Environ. Issues (ID)
HLTH 1050 - Life, Society and Drugs (ID)
HLTH 1110 - Social Health & Div. (ID,DV)
HLTH 1500 - Lifetime Wellness/Fitness (ID)
HS 2050 - Cultural, Legal, And Ethical Issues For The Health Sciences(ID, DV)
INTL 2980 - Travel Study (ID)
INTL 2990 - Study Abroad (ID)
LE 1350 - Values and Self-Image (ID)
MKTG 1050 - Consumerism (ID)
MUSC 1500 - Music and Technology (ID)
PHIL 1120 - Ethics and Moral Problems (ID)
SOC 1020 - Social Problems (ID)
SOC 2400 Intermountain West & People(ID)
IN or ID Courses that *might* fit the Communication and Argumentation (CA)
designation include:
BUS 1040 - Ethics at Work (ID)
BUS 2200 - Bus. Communications (CM,IN)
COMM 1010 - Elements of Eff. Comm (CM,IN)
COMM 1020 - Prin/Public Speaking (CM,IN)
COMM 1270 - Analysis of Argument (IN)
COMM 1500 - Intro to Mass Comm (ID)
COMM 1560 - Radio Performance & Production (ID)
COMM 2110 - Interpersonal Comm (ID,HR)
COMM 2150 - Intercultural Commun. (ID,DV)
COMM 2500 - Elemt/Issues-Digital Media(ID)
CSIS 1070 - Living in a Digital World (ID)
CSIS 1430 - Internet & XHTML Fundamentals (ID)
LE 1310 - Mind, Mach., Consciousness(ID)
PHIL 1250 - Resn. & Rat`l Decsn-Makng (IN)
TECH 1010 - Technology and the Future (ID)
TECH 1030 - Complex Devices Simp. (IN)