General Education Council
Summary of 2000-2001
August 7, 2001
Program Assessment
This evaluation is now in its third year and the Council
continues to fine tune its approach by focusing on marketing
and faculty/student issues. As reported in last year’s
summary, the assessment was categorized into five major
groups or themes (Appendix I). Some items have been implemented
that appear on this original listing, while others are
still under discussion.
• Teaching Issues GTAs
•
Teaching Issues Faculty
•
Marketing
•
Modifications
•
Additional Needs
Marketing.
This past year saw the Council recommend and obtain approval
from the Vice President for a broader marketing unification
of the program. The VP agreed that we should seek Faculty
Senate legislation that would impact every General Education
course offered each semester. The legislation will have
the faculty member articulate in the syllabus, and respond
to a survey inquiring how his/her course meets one or
more goals of the program or contributes to one or more
guidelines of the program. Coupled with this, the students
in the same course will be asked to evaluate which goals
or guidelines they felt the course met. Thus students
and faculty will be aware of how each course contributes
to the overall process of meeting the goals of the program.
Drafting the legislation and working with the Senate
this year will be an outcome for the Council this year
to finalize this strategy. The Council did supply potential
evaluation documents for this process.
Alternatives to Competency Exams
Again this year the Council recommended additional alternatives
to the competency exams for students. The reading component
was expanded to include meeting the requirement by having
a “B-“ or better in each General Education
Course. This modification is in keeping with one of the
themes from our ongoing assessment; namely, providing
a means for better students to be recognized either upon
their entry into ESU or during their tenure with us.
Advanced Core Curriculum
The Council recommended an innovative core curriculum
for exceptional students that was filtered through the
Honors Council and the Chairs’ Council of Liberal
Arts and Sciences. This was approved by Dean Black and
VP Schwenn. This curriculum is an experiment which provides
an alternative to the existing general education requirements
for a select group of students. The curriculum includes
interdisciplinary and thematic courses, instead of following
the existing distributive model. We would expect to admit
about 30 students a year (all with ACT composites of
25 or higher) during the three-year experiment. The Council
recommended this program. However, its success is dependant
on the cooperation of various units within the institution
to provide the integration needed for its success. The
proposal also spoke to salary enhancements for faculty
willing to pursue involvement with developing and implementing
the program on a rotational basis.
Advanced Orientation Program
We also recommended an orientation program geared for the
better student that would allow them to take various exams
for college credit, confirm their scholarship awards and
receive advising from the faculty. The intent of the Council
was to provide a marketing tool for attracting better students
to consider ESU by giving opportunities such as this and
the Advanced Core Curriculum. The Vice President had several
concerns about the proposal and asked that the content
be developed with the Dean of Enrollment Management which
this author will do. One major reason for the VP’s
response is due to the fact that since this proposal was
formulated, the SWARM protocol evolved from a two day,
overnight event to a one day session. He also questioned
the fees, and the requested research methods to evaluate
it.
Modifications
1. The Newman Division of Nursing requested that PI 255,
Ethics, be allowed for their majors to meet the Literature
and Ideas component of the Program. This was approved by
the Vice President.
2. The department of English requested that JO 200, Introduction to Mass Communications be added to the listing under the Social and Behavioral Sciences. A final decision by the Vice President is pending.
3. The department of Foreign Languages requested that FL 120, Introduction to East Asian Cultures, and FL 121, Introduction to Modern Asia, be added as option under the Cultural Diversity section of the Program. The Council approved the former and await the Dean’s recommendation to the Vice President.
GTA Midterm Evaluations
The recommendation to have campus wide evaluations of GTA
taught courses in the program to provide a means of determining
the success of those instructors was approved by the
Vice President. Notices were sent out during the fall
and spring semesters to ask departments to institute
such determinations. The notice requested that chairs
or their designates send a summary of the evaluations.
The summaries indicate this process to be a positive
experience that provided a means of improving instruction.
Senior Surveys
The Council saw the results from the May and December
1999 Senior Surveys. The Council formulating some of
the questions in the survey dealing with the Program,
especially on the matter of lifelong learning. One conclusion
based on the question that the General Education Program
developed an attitude that will result in lifelong learning
scored the lowest (1= very much) of any of the 18 questions
in this group. Another conclusion found that more general
questions about the program score better than those questions
that focus on specific disciplines.
Pending / Future items
The Council approved and sent to Dean Black a proposal
to eliminate FA 220, Analysis of Fine Arts and increase
the hours in the fine arts component of the program to
six from its present five. Now all students take FA 220
and an additional two hour course in either Music, Theater,
or Art. This proposal, even though it increased the hours
of the Program, was supported by the Council because
it was recognized that students would have a better educational
experience. The FA 220 course has had a long history
of evolution, and now finding qualified instructors is
a major issue since the departments involved have all
had large increases in numbers of majors, and hence faculty
are needed to support those majors who previously were
involved in the delivery of FA 220. The outcome of this
recommendation awaits both Dean Black’s and Dr.
Schwenn’s decisions.
Near the end of the last academic year, a proposal was put on the table to consider eliminating the three hour Applied Science requirement. A goal of the aforementioned assessment of the General Education Program was increasing the Program in the eyes of faculty and students. This topic certainly accomplished that goal since the student newspaper, the three departments involved, and lengthy discussion resulted on all fronts. The Council received student testimonials, surveys of the classes, grading data and was unable to conclude a decision on the motion. This will be another topic for the coming year. Departments were asked to share any information or data over the summer to allow the Council an opportunity to consider all input before making a decision. In fact, the Director was asked by the Council to begin the fall term with a review of the assessment of the program, changes, and modifications that have occurred to enable the new members to have a complete picture, and review the progress of the process for everyone else.
Critical Thinking
This is another continued topic for the Council. The Directors
of Assessment and General Education are working with
Biological Sciences division chair, Marsh Sundberg, on
the continuation of the evaluation of critical thinking
by our students. Specifically, the study which began
four years ago where 800+ entering freshman were tested
using the short form of the Watson Glazer test, was continued
by asking those students who are still seeking their
degrees to retake the test as graduating seniors. The
outcome of this strategy proved less than ideal due to
the fact that incentives for students to do their best
on the exam are lacking. Asking students to sit for an
exam in which they have no stake has been a problem all
along. The three involved requested another strategy
from the Council which was approved by the Vice President.
We will have 100 students take the Watson Glazer Critical
Thinking Appraisal in lieu of the CAAP assessment battery.
This will provide students an incentive that is saving
them the $35 for the cost of the CAAP tests, and a Saturday
morning of sitting through the CAAP. This one time experiment
should improve the assessment of this area of the General
Education Program.
Multicultural Intensive Course Evaluations
The Council received a report from Virginia Higgins,
Ethnic/Gender Studies Director, on course evaluations
for the Fall of 2000. We commended her for the manner
in which it was compiled. It was noted that many of our
students are now enrolling in more than one of the MCI
tagged sections now that History and World Regional Geography
carry this designation. Again, as last year, the Council
concluded that evaluations of this component of the Program
have been and continue to be positive by students.
Computer Literacy Survey
The Council is surveying incoming freshman in the SWARMS
as to their computer literacy. This has been a Council
initiative for the last four years, and a final analysis
of the results is distributed at the first Council meeting
each year. The 2000 survey is Appendix II and the report
is Appendix III. Almost no changes are evident between
1999 and the 2000 survey except for a continued increase
in students already possessing email accounts.
Exceptions, Waivers or Substitutions
The Director handled 82 student general education matters
this past year. Each situation was evaluated to determine
if a substitution, a waiver, or no action on the request
was needed to best meet the needs of the student, and
to maintain the academic integrity of the requirements.
The role of the Director in making determinations of
the General Education needs for those seeking a second
bachelor’s degree has grown. The process was handled
by the student visiting with me, but this year degree
analysis sends the transcripts and asks for an evaluation.
There were a dozen of these.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rodney J. Sobieski
Director of General Education
Appendix I
Assessment Discussion Themes
Teaching Issues GTAs
•
GTAs are not knowledgeable or effective, but comments focused
on “lecture” sessions not laboratories.
•
Improvement of instruction/excellence in GE teaching.
•
The Council should develop and recommend to the Faculty
Senate an evaluation document for GTA taught courses that
is administered around midterm, then near the end of the
semester.
Teaching Issues Faculty
•
Faculty need to be interested and enthusiastic about the
course.
•
Course materials should be updated each year.
•
Instructors should be familiar with the text used in the
course.
•
Faculty need to relate individual courses to the General
Education curriculum as a whole.
Marketing
•
Goals of the program need to made clearer to students (and
faculty)
•
Better marketing to incoming students (Director generated
information sheet for SWARMs).
•
Better marketing to General Education faculty, such as
asking them to point out to their classes how the course
fits into the program.
•
Better orientation of incoming faculty to the features
of the program.
•
Emphasize test out opportunities, such as including information
in the class schedule.
Modifications
•
A wider variety of course offerings such as testing into
a higher level class in the same area, or a course for
business majors that emphasizes business related government
philosophies, like capitalism and socialism.
•
Eliminate Lifetime Fitness.
•
Are the graduation requirements necessary?
•
Drop the physical education elective, since other health-related
courses might be better, such as Women’s Health,
Men’s Health Issues, Self-Defense for Women, or Rehab.
•
A foreign language requirement was suggested, and that
sign language be an option for it.
•
Should the science requirement be increased as a minor
change to the Program?
•
A transcript entry for computer literacy should be developed.
•
A required computer class
•
A capstone course for General Education which covers issues
like interviewing, the first year on the job, buying a
house and basically living life after college.
Additional needs
•
Ongoing critical thinking survey needs to be finalized.
•
Graduating Senior Survey and the Alumni Survey need General
Education specific questions tailored to the Lifelong Learning
Goal.
2001 Computer Literacy Survey
Emporia State University General Education Council
The General Education Council thanks you for your help
with this survey!
Place all answers on the answer sheet.
1) How many years have you been using a computer? 1) None, never use them; 2) Less than two years; 3) Three-four years; 4) Five-eight years; 5) More than eight years.
2) Have you taken a formal course in computers or the use of computers? 1)Yes; 2) No. If you answer “No,” please skip to question number 5.
3) Was this course or courses taken at: 1) Your High School;
2) Computer Store;
3) Vocational/Technical School; 4) College/University;
5) Other.
4) Which of the following topics was most beneficial to you in the course? 1) Word Processing; 2) Spreadsheets; 3) Databases; 4) Hardware; 5) Internet.
5) Do you have a computer at home that you can use? 1) Yes; 2) No.
6) Which operating system do you use most? 1)Linux; 2)
Windows 3.1; 3) Windows 95/98/00;
4) Macintosh; 5) Other or not sure.
7) How do your rate your computer literacy? 1) Beginning;
2) Intermediate; 3) Advanced;
4) None, I do not consider myself computer literate.
8) Do you want to take a formal course(s) in computing while a student at Emporia State University? 1) Yes; 2) No; 3) Take more than one course.
9) Should University students be required to purchase their own computers? 1) Yes; 2) No.
10) If the university made computers available for students
to purchase at a reasonable cost, and made one available
as part of your fee package, would like to buy one? 1)
Yes; 2) No;
3) I have one to use and do not need another.
11) During today’s events you will receive an E- mail account. Do you intend to use your ESU E-mail account while attending Emporia State University? 1) Yes; 2) No; 3) I have an E-mail account and may use both of them..
12) In general I find computers (check only one) 1) Mysterious;
2) Threatening;
3) Empowering; 4) Exciting; 5) Routine.
(OVER)
13) How much do you think you will need to use a computer
in your future job or career?
1) Not at all; 2) Infrequently; 3) Frequently; 4) Constantly.
14) Your gender is: 1) Female; 2) Male.
15) In a typical week how often do you use a computer
for fun or relaxation such as playing games, or surfing
the Internet? 1) Two hours or less; 2) Two-six hours; 3)
More than six
hours each week.
16) Do you have a computer that you are bringing to campus? 1) Yes; 2) No.
17) Have you done research on the Internet? 1) Yes; 2) No.
18) If you have a program on your hard drive and find
that it is unable to run because there is not
enough memory, which of the following is most likely to
solve your problem?
1) A bigger hard drive; 2) More RAM; 3) Adding a CD ROM;
4) A larger monitor.
19) Would you use the Internet instead of going to the library? 1) Yes; 2) No.
20) If you were given a computer as a gift, would you feel comfortable with the task of setting up your new system? 1) Yes; 2) No.
21) Have you ever installed a new program onto a computer? 1) Yes; 2) No.
22) Legal residence status is: (1) Kansas Resident; (2) Nonresident.
23) If you were given an option of taking a course in a subject that required the use of a computer or one in the same subject that did not, which would you choose? 1) The one that required the computer; 2) The one that did not require the use of a computer.
24) Have you used a computer to access library information? 1) Yes; 2) No.
25) If Yes, was this access via a remote connection such as from your home computer? 1) Yes; 2) No.
26) Have you designed or had designed your own personal web page? 1) Yes; 2) No.
27) If given a choice, would you do your homework on a
computer? 1) Yes; 2) No.
Appendix III
2001 General Education Summer
Computer Survey Report
Aug. 6, 2001
A total of 614 responses from the 2001 survey are summarized and found below (2000 data in parenthesis if the item was in that survey).
Student self reporting finds that 95% (82%) of the entering class had more than 3 years of computer experience, and of those, 44% (64%) had more than 5 years experience and 35% (30%) have more than 8 years.
88% (75%) have had a formal computer course, and 68% (57%) had this course in a high school setting.
85% (78%) of respondents have a home computer.
Less than 1% (4%) use Linux, 7% (8%) said they use Window 3.1, 83% (73%) use Windows 95/98/00 and 2.5% (2%) use Macintosh.
10% (14%) stated they had beginning skills while 64% (69%) stated their level as intermediate, 17% (15%) indicating they were advanced. Only 1% (1%) self judged their skills as not possessing computer literacy.
52% (60%) plan to enroll in a formal course as a student at ESU.
76% (85%) stated that they should not be required to purchase a computer, yet 47% (59%) stated they would purchase one if the university made one available at reasonable cost.
32% (28% (11% in ‘97)) have e mail accounts and 44% (61%) want a student account.
81% (85%) believe that they will frequently or constantly use a computer in their future job.
53% (60%) were female in the survey.
15% (12%) use a computer more than 6 hours each week for fun, while 38% (29%) use it between 2 to 6 hours, with 34% (54%) using it less than 2 hours each week.
40% (39%) are bringing a computer to campus with them.
78% (75%) would choose to do their homework on a computer
50% (59%) knew that a program on the hard drive that would not run because of insufficient memory could be corrected by adding more RAM, 29% (27%) however, stated that a bigger hard drive is needed! Another 3% (6%) said adding a CD ROM, or a larger monitor 2% (2%) would solve the problem.
26% (18%) have a personal web page.
52% (43%) said they would feel comfortable setting up a new computer system.
81% have done research on the Internet and 65% would use the Internet instead of going to the library.
57% (50%) said they have installed a new program on a computer.
86% (91%) are Kansas residents.
64% (64%) stated they would take a course that required the use of a computer vs. one that did not.
76% (83%) also stated that they have accessed library information via a computer, yet only 32% (21%) of those said it was done via a remote connection from a home computer.
Last Updated April 17, 2007