University of Nebraska Kearney

COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Academic Year 2007-2008 

• April 24, 2008 
• April 3, 2008 
• March, 2008 
• February, 2008 
• December, 2007 
• November, 2007 
• October, 2007 
• September, 2007 

General Studies Council Minutes
April 24, 2008 Meeting – 3:30 p.m.
Founders Hall, Warner Conference Room
*** Approved 9/1/08 via email *** 

Present:  Vijay Agrawal, Bethany Albrecht, Deb Bridges, Karin Covalt, Laurence Hilton, Sonja Kropp, Larry Kuskie, John Lillis, Carol Lilly, Darleen Mitchell, Marta Moorman, David Rozema, Daren Snider, Linda Spessard-Schueth

Absent:  John Anderson, Sylvia Asay, Jeanne Butler, Mary Daake, Tommy Hansen, Tim Hruza, Kim Schipporeit

1. Call to OrderDirector Snider called the meeting to order. Upon determination of a quorum, minutes of 4/3/08 were approved without objection.
    
2. Open ItemsSnider shared a summary list of issues that General Studies Council members should familiarize themselves with in preparation for the focused visit of NCA on April 28-29, 2008. Questions and strategies were discussed by members of the Council.
    
3. New Business
   
   1. In the fall, the GSC will undertake discussion on academic standards and continuous review of GS courses; the capstone course; the GSC governance document; the roundtable document and related proposals; outreach to students; faculty development.
       
   2. Rozema distributed a proposal for a liberal arts curriculum and asked members of the Council to read it for consideration at a GSC meeting next fall.
       
    
4. Announcements
   GSC members will meet with the NCA review team on Monday, 4/28,1:00-1:30 in the Cedar Room.
    
5. Adjournment
   Meeting was adjourned at 4:23 p.m.

NEXT MEETING: Thursday, September 4, 2008, 3:30 p.m., Warner Conference Room, FNDH 1000.

General Studies Council Minutes
April 3, 2008 Meeting – 3:30 pm.
Founders Hall, Warner Conference Room
*** Approved 4/24/08 *** 

Present:  Bethany Hyatt, Sylvia Asay, Deb Bridges, Karin Covalt, Mary Daake, Tommy Hansen, Laurence Hilton, Sonja Kropp, Larry Kuskie, John Lillis, Carol Lilly, Darleen Mitchell, Marta Moorman, Kim Schipporeit, Daren Snider, and Linda Spessard-Schueth

Absent:  Vijay Agrawal, John Anderson, Jeanne Butler, David Rozema, Tim Hruza and Marta Moorman

1. Call to Order
   Director Snider called the meeting to order. Minutes had been previously approved via e-mail.
    
2. Reports
   Snider shared a handout and oral report on the February AAC&U Conference in Boston. The keynote address at that conference listed ten teaching practices that yield substantial learning outcomes. UNK employs all ten, although only one (writing intensive courses) is required in the curriculum at UNK.
    
3. Open Items
   1. Ethnic Studies 101 proposal. Snider advised that the educational policy committee in CBT was in favor of approving ETHS 101 as a GS course and placing it in the Social Perspective. The CNSS educational policy committee was not in favor of placing ETHS 101 in the Social Perspective, but recommended placement in Personal Development. Interim Director of Ethnic Studies Tami Moore explained that in creating the proposal, the Ethnic Studies Advisory Council reviewed the criteria of the Social Perspective and Personal Development categories and felt that the course fit the criteria of the former. Kuskie / Mitchell moved to designate ETHS 101 as GS and to place it in the Social perspective. Vote was nine yeas, one nay. Motion passed.
       
   2. Capstone pilot. Council members will help publicize the Capstone courses for fall so that students will enroll. Snider will meet with the four instructors of pilot courses to orient them to the GSC’s conception of the Capstone to help in their course planning for fall 2008.
       
   3. Academic standards and continuous review of GS courses. The Council continued its discussion of standards that might be applied universally to any course designated GS. To help students understand the rational of the GS program, a statement of the philosophy and purpose of the program should be on every GS syllabi. The discussion will continue.
       
   4. The Council discussed the goals and logistics of regular review of GS courses as mandated in the GSC’s mandate and governance document.
       
    
4. New Business
   1. CSIS 130 proposal. Chair of Computer Science and Information System Sherri Harms explained a requested change from three to four credit hours for CSIS 130GS, Introduction to Computer Science. The change allows for a lab for that course. Mitchell / Kuskie moved to approve. Motion passed unanimously.
       
   2. ENG 102 / Foreign Language Option. Presented by Kropp. Students who earn an A or B in English 101 may currently opt to take a 200 level foreign language course instead of taking ENG 102. It was proposed that students who possess a higher level of foreign language competence than the 200 level may take a 300 or 400 course to exercise the foreign language option. The chair of Modern Languages or the director of GS could authorize the substitution. Lilly / Lillis moved to approve. Motion passed unanimously.
       
    
5. Announcements
   The NCA focused visit will be April 28th and 29th.
    

6. Adjournment
   Meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.

NEXT MEETING: Thursday, April 24, 2008, 3:30 p.m., Warner Conference Room, FNDH 1000.
 

General Studies Council Minutes
March 6, 2008 Meeting – 3:30 pm.
Founders Hall, Warner Conference Room
*** Approved by email 3/27/08 *** 

Present: Bethany Albrecht, Sylvia Asay, Jeanne Butler, Karin Covalt, Mary Daake, Tommy Hansen, Laurence Hilton, Sonja Kropp, Larry Kuskie, John Lillis, Carol Lilly, Darleen Mitchell, Marta Moorman, Kim Schipporeit, Daren Snider

Absent: Vijay Agrawal, John Anderson, Deb Bridges, Linda Spessard-Schueth, Tim Hruza

1. Call to Order
   Director Snider called the meeting to order and requested permission to modify the agenda and postpone the report on the AAC&U conference and instead hear from Director of Assessment Jeanne Butler about the upcoming NCA focused visit. No objections.
    
2. Updates:
   
   • NCA Focused Visit: The UNK Self-Study has been sent to North Central and is on the Assessment website. The focused visit is April 28 and 29. Reviewers will likely want to meet with the GSC, and Council members should prepare by familiarizing themselves with departmental assessment reports, which are posted on the GS website.
      
   • Ethnic Studies 101 proposal: Snider advised that the BT educational policy committee is in favor of ETHS 101 being a GS course in Social Perspectives. The NSS educational policy did not support placing ETHS 101 in the Social Perspective (and has concerns about placing it in the GS program at present), but would recommend placing it the Personal Development category instead. Lilly / Lillis moved to disseminate the proposal across campus for discussion and input. Unanimously approved.
      
    
3. Open Items:
   The guidelines for evaluating Capstone pilot courses were reviewed and accepted by the Council for use during the GS Capstone pilot in fall 2008.
    
4. New Business:
   Discussion of the GSC governance document will be addressed at a later meeting.
    
5. Announcements:
   Online registration for fall 2008 begins March 31. Council members are encouraged to inform students and colleagues about the pilot Capstone courses offered in fall 2008:
   
   

   ENGL 490-01	M – 12:20-1:10PM	Kahn N	1.00 cr hr
   ENGL 490-02	T – 12:30-1:45PM	Kahn N	2.00 cr hrs
   HIST-458 -01	M – 5:30-6:20PM	Volpe V	1.00 cr hr
   PSYC 220-01	T – 3:30-4:45PM	Miller R and Wadkins T	1.00 cr hr

   
   
   All sections have the topic: Life in the Global Village. They also have common course objectives.
    
6. Adjournment:
   Meeting was adjourned at 4:53 p.m.

NEXT MEETING: Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 3:30 p.m., Warner Conference Room, FNDH 1000.

General Studies Council
Minutes of the February 7, 2008 Meeting
Founders Hall, Warner Conference Room
*** Approved via Email 2-15-08 *** 

Present: Vijay Agrawal, Sylvia Asay, Debbie Bridges, Mary Daake, Tommy Hansen, Laurence Hilton, Sonja Kropp, Larry Kuskie, John Lillis, Carol Lilly, Marta Moorman, Kim Schipporeit, Daren Snider, Linda Spessard-Schueth

Absent: Bethany Albrecht, John Anderson, Jeanne Butler, Karin Covalt, Tim Hruza, Darleen Mitchell, David Rozema

1. Call to Order
   Director Snider called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
    
2. Approval of Minutes of December 6, 2007 meeting
   Approved without objection
    
3. Updates:
   The proposal to integrate ETHN 101: Introduction to Ethnic Studies into the social perspective of GS was supported by the educational policy committee of CBT, but was tabled in CNSS until their February meeting.
   
   A preliminary written analysis by Sarah von Schrader of data from the CAAP test for freshmen and seniors in critical thinking and essay writing was received by the Council. Results and further analysis of the CAAP are on the UNK Assessment website.
   
   Three departments (English, history, psychology) will offer Capstone courses as pilot offerings in fall 2008, and one department (music) will do so in spring 2009. The GS Council will receive feedback from the instructors of those sections to refine the offering for the future. Strategies were discussed about how to advertise the Capstone sections to students.
    
4. New Business:
   Members reviewed the NCA self-study for GS. Snider congratulated the Council on all the work that has been accomplished since NCA’s 2004 visit. At the Council’s request, language regarding the FS Roundtable process will be altered.
    
5. Open Items:
   There were no responses from campus about the proposed objectives for Foreign Language. Lilly/Hilton moved to approve and the vote was unanimous.
    
6. Announcements:
   The GS website has been reorganized. The Council will look at the pages and send Snider further suggestions.
   
   Committee members should read 3-4 assessment reports on the GS website to inform themselves about GS departmental assessment to prepare for the NCA visit.
   
   The FS Roundtable document will be discussed at Faculty Senate tonight. Members of the GS Council are encouraged to attend.
    
7. Adjournment:
   Meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

NEXT MEETING: The regularly meeting of the General Studies Council will be Thursday, March 6th, 2008, in the Warner Conference Room, FNDH 1000, at 3:30 p.m.
 

General Studies Council
Minutes of the December 6, 2007 Meeting
Founders Hall, Warner Conference Room
*** Approved 2/7/08 *** 

Present: Bethany Albrecht, John Anderson, Sylvia Asay, Debbie Bridges, Karin Covalt, Mary Daake, Tommy Hansen, Laurence Hilton, Sonja Kropp, Larry Kuskie, John Lillis, Darleen Mitchell, Marta Moorman, Kim Schipporeit, Daren Snider, and Linda Spessard-Schueth

Absent: Vijay Agrawal, Carol Lilly, Jeanne Butler, David Rozema, and Tim Hruza

1. Call to Order
   Director Snider called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
    
2. Approval of Minutes of November 1, 2007 meeting
   Approved with minor corrections.
    
3. Updates:
   New Capstone objectives have been approved by the SVC. Logistics of the fall 2008 pilot of Capstone courses using the new objectives were discussed. Offerings will be for 1 or 2 credit hours, determined by departments. Snider will email members asking for 2-3 suggestions of a Capstone course topic. One topic will then be voted on electronically by GSC members.
   
   Recommendations of Roundtable Phase II will go to the Faculty Senate packet for the February meeting.
    
4. New Business:
   Snider asked the Council to approve GSC minutes via email to allow minutes to be on the FS agenda in a more timely fashion. Approved without objection.
   
   Objectives were proposed for the foreign language category of GS, which has never had any. Mitchell/Hilton moved to distribute the objectives to campus for comment. Approved.
   
   Proposal by Interim Director of Ethnic Studies Tami Moore to make ETHS 101 a GS course in the Behavioral Perspective was considered. Faculty Assistant Bridges is authorized to sign in the place of “dean” for an academic program such as Ethnic Studies that is directly supported by the SVC’s budget. The Council decided to send the proposal to Ed Policy committees in NSS and BT for review.
    
5. Open Items:
   Academic Standards for GS courses: tabled
    
6. Announcements:
   Committee members should read 3-4 assessment reports on the GS website to inform themselves about GS departmental assessment to prepare for the NCA visit.
    
7. Adjournment:
   Meeting was adjourned at 4:32 p.m.

NEXT MEETING: The regularly meeting of the General Studies Council will be Thursday, February 7, 2008, in the Warner Conference Room, FNDH 1000, at 3:30 p.m.

General Studies Council
Minutes of the November 1, 2007 Meeting
Founders Hall, Warner Conference Room
3:30 p.m.
*** Pending Approval *** 

Present: Vijay Agrawal, Bethany Albrecht, Sylvia Asay, Karin Covalt, Mary Daake, Tommy Hansen, Sonja Kropp, Larry Kuskie, John Lillis, Carol Lilly, Darleen Mitchell, Marta Moorman, Kim Schipporeit, Daren Snider, Tim Hruza, John Anderson

Absent: Debbie Bridges, Jeanne Butler, Laurence Hilton, David Rozema, Linda Spessard-Schueth

1. Call to Order
   Director Snider called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. in Warner Conference Room.
    
2. Approval of Minutes of October 4, 2007 meeting
   Approved with a minor correction.
    
3. CAAP Update
   CAAP exams have been concluded. The goal was 400 freshmen and 400 seniors. Number of completed tests: Critical Thinking - 198 freshmen, 169 seniors, 367 total
   Essay Writing - 197 freshmen, 192 seniors, 389 total
   Students whose scores meet or exceed national norms will receive a certificate from ACT. Test results will be sent to UNK in January. They will be shared with the faculty.
    
4. Departmental assessment reports: To help the members be knowledgeable about assessment being done by departments, they will read 3-4 departmental reports once those are posted on the GSC website. This will help members prepare for the NCA visit.
    
5. Capstone course: Responses from campus about capstone objectives were discussed, as well as logistics of the pilot of capstone courses using the new objectives.
   Anderson / Mitchell moved to approve the new Capstone objectives. Motion passed unanimously.
    
6. Academic Standards: For the GS program to be coherent, objectives for each course should link to its discipline, to its GS category objectives, and to the overall GS objectives. The Council discussed what objectives and other items should be on the syllabus of every GS course to facilitate linkages of GS courses to the program. The discussion will continue.
    
7. Announcements: A work meeting will be held Tuesday, November 13, 3:00pm in FNDH
   2147 to discuss academic standards.
    
8. Adjournment
   Meeting was adjourned at 4:48 p.m.

NEXT REGULAR MEETING: Thursday, December 6, in Warner Conference Room, 3:30pm.
 

General Studies Council
Minutes of the October 4, 2007 Meeting
Founders Hall, Warner Conference Room
Approved 11/1/07 

Present: Vijay Agrawal, Bethany Albrecht, Sylvia Asay, Debbie Bridges, Karin Covalt, Mary Daake, Tommy Hansen, Laurence Hilton, Sonja Kropp, Larry Kuskie, John Lillis, Carol Lilly, Marta Moorman, David Rozema, Kim Schipporeit, Daren Snider, Linda Spessard-Schueth, Tim Hruza (student)

Absent: Jeanne Butler, John Anderson, Darleen Mitchell

1. Call to Order
   Director Daren Snider called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. in Founders Hall 1000, Warner Conference Room.
    
2. Approval of Minutes of September 6, 2007 meeting
   Approved without objection.
    
3. Reports
   a) Sylvia Asay and Tuff Hilton reported on their attendance at the April 2007 Annual Meeting of the Higher Learning Commission.
   
   b) CAAP Exam. The critical thinking tests will be administered in randomly selected courses that are heavily enrolled by freshmen and/or seniors beginning next week. Soon after, the essay writing tests will also be administered. All tests will be completed by the end of October and sent to ACT for scoring. ACT will provide UNK with scoring and comparative data by January 2008.
    
4. New Business
   
   a) Assessment reports. 100% of departmental assessment reports for GS have been submitted. Some need revision and will be returned to departments with feedback. GSC members will be asked to read 2 or 3 departmental reports each as an assignment. This will help streamline the GS assessment review process and help prepare GSC members for the anticipated meeting(s) of the GSC with NCA representatives during the focused visit in April 2008.
   
   b) Capstone Course Objectives. Motion by Asay / Lillis to approve the new GS Capstone objectives for dissemination and discussion across campus. Discussion of the Capstone category and objectives ensued. A few pilot offerings of Capstone courses using the new objectives will take place in the fall 2008 semester. The pilot offerings will be from interested departments that already have a capstone course in place and are willing to redefine it based on the new objectives and format.
   
   c) Review of GS courses. The ad hoc committee on the review of GS courses reported on its initial findings. It recommends a periodic review of GS courses to ensure they are meeting the objectives of GS. Discussion ensued and the recommendations were returned to the ad hoc committee for reflection and revision in advance of the November GSC meeting.
   
   d) Academic Standards for GS courses. The ad hoc committee on academic standards reported its initial findings. It recommends a set of assessment-based minimal standards for GS course designation. Discussion ensued and the recommendations were returned to the ad hoc committee for reflection and revision in advance of the November GSC meeting.
    
5. Adjournment
   Meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

NEXT MEETING: Thursday, November 1, 2007, 3:30 p.m., Warner Conference Room.
 

General Studies Council
Minutes of the September 6, 2007 Meeting
Founders Hall, Warner Conference Room
September 6, 2007
***Approved 10/4/07*** 

Present: Vijay Agrawal, Bethany Albrecht, John Anderson, Debbie Bridges, Jeanne Butler, Karin Covalt, Mary Daake, Tommy Hansen, Laurence Hilton, Sonja Kropp, Larry Kuskie, John Lillis, Carol Lilly, Marta Moorman, Kim Schipporeit, Daren Snider, Linda Spessard-Schueth, Tim Hruza

Absent: Sylvia Asay, David Rozema

1. Call to Order
   Director Daren Snider called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. in Founders Hall 1000, Warner Conference Room.
    
2. Approval of Minutes of April 5th, 2007 meeting.
   Approved without objection after typographical error is corrected.
    
3. Reports
   Jeanne Butler, Director of Assessment, shared a handout with the Council showing the seven areas identified for review in the coming NCA focused visit. The focused visit is the final stop before accreditation is denied; therefore, it is critical that we pass this visit. She feels that we have made great strides in the last 3 years, and that if UNK continues what it is doing, we should be on track with what NCA expects. All reports will be online prior to the NCA visit. Reports are to be in by October 1. If reports do not follow assessment plans, they will be returned to departments to revise. Director Butler or Coordinator von Schrader will visit college or department meetings to offer assistance when requested.
   
   Director Snider announced that all departments offering GS courses are expected to turn in GS reports by October 1, and the departments may expect to have feedback from the GSC by December 1. GSC members will read GS assessment reports.
    
4. New Business
   a.) Next month, CAAP (Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency) exam will be given to 400 UNK students, 200 freshman and 200 seniors. Each student will take two exams, one in critical thinking and one requiring a written essay. The tests and data analysis are being free of charge in order to allow ACT, which created the CAAP, to develop national benchmarks. The CAAP results will also be used in WI assessment. Snider noted that a standardized test such as CAAP or CLA would be required by the Regents if we were not independently pursuing assessment options. Discussion ensued as to what would be the best way to select the student sample. We can use the data as suits our purposes and determine later whether or not to continue using the test at standard cost. Director Snider will work with the CAAP representative to determine the most appropriate ways to assemble a sample population to take the test.
   
   b.) The Council discussed whether to review the Perspective Objectives of General Studies. It was noted that for assessment purposes, departments are only required to assess for Category Objectives (i.e. Natural Sciences, Personal Development, etc.) Assessing for overall General Studies objectives, for Perspective Objectives, or for other objectives (such as those created by professional organizations in the disciplines) is optional.
   
   c). Snider appointed three ad hoc committees for Fall 2007:
   Academic Standards – consider what standards might be set for any course to be a General Studies course;
   Capstone Course – refine the list of objectives for the capstone course that was created at the summer retreat;
   3-Year Review – consider what review standards and procedures might be put in place for GS courses.
   The ad hoc committees will submit their product to Snider by 9/24/07 to be part of the packet for the October 4th GSC meeting.
   
   d.) Director Snider welcomed four new members of the General Studies Council: Carol Lilly, John Lillis, Darleen Mitchell, and student member Tim Hruza.
    
5. Adjournment
   Meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

NEXT MEETING: The regularly meeting of the General Studies Council will be Thursday, October 4, 2007, in the Warner Conference Room, FNDH 1000, at 3:30 p.m.