GEGB Meeting Notes April 28, 2015

GEGB Meeting Details

• Meeting Time:  10:10 am to 11:00 am
• Place:  180-110
• Date:  Tuesday, April 28, 2015
• Attendance:  Brenda Helmbrecht (Chair), Camille Lethco, Mary Pedersen, Bruno Giberti, Gregg Fiegel, Josh Machamer, John Jasbinek, Emily Fogle

Business

Update on GE Program Review

• GE student survey results
• WASC faculty survey results
• Critical thinking assessment results for WASC (2015)
• Writing assessment results for WASC (2011)
• Plan for Quantitative Assessment (2015-2016)
• Mapping PLOs onto GE courses
• Mapping PLOs onto GE areas
• GE enrollment patterns – frequency of courses offered, availability of seats, bottlenecks
• Enforcement of C4 junior status
• Sampling curriculum flow charts from the colleges to look at GE course distribution (percentage of GE classes completed in years 1 and 2, versus years 3-4)
• Look at GE re-certification models on other CSU campuses

GE Program Development

Successful elements of GE Program	Continuing to Develop GE	Strategies for Developing GE
GE policies (i.e. EO 1011) are evenly and consistently applied.	Re-certification of GE courses. How long should a GE course be “on the books” before being reviewed by GEGB?	Which documents should be submitted for recertification (i.e. course syllabi, assignment schedule, etc.)?  On what schedule?  How do we determine if GE PLOs, CRs, and EOs are being met?  What other university models can we learn from?
Offer a variety of classes in most GE Areas.	Defining a GE course.  Should GE classes be available to all Cal Poly students?  In other words, what is the make-up of a GE class?	Designate a percentage of a class that must be made available to all Cal Poly Students.  20%?  25%? This approach may address some of the issues raised in appeals this year.
Developed Program Leaning Outcomes (PLOs) to bring greater structure and focus to GE.	Stronger cohesion in the students’ curricular experiences.  How we can encourage students to approach their GE coursework with intentionality?	GE minor?  Student-designed tracks?  Better communication from advisors/faculty about role of GE.  More intentional advising. Work with departments to more intentionally integrate GE on curriculum flowcharts.
Create opportunities for students to connect GE to their major.	Visibility of GE.  How can we better communicate the goals and intentions of GE to students, faculty, and staff?	Outreach via GE newsletter, communication with Academic Senate, SOAR, WOW
GE classrooms support students from all disciplines, thereby inviting diverse perspectives and experiences.	Support for Faculty creating GE courses.  Since some faculty seem to struggle with the proposal process, how can we better communicate the GEGB’s course evaluation criteria and process?	CTLT workshops, individual consults.  More information on the GE website.

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• Discussion:  How can we continue to develop GE?
  What is the perception on campus of a GE class?  How can we change the perception?
  It may depend on the faculty teaching the class - explaining why it is important
  How can we better communicate the value of GE to students and faculty?
  Students - GE needs to be introduced in both SOAR and WOW.
  How can we do better outreach?  How can be communicate better?
  Can we provide better outreach directly to departments?
  How can we tie in better with the major?
  What does it mean to understand a GE course in relation to its major?
  Is it possible to review the flow charts for majors to see how paths are prescribed in GE?
• Discussion on Renewing GE Courses
  We can review what other CSU campuses have done in this area.
  We would need to build a process and policy into our self-study.
  Could we integrate this process with Program Review?
• Review of the GE Student Survey - Student Comments
  What they liked the most
  Students commented that they liked the variety/diversity/flexibility of classes
  Good professors
  Well-rounded education/opportunity to explore other areas
  Interesting/enjoyable/useful classes
  Interdisciplinary interaction
  Light workload
  Skill building
  Courses complement major