The University College Advisory
Board met Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at 3:30 p.m. John Brooks, Director of University
College, presided and recorded the proceedings. In attendance: A. Aghajanian, D. Barlow,
B. Bir, J. Brooks, S. Conyers, J. Council (for O. Chavis), P. Heath, V. Hebert, D. Hilton,
D. House, P. Jackson (for P Prabhaker), E. McShane, A. Neal, G. Rich, P.
Valenti, P. Walker (for P. Jones) , P. Williams, J.
Young.
The minutes of the meeting of May
11, 2006 were approved (posted at http://www.uncfsu.edu/univcoll/curriculum/core/UCAB_Min_060511.pdf)
Dr. Rich presented the report of the
Editorial Reconciliation Committee (attached). The Advisory Board had established that
committee at the meeting of May 11, 2006 and charged it to reconcile the reports
of the Six Core Review Task Forces.
Dr. Rich summarized the report and thanked the members of the Committee
for their service. He reminded the
Board of the service and the death of Dr. Ruth Johnson, one of the members of
the Committee. He drew attention to
the most important ways in which the Committee changed the Task Force reports
that were the basis of its work:
He concluded by reiterating the
Committee’s recommendation that the learning outcomes accompanying the Committee
report be adopted by the Board as the essential knowledge and skills that all
FSU graduates should possess and that these outcomes become the basis for a
review of the Core Curriculum.
Dr. Brooks thanked Dr. Rich for his
report. Dr. Aghajanian moved that the learning
outcomes identified in the Report of the Editorial Reconciliation Committee be
approved and that they become the basis for a review of the Core Curriculum.
Dr. Valenti seconded the
motion.
Members of the Board raised a number
of questions. Dr. Hilton was
concerned that some of the outcomes were stated so generally that it might be
difficult to assess them. After
some discussion it was decided that since the document would be reviewed by the
Faculty Senate, it would be better to move the document forward in the approval
process rather than backward to the Editorial Reconciliation Committee. The Board agreed to make minor changes
and attempt to vote on the document at the end of the
discussion.
Some changes did achieve
consensus. “Flair” disappeared as a
characterization of style in Communication Skills. The University-Wide assessment for
“fair-mindedness” was deleted. And
the examples of statistical concepts were eliminated. The Board agreed to adopt these changes
as friendly amendments.
After much further discussion, Dr.
McShane called the question. The
motion passed unanimously.
Dr. Brooks explained that the Board
had previously determined (at its meeting on May 11, 2006) that the outcomes
statements emerging from this process would be submitted to the Faculty Senate
for approval. No new motion was
necessary. Dr. Brooks was directed
to prepare a Proposal and transmit the document to the
Senate.
Dr. Young next presented an Action
Plan to Establish strategies for assessing core
curriculum learning outcomes (attached). He argued that a mechanism was necessary
to ensure that the learning outcomes just adopted were in fact used to review
the core curriculum in a meaningful way. Several members of the Board expressed
support for this idea. However,
ultimately the Board decided that it would be better to gain approval for the
learning outcomes first and then approach the Senate with a proposal for
conducting a review of the core. The Board took no action on the Action
Plan but agreed to return to it at its next
meeting.
There being no other business, the
meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
Respectfully
Submitted,
John I. Brooks
III, Ph.D.
Director of
Office: Helen T.
Chick Bldg. 111
Phone: (910) 672-1060
Fax: (910) 672-1846
Email:
jibrooks@uncfsu.edu
Web:
http://www.uncfsu.edu/univcoll/