General Education Curriculum

Program Review

May 1996

Appendix B
Fall 1995 Departmental Survey Responses

I. How has the MU GenEd curriculum aided your majors in their pursuit of knowledge?

BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. One member of the department described the purpose of a general education curriculum as follows: Any basic GenEd of value (including the old yellow sheet) provides a minimal exposure to the major areas of intellectual inquiry, familiarity with which characterizes an educated person. This is the content within which one's major discipline rests. Without it, one is trained, not educated.

2. Faculty agreed that Millersville's current GenEd curriculum forces students to become more widely educated and well-rounded by encouraging them to take courses outside of their preferred discipline. This breadth gives them a better perspective on science. As a result of the GenEd curriculum, graduates are better prepared to deal with changes throughout their lifetime that will undoubtedly occur with increasing frequency in the twenty-first century.

3. The requirement of English Composition, Advanced Composition (Technical Writing) and Speech were described in one instance as being particularly valuable, as they train our students in areas of written and oral communication--skills absolutely required in science today. While some faculty members report that writing has improved since a second composition course and W courses have been required, others are not convinced that any improvement has been attributable to the new GenEd curriculum. One individual who routinely teaches a W course reported that since the requirements have been implemented, students do not seem to communicate verbally, write or analyze any better than before. Obviously, opinions regarding the value of these courses vary.

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT

1. It has helped students to write better by ensuring that all students pass Freshman Composition during the freshman year, by placing students in Writing courses (which are supposed to have a significant writing component), and by having each student pass an Advanced Writing course.

2. It has required each student to become somewhat experienced in oral expression, by passing a Speech course early in their college career.

3. It has encouraged students to "feast on a varied menu," both in terms of distibution requirements and in terms of writing, speaking, and critical thinking.

4. It has made quantitative reasoning an acceptable area of study and not just for "geeks," by requiring a QARC course of all students.

5. More students are taking courses numbered at and above the 200 level.

6. The Perspectives courses and the advanced writing courses can enrich their backgrounds.

EARTH SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

1. We find this to be a rather strange question. Is the GenEd curriculum supposed to affect each program's majors differently? Or is the faculty in each department assumed to have certain information that puts it in a position to assess the effect of the GenEd curriculum on its own majors?

2. If the question means, "Do you find that your majors are better able to do the things that the GenEd curriculum is supposed to enable them to do--think critically, synthesize information, perform sophisticated analyses, write clearly--than they were before the present GenEd curriculum was put in place," then the answer is rather simple: not that we notice.

ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT

1. Broaden background

2. Globalization, different culture

3. Different perspective

EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS DEPARTMENT

1. Neither secondary ed nor el ed majors (whom I teach on a regular basis) seem to have developed a clear appreciation of the role of gen ed in providing them with a broad/liberal education. Nor has our scheduling situation allowed them to choose courses in which they have some interest, or which enhance their teaching preparation, while also fulfilling gen ed requirements.

2. The skills courses (Comp and Speech) seem useful "rites of passage" and should probably be retained. I am less sure about the upper level writing requirement.

3. The perspectives course requirement appears to be the one place where education-students ARE getting legitimate liberal arts study on a consistent basis.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

1. Provides a broad distribution of General Knowledge.

2. Challenges students to think about topics not in immediate major and the application of this knowledge to their present and future lives.

3. Provides students with a challenging education in widely diverse subjects, emphasizing writing, problem solving and increased perspective taking which will undoubtedly produce broader-minded well-educated adults.

4. Guarantees broader exposure to curriculum areas - provides base of knowledge in major disciplines.

5. Provides a multidisciplinary experience with perspective requirements.

6. Provides for basic writing and speaking skills are included.

7. Though the perspectives course, Race and Gender Issues in Children's Literature, exposes students to diverse viewpoints in an area that they see as part of their field. It provides opportunities to examine children's books in a more comprehensive manner. The discussions have caused them to see the political and social nature of so called "innocent" children's books.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: Individual Faculty Responses

1. Some students have had cause to re-apply skills and content from their English courses in GenEd classes.

2. No

3. I'm sure it has helped: (a) narrow their choices, (b) offer rules over rationale, (c) inhibit doubt, risk-taking, and discovery, (d) taught them to "hunt" for "CQ"s, Qs, 2** level, one P with alternative, etc., etc., (e) made a shopping list out of knowledge and instructed on shopping.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

There does not appear to be a consensus on this.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Not applicable

INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The MU GenEd curriculum has enabled our majors to develop fundamental verbal and quantitative skills, thinking skills and personal qualities. It has provided a broad-based exposure to the liberal arts and enabled disciplines to be related and applied in complementary ways. It has provided an understanding and appreciation of numerous modes of discovery for generating new knowledge in various disciplines.

LIBRARY DEPARTMENT

Working with students in all majors, the Library Department has seen an increase in students' use of library resources since the implementation of the current GenEd curriculum. With its emphasis on writing across the curriculum, communication, critical thinking, and integration of subjects through perspectives courses, the GenEd curriculum has required students to use a wider variety of primary and secondary source materials for papers and projects required of both general education courses as well as courses in the major. We see this as a positive trend that MU students are being encouraged to select their own resources rather than rely exclusively on texts selected by faculty. This trend is in keeping with current educational reforms which emphasize resource-based learning and which place the student at the center of the learning process.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

The faculty generally found that the students have developed better writing and oral communication skills. There are students who seem to have "slipped through the cracks" and have not improved in these areas but, overall, the students have improved their writing skills. Also, they have applied the knowledge obtained in general education courses to their music history and music business courses.

NURSING DEPARTMENT

The General Education curriculum has provided nursing students with a grounding in Liberal Arts which enables the student to utilize in both life events and professionally. The students have become more skillful communicators both verbally and nonverbally. The access to computers and other technologic advances ensure the students becoming computer literate. The students also gain a better sense of world view and become more sensitive to a variety of peoples.

PHYSICS DEPARTMENT

The General Education Program (GEP) is not intended to further the separate interests of individual departments. Rather, the GEP is a safety net. Its purpose is to provide that, regardless of the specific curriculum completed, every graduating student can rest assured that he or she has not missed any of those intellectual challenges that collectively define what is presumed of the baccalaureate experience. The GEP guards against curricular oversights that might inhibit a graduate from assuming responsibilities that the community has a right to expect of anyone with a MU degree. These might include chairing a jury, writing a petition, analyzing a Newsweek article, dealing with the IRS, or arranging and enjoying a year-long trip around the world. The design of the GEP should identify the most fundamental academic experiences and provide that they occur early in a baccalaureate curriculum. It should arrange to complement curricula which are academically diffuse; and supplement those that are highly focused. Although each of us professes an academic discipline, we must not expect the GEP to serve our departmental needs. The objective of the GEP transcends the individual liberal arts. We do not need to be musicians to understand that the fine arts must be woven into the safety net. We do not need to be chaos theorists to recognize that an MU graduate should understand the nature of mathematical functions. We need only to have studied an unfamiliar language to know that it is an experience not to be missed by any of our undergraduates.

In order to reflect the views expressed above, we have taken liberties with some of the survey questions.

Experiences in the liberal arts are enabling. Assured timely satisfaction of adequate GEP objectives elevates the level of all upper division discourse; student to teacher or peer to peer; academic, applied, or social.

PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. W courses have improved students' writing ability.

2. Not enough data exist for the formulation of an answer to this question.

3. Broadens students' general knowledge base and their multicultural and world views. Broader knowledge means better decision making.

4. We as advisors spend more time giving information on why the courses help.

5. Critical thinking has improved.

SOCIOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The intensive writing emphasis has increased the writing abilities of our students such that at the senior level, we can concentrate on research and analytical techniques and much less on presentation. It makes for a better experience for our students and for a better experience in the senior seminars, internships, senior research projects, etc.

II. How has the MU GenEd curriculum assisted the curriculum of each of your department's degree programs?

BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. Most of the degree programs in the Department of Biology have not benefited specifically from the GenEd curriculum. General benefits outlined in responses to question I apply to all undergraduate programs.

2. The GenEd requirement of 12 credits in science, including a lab course, has demanded resources that could be used to enhance our support of majors. One faculty member suggests that for Ecology (Environmental Science) students, Perspectives courses (especially BIOL 340: Perspectives in Environmental Awareness) and the more prescriptive liberal arts core have resulted in a broader perspective concerning environmental issues, etc. Departmental consensus was that, for some students, the GenEd curriculum has made it more difficult to complete degree requirements in a timely fashion due to the unavailability of some GenEd courses.

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT

1. Technical Writing now is part of the curriculum as one of the required Advanced Writing courses; formerly we had "encouraged" that course.

2. GenEd has encouraged a broader understanding of the humanities, social, and natural sciences.

3. Chemistry major can count some of their required related courses, such as Physics and Mathematics.

4. Chemistry major can be encouraged to take Foreign Languages and Economics, courses that the American Chemical Society requires of a certified major.

5. Chemistry majors now spend some time writing in chemistry, by designating physical chemistry as a Writing course.

6. More of our majors are encouraged to take the history of chemistry.

EARTH SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

We can't think of any obvious way that it has. One negative effect has been to put substantial numbers of non-majors into the 200-level courses that are the introductory courses for our majors. This has the effect of reducing the rigor of the course and diverts the instructor's attention away from majors to the GenEd students, who usually require more help.

ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT

Same as above.

EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS DEPARTMENT

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

1. Basic K-6 curriculum requires a broad background of knowledge in science, math, social sciences, literature and of fine arts. Present distribution of GenEd credits provides ElEd majors with the necessary skill and knowledge to succeed in the teaching of these subjects.

2. Provides our students with the general education courses they need to become knowledgeable open-minded teachers.

3. GenEd requirements help meet PDE program approval standards.

4. Provides opportunities to explore the multicultural nature of society.

5. Provides students with fundamental communication processes.

6. Exposes students to their place and their students' pi global community.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: Individual Faculty Responses

1. Perspectives courses created new opportunities for our faculty to develop courses; we added advanced writing requirements.

2. It hasn't.

3. None as far as I can tell. Hasn't hurt either I guess. Who can tell?

FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

I cannot say that it has.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Not applicable

INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The MU GenEd curriculum has developed basic competencies and provided a broad foundation for developing and applying technical and professional competencies within the degree programs. Students have developed holistically through their study and experiences in the liberal arts, perspectives and health/physical education courses. They have been exposed to diverse psychological, social, and cultural experiences that provide a framework for understanding and productivity within their educational pursuits and careers.

LIBRARY DEPARTMENT

The GenEd curriculum has had an effect on all of the Library Department's programs, each of which supports all MU degree programs. Those library programs which have been most affected by the GenEd curriculum include, but are not limited to: collection development, library instruction, and reference services. In each case, in recent years, we have restructured our methods of providing services. While external factors have necessitated some of this restructuring, many of the changes have been made in direct response to meeting the needs of the GenEd curriculum.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

1. The students involved in professional preparation are more articulate and confident. Some of the required related courses have provided additional knowledge to supplement the major field of study.

2. As a negative, the faculty have expressed a concern that we have one of the highest GenEd requirements in the nation. Our accrediting agency, the National Association of Schools of Music, has consistently found the current GenEd requirements to be much too demanding for our students. Because of the high number of general education credits that are required of the students. Our music education degree program requires 132 credits to complete the degree.

NURSING DEPARTMENT

The General Education curriculum provides a breadth of humanities, social sciences, science/math courses giving the student a foundation for later discipline courses. The communication, composition, and advanced composition courses provide the student with important fundamentals needed in completing the writing course requirement.

PHYSICS DEPARTMENT

As for question I.

PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. No data; no assessment; therefore, no conclusion can be offered.

2. W courses have improved students' writing skills.

3. Broadens students' general knowledge base and their multicultural and world views.

4. Breadth aspect of courses and specific skills developed across the curriculum.

5. Math and logic courses interface with our research design/statistics courses.

6. Students seem to have a higher expectation that courses are interrelated.

7. Broadening of students' perspective--i.e., students think about problems from more than one viewpoint or framework.

8. No comment.

SOCIOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The core distribution requirement gives an incentive for advisors and advisees to look carefully at a broad range of disciplines to see which offerings in diverse departments may assist in broadening the student's perspective in areas still viewed by the student as "relevant" or related to their primary interests.

III. How has the MU GenEd curriculum assisted your department in contributing to the education of all MU students, particularly those majoring in other departments or programs?

BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The science/ math requirement has enhanced the quality of education received by non-science students. The laboratory requirement is especially important and should be retained. General Biology has provided many non-majors with the laboratory course which is required for the GenEd curriculum. The basic knowledge of biology and the scientific process that students gain from this course enables them to become better informed citizens. The Department of Biology has provided writing courses for many non-majors as well as majors.

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT

1. Students outside our department are exposed to chemistry. Perhaps this gives these students a new way of approaching the learning process since chemistry requires more diligence on the part of the student because it "builds upon" previous knowledge.

2. Students from across campus are required to confront science and mathematics. Science literacy is becoming a rare commodity in the general public. It will not be so among Millersville graduates.

3. Chemistry courses counted as Gen Ed courses will help students in other majors to accomplish their required related courses.

EARTH SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

Well, presumably they get something out of being in a 200-level lab course that they would not get from a large lecture only class, but it's hard to know for sure.

ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT

1. Economics perspective added to their background.

2. Economic analysis is important in all areas.

EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS DEPARTMENT

The gen ed program provides faculty members in the Educational Foundations Department with the possibility of teaching perspectives courses. We have two perspectives courses currently being offered and at least one under development. These courses are offered once a year, consistently in demand and attract more than half the students from majors outside either secondary or elementary education. Virtually all MU students will, as parents and/or taxpayers, have some business with schooling in the future. Richer understanding (historical, philosophical, sociological) of the role of education/schooling in a democratic society is desirable.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

1. Presently, the Department offers one perspective course, Gender and Race Issues in Children's Education - (however, not enough faculty to continue this plus meet major requirements).

2. This course has enabled us to expose the students throughout the campus to the political and social nature of children's books, an idea important to all parents, aunts and uncles, etc.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: Individual Faculty Responses

1. We teach advanced writing and general literature to all majors; students know us and we know more students and faculty.

2. Has assisted in encouraging cross-campus students to take music courses and aided in developing their communication and writing skills at the same time.

3. The only way, and it's a great one, is how the freshman class is assigned a first-year schedule. Our students develop a closeness.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

I doubt if we have because there is no foreign language requirement.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

A. The purpose of education is to provide experiences for students by which they can adapt themselves to the changing conditions of living.---The Health and Physical Education curriculum at Millersville University presents disciplines to improve the human condition of all students. Every individual needs to grow and mature in five dimensions: physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual. The curriculum is based on the philosophy that the educated person is one who understands and appreciates the interrelationships which exist among these vital components. Through the development of physical fitness and the study of health sciences, students University shall be afforded various opportunities by the faculty to develop self understanding and expression, to acquire appropriate life-long skills and interests, to understand concepts related to the health of the total person and to develop human relationships which promote and encourage a full life of healthful living in our multifaceted society.

B. The House of Delegates of the American Medical Association are on record endorsing the need for holistic health and physical activity for all. All biological creatures need activity and this is particularly true among the young adults. On our campus each school day students eat, sleep, study, go to class and find much of their recreation in an area roughly one mile square. During the working day this space is further complicated by the presence of members of the faculty and staff. Thousands of people occupying an area this size represents a very high density population. Compound these conditions by the fact that the average age of students is approximately 20 years, the most explosive and physically active age they will ever know. College students need physical, spiritual, intellectual, social and emotional outlets and they are more certain to have these opportunities in a required Health and Physical Education Program. The requirement for all students of three credits is a vital part of the General Education Curriculum.

INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The Department of Industry and Technology has contributed to the education of all students by offering perspectives and writing courses. Our perspectives courses (i.e., ITEC 301 Technology and Its Impact on Humans and ITEC 302 Futurology: Technology, Change and Society) have enabled understanding and appreciation of the evolution, characteristics, significance, applications, impacts, contextual relationships, and assessment of technology throughout a globally interdependent world. The writing across the curriculum courses (i.e., ITEC 356 Desktop Publishing and ITEC 392 Introduction to Industrial Training) have enabled students to employ technology in applying their writing skills and enhanced thinking processes in studying curricular content.

LIBRARY DEPARTMENT

Faculty expectations for student research has increased in recent years. At least part of this increase can probably be attributed to the GenEd curriculum, especially to Writing courses and Perspectives courses. The Library Department has contributed greatly to the education of all MU students by providing access to appropriate resources and by providing instruction and reference services to help students make effective use of the growing amount of information available to them.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

Our courses have served a major role in aesthetic education leading the students to an increased sense of beauty and values. Many students have expressed an appreciation for having had the opportunity to enroll in Music 103, The Language of Music, because it is a highly focused literary based course. Through the exposure to music they have developed understanding and listening skills that assist them in making critical judgments regarding positive and negative influences in society.

NURSING DEPARTMENT

1. The nursing department offers two perspectives courses, NURS 315 and NURS 316. These courses are filled with non-majors and provide an introduction to health care and the multi dimensions of this field.

2. Nursing 350, Pathways to Healthy Aging, is also a general education course which benefits the student in basic understanding of aging process as well as health promotion needed for healthy aging.

3. Both types of general education courses provide a perspective or view into health/health care that is important for all students.

PHYSICS DEPARTMENT

The science requirement has given us access to non-physics students so that we may:

Bring out the scientific curiosity in them.
Convince them that they are capable of admiring, understanding, and applying the physics involved in ordinary situations.
Dispose them more positively toward the sciences in the public policy decision making process.

PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. Skills for self-development and self-understanding are provided by certain GenEd psychology courses.

2. No data, no assessment; therefore, no conclusion can be offered.

3. Broadening of students' knowledge base and their multicultural world views. Improves their decision making.

4. We teach many W courses. These have improved students' writing ability.

5. Our department plays a major role through Psyc. 100 General Psychology, Psyc. 227 Development of the Child and Adolescent, and Psyc. 228 Life Span Human Development.

6. We provide several sections of Perspectives courses each semester.

7. Our department's emphases on human cognition, personality, and behavior, in general, are important in a society where change is so profound and rapid.

8. Psychology is a discipline that has knowledge which is useful to everyone, and the discipline lends itself to interdisciplinary studies.

SOCIOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT

[No response]

IV. What additional contributions does your department wish to make to the GenEd curriculum?

BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. Some faculty have expressed an interest in developing new Perspectives courses.

2. In light of President Caputo's new definition, many existing biology courses require extensive writing and would qualify as "W" courses. An opportunity to have additional courses approved as "W" courses should be provided.

3. If additional resources (faculty, facilities, supply funds) were available, it would be possible to offer courses designed for non-majors (Heredity and Human Affairs, Human Biology, Plants and People, Human Sexuality, etc.) more frequently.

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT

1. To offer enough sections of our general education courses to respond to the needs of the students at Millersville.

2. To offer our Perspectives course on a regular basis.

3. The Chemistry department could contribute to a Mathematics competency requirement if one were adopted. The previously-proposed competency was discarded in the past since it was believed that the mathematics department would bear the entire burden.

4. The Chemistry Department also could contribute to the Speech competency. Currently we spend considerable instructional time advising our seniors how to make an effective scientific presentation.

5. Perhaps the Chemistry Department could develop Perspectives courses in conjunction with Psycology (drug addiction, including chemical structure and function) and ITEC (automobiles in America).

6. Add offerings in analytical chemistry for non-chemistry majors.

EARTH SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

We have one new Perspectives course "in the pipeline" for approval. We also are thinking about making either an existing course or a new course a "W" course, especially now that the requirements for a course to be so designated have been relaxed.

ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT

1. Women's development

2. Global courses

EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS DEPARTMENT

Courses in the history, philosophy and sociology of education are appropriate contributions to any students' general education. It would not violate the spirit of the general education goals to approve study in these areas that happens to take place in the School of Education.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

The School of Education is not considered a part of the General Education curriculum yet during the past year this school offered 70% of all the perspective courses on campus. No more can be offered, as there is not enough staff to meet major requirements.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: Individual Faculty Responses

1. We have more perspectives courses and we would like greater flexibility for interdisciplinary teaching.

2. [no response]

3. ?

FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

1. We would like to convince more people (students and faculty) of the value of foreign languages and knowledge of a foreign culture.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

A. Writing Courses

B. Perspective Courses

C. The Health and Physical Education Department has a new three (3) credit course approved which will replace the traditional three course offerings of Health (2 credits) and two (2) Physical Education Activity classes (.5 credit each) Enclosed is a copy of HPED 175 Wellness: Concepts for Health and Fitness. This course will satisfy the three credit requirement in Health and Physical Education. HPED 175 will also enhance the new funding formula. Enclosed is a copy of this formula and shows the differences between a three (3) credit offering and a 0.5-credit physical education activity course, when computing full-time equivalent (FTE) students and full-time equivalent (FTE) faculty ratios.

INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The department wishes to continue offering a minimum of 10 - 12 sections of perspectives courses each academic year. Continued interest exists in developing Science, Technology and Society courses that could contribute to GenEd. Additional information concerning this involvement is included in our department's response to the Provost's question #3 (see attached sheet). Courses such as ITEC 100 Introduction to Technology and OSHM 120 Introduction to Occupational Safety may be recognized as courses for general education credit. Laboratory courses having experiences with the technological method of design and problem solving would enable authentic learning in the intellectual domain of technology as a discipline. Also, additional courses within the department that already have major writing requirements such as the EDTE 491 Professional Seminar should be considered as GenEd Writing courses. What constitutes a liberal arts-based education is changing. Jerry Gaff conducted an extensive review of general education programs throughout the United States. He defines liberal arts and sciences as follows: "understanding history and culture; having a familiarity with science and technology; and knowing principles of human motivation and behavior, logical and critical thinking clarity of expression, and other aspects of a broad general education" (1991, p- 34). Notable is the addition of technology as a concept related to but distinct from science. Millersville's mission also recognizes the important role of technology: "Millersville University seeks to prepare its students to live in an increasingly diverse, multicultural, and technologically complex society."

Gaff identifies the Science, Technology and Society (STS) Movement as a force in general education. He uses Syracuse University as an example. Introduction to Technology and The Social Impacts of technology are two courses in an STS cluster. Attempts to create curricular coherence have resulted in the development of interdisciplinary core courses. Technology can serve as a key component of such a core. Trenton State College has such a program. Justification for a technology component within general education seems strong. Maley has made several observations about the importance of including a study of technology in secondary curriculums; these points also seem appropriate for the inclusion of a technology component in the general education sequence in higher education. Samples of his statements are as follows:

The study of technology may well be the study of that which will sustain life and contribute to human existence in a world that doubles its population every 37 years.
A democracy in an era so profoundly affected and influenced by technology depends on citizens being informed about the nature and significance of technology as a prerequisite for effective decision making.
The study of technology is merited simply because of its enormous importance to the maintenance and growth of civilized mankind on an earth with finite resources.
The proper use of technology and its further development may actually be the thread by which the fabric of human existence may be held together.

The current general education component allows for the study of technology through our two departmental perspectives courses-ITEC 301 Technology and Its Impact on Humans and ITEC 302 Futurology: Technology, Society and Change. Students who have taken these courses in recent years have frequently expressed strong feelings about their importance to better understanding life in a technological world. A concern is that both courses may now be in jeopardy because of the present administrative concern about cost and lack of availability of perspectives courses. The department of Industry and Technology remains committed to contributing to general education at MU, and faculty in the department are uniquely qualified to help students understand the role of technology in past, present and future societies.

All of the previous information reinforces the need and the appropriateness of a technology component in general education. We are, therefore, proposing that a study of technology be a requirement within MU's general educafion component. This core could be composed of courses like ITEC 301 and ITEC 302. It could also include additional courses developed or now offered by this department or others, or new interdisciplinary courses in technology cooperatively developed and taught by various departments on campus. Courses in technology could be part of a general core of required courses, or the courses could be housed in one of the G1, G2 or G3 blocks within the current general education curriculum.

LIBRARY DEPARTMENT

A major goal of the GenEd curriculum should be to ensure that our graduates be information literate. The National Forum on Information Literacy defines information literacy as "a subset of critical thinking skills that consists of individuals' abilities to know when they have an information need, and to access, evaluate, and effectively use information. " While information literacy has always been an important educational goal, the increased use of information technology in recent years has created a proliferation of information accessible to the general consumer. The Library Department, through its existing programs, is prepared to help both students and faculty develop the skills that will enable them to sift through all of the information, deciding what is valid and relevant for their purposes and using the information to solve problems and answer their informational needs.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

We are examining all of our courses and have discussed the possibility of revising the focus of Music 100, Music and Culture. We also plan on reviewing our other course offerings to determine how they may be made more culturally inclusive. In addition, we hope to incorporate music performance experiences in the GenEd offerings.

PHYSICS DEPARTMENT

1. We wish to teach many more sections of Physics 103, a course for non-science majors in which we strongly believe. We are currently limited by both facilities and faculty. With the new building, we will have the room to teach these sections. We will need (as proposed when Physics 103 was first introduced) a new physics professor to staff Physics 103 at the level that we desire.

2. We believe that every MU student has a right to a demonstration of what fun physics can be.

PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. It is doubtful that any data exist to suggest "additional contributions" are desired or needed

2. Psyc. 211 Statistics & Experimental Design I should certainly count as a QARC course; however we have trouble offering sufficient sections for even our majors and minors.

3. None.

SOCIOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT

To offer "P" courses to appropriate size classes (max. 20) so that the valuable research component can be properly supervised. Proper class size allows each student the time to make appropriate length presentations of their efforts without devoting too large a portion of the semester to this in class activity.

V. What changes in the GenEd curriculum would assist your department in achieving its goals?

BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. In order to enable students to graduate within four years, Millersville University must strive to ensure that courses required as part of the GenEd curriculum are offered with adequate frequency.

2. Faculty members who were not pleased with the current Writing courses, suggested that the implementation of genuine Writing-Across-The-Curriculum should be implemented.

3. It was also suggested that Millersville University should reduce the numbers of committees, task forces, studies, reports and continuous tinkering that are associated with the GenEd Curriculum and simply allow it to be implemented in its present form.

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT

1. The alleged complexity of the current GenEd curriculum is not apparent to our majors. Except for 2 perspectives courses and 2 writing courses, our majors complete the other requirements within the required related area.

2. Consider perspectives offerings across the campus and perhaps impose a limit of one perspectives course from each department. Perspectives courses should not be a mans of enhancing the enrollments of departments with few students.

3. Frivolous and "politically correct" perspectives courses should be weeded out.

4. Require two Laboratory courses rather than just one.

EARTH SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

One of our goals is to graduate our majors in four years. A reduction in the number of "W" courses required, or an increase in the number of courses with "W" designations, would help in this regard, as this usually is the GenEd requirement which "hangs up" our majors more than any other.

ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT

1. Make economics a universal requirement.

2. Separate perspective classes from major requirement.

EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS DEPARTMENT

1. It is my view that the gen ed distribution requirements might be revised in favor of some specific experiences/ways of knowing (for example, scientific inquiry/lab, quantitative reasoning, social scientific analysis, arts, other cultures, literature, historical studies, language studies, physical movement/expression) and leave open at least three course slots for free electives within gen ed, allowing students to follow-up as they wish. In this way, advisors really could work with students to address deficiencies in their general knowledge or pursue particular interests as they prepare for teaching.

2. [This does NOT mean cutting GenEd to allow for additional study in the major.]

3. For this plan to work, two factors require attention. One, courses fulfilling GenEd requirements must be carefully designed to be "liberating" experiences, revealing the syntax of the ways of knowing and their usefulness in understanding ourselves and our world. (This requirement does not mandate anything about class size or pedagogy since this can be accomplished in a variety of ways.) Two, demand scheduling (i.e. allowing students to specify six months - one year in advance what their curricular needs will be and building the schedule around that) would probably be required.

4. I would keep Comp and Speech as requirements, drop the upper level writing requirement, and keep the two perspectives requirement.

5. I would drop W and CQ designations because I believe they have served their purpose in "nudging" MU faculty to incorporate systematic writing/analyzing/communications skills into their courses. It seems to me to be the norm that writing is a significant requirement in most courses, even though 10 pages of revised prose is not always required.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

1. Our goal is to provide the highest quality preparatory study for our students. Therefore to make a significant impact on the success on our programs:

a. Modify the student/ professor ratio.
b. Offer electives advertised in our program(to do this, need faculty) in time frame to accommodate students toward graduation goals.
c. Offer more GenED, writing and perspectives courses.

2. Present GenEd requirements would be okay if limits of 20-25 in writing classes were offered and the appropriate number of classes were offered (both writing and Perspective). However, if financial limitations exist - drop the number of Perspectives to 1 and adjust.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: Individual Faculty Responses

1. I don't know; the CBA keeps us from realizing the goals of the perspectives courses. Perhaps GenEd Review could work on this as it would affect GedEd course development and course offerings.

2. We need more flexibility in GenEd requirements between B.A. and B.S. to allow B.S. students to take more courses in their major field. I would rather produce students who are better trained and more competant in their specialized field. Sepcialized courses in our department can ALSO be used to stimulate creative thinking, promote writing skills, communication skills, etc.

3. Back off the emphasis on menu selection like in a Chinese restaurant (one from column A, one from column B, etc). The searching for CQs seems when advising to be the most ridiculous. If every course does not expect a person's whole brain (C and Q) to function, then it isn't a valid course.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

Require knowledge of a foreign language.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

The administration moratorium should be lifted to allow courses such as HPED 350 Sports in America (General Education writing course, 3 credits) and HPED 365 African American Family (Perspective, 3 credits) to be approved. These are courses developed by new faculty in the Health and Physical Education Department with expertise in these areas. These courses are currently being reviewed by the undergraduate curriculum committee (Dr. Woo, Chairperson).

INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Changes in the GenEd curriculum that would assist the department in developing technological literacy and capability focus primarily on the inclusion of technology as a GenEd core discipline. Technology is essential for being liberally educated and for effective functioning as a citizen, worker and consumer in the 21st century. Technology has a knowledge base and an established method of inquiry and problem solving for generating new knowledge. The current exponential explosion of knowledge is primarily attributed to advancements in technology. Productive people within a technological society need to be able to manage resources, work with others, learn and apply information, understand complex systems, and solve problems with technology. Relevancy can be added to GenEd by engaging business and industry representatives in the GenEd curriculum revision and implementation process. In addition, varied performance-based assessment strategies need to be applied in determining the success of our students in fulfilling the expected outcomes of GenEd.

LIBRARY DEPARTMENT

1. The Library Department has identified information literacy as a major departmental goal.

2. The integration of information literacy within the GenEd curriculum would assist us in achieving this goal.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

The faculty agreed that the one thing that would assist our department in achieving our goals would be to reduce the number of required GenEd credits to reduce the number of credits required in the degrees. Another solution would be to permit students to count certain required music courses in block G 1 of the curriculum sheet. In addition:, the faculty felt that artistic performance should be included in GenEd.

PHYSICS DEPARTMENT

Formalize the distinction between lower division and upper division to simplify the establishment of an appropriate timeline for progress towards a degree
Enforce the existing rules for course numbering.
Institute a university wide language requirement.
Return to 5 required science courses.
Institute a mathematics requirement for graduation.
Assure breadth by requiring separate laboratory requirements in the life sciences and the physical sciences.
Consider replacing "writing" and "perpective" requirements with a literature requirement.

PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. A clear separation land definition) of C vs. Q courses. They are still "CQ."

2. Clarification of the difference between QARC and Q courses.

3. In the absence of any data, this would be speculation and not reliable information.

4. More courses offered so students can get the classes.

5. The requirements are fine as they are; however, other departments should offer more Perspectives courses.

6. W courses should be kept at 25 maximum enrollment; otherwise, the 10-page revised paper becomes a joke.

7. Changes in the basic speech course have resulted in many students' lack of competence in public speaking. Perhaps the major emphasis upon giving speeches should be reinstated.

8. Examination of the impact of the GenEd curriculum on financial resources.

9. None.

SOCIOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Maintain the initially approved maximum class sizes for AW, W and P courses.

VI. What changes in the GenEd curriculum would assist your majors in furthering their educations?

BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. Many faculty indicated that MU should liberalize GenEd requirements and provide greater freedom for students to select courses of interest to them. It was suggested that two courses in one department for each of the liberal arts cores is not necessary.

Another faculty member suggested eliminating the requirement for at least one Perspectives course as well as the speech (COMM 100) requirement.

2. Individuals also suggested that all MU students should be required to take specific courses such as:

a) a mathematics course which would ensure competency in mathematics through algebra.
b) an environmental awareness course
c) political science course enabling students to become intelligent voters
d) a sensitivity course aimed at improving race relations

3. One faculty member voiced the opinion of all by stating: Biology faculty have historically demanded rigor in analysis and written expression. Long before the present requirements in writing, we required many papers and reports in our courses. Given more human resource, faculty in the department could teach biology majors to write effectively in the courses required for their major.

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT

1. A language requirement should be added.

2. Writing courses should actually critique written expression. Students are deficient in the mechanics of written expression.

3. Require a minor outside of the major and required related areas.

4. Make the GenEd curriculum more flexible, perhaps by having all 100- and 200- level courses in blocks G1, G2, and G3 be GenEd courses and also by requiring that each GenEd course be either Laboratory, Communications, Quantitative reasoning, or Written expression, preferably more than one such designation per course.

5. Have some way of "policing" the Writing requirement. Currently, there is little writing done in some "W" courses, according to our students, while other non-"W" courses require a good deal of writing.

6. Remove the HPED requirement (this from a former college athlete).

EARTH SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

None that are obvious. In those cases where one of our majors has wanted to pursue graduate education but has had difficulty getting admitted to a graduate program, the problem has been a low QPA or low GRE scores. But we don't see how a change in the curriculum "rules" would help this.

ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT

As above.

EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS DEPARTMENT

See above, answer to V.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

1. Changes in the delivery of curriculum would assist students. Distance learning is a must in today's society.

2. More courses available (Perspectives, Humanities, and W classes)

3. Limit Perspectives courses to 25-30 students. Re-examine construct of Perspectives courses. Original intent (i.e., multidisciplinary) is still a valid goal. Can they be re-designed to accommodates student's needs?

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: Individual Faculty Responses

1. I don't know.

2. We need less [sic] GenEd requirements and/or more flexibility in substituting professional preparation courses to be taught with GenEd goals in mind. We are now graduating students who are supposed to be prepared for specialized careers, but so many credits are given to GenEd they are no longer as well prepared and appear to be no better prepared in creative thinking, communication, etc.

3.
a. Drop the CQ requirement.

b. All[?] more courses to be used in GenEd. Some courses offer good knowledge but are no[t] general enough and bland enough for GenEd, so we deny a kid the right to learn!?

FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

1. [no response]

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Not applicable

INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Changes that have the potential for encouraging continued learning include (a) increasing emphasis on process education to teach students how to learn; (b) integrating disciplines through a thematic curriculum approach; (c) identifying authentic outcomes that exhibit relevance in life and work; (d) using technology to create, access, retrieve, store, manage and use information; (e) matching learning styles of students with effective pedagogy, (f) applying varied assessment strategies to evaluate multiple types of learning; and (g) preparing faculty to serve as facilitators of learning.

LIBRARY DEPARTMENT

Many Library Department faculty are advisors to students who have not declared majors. The structure of the current GenEd curriculum makes it difficult for these students to explore a variety of options before choosing a major. We should make it possible for all students to graduate from Millersville in four years. When students who arrive at Millersville with majors are unable to accomplish this, it is almost impossible for undeclared freshmen to finish in four years.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

Our majors have found it difficult to find an adequate number of upper level courses to fulfill the GenEd requirements. Also, some faculty felt that there should be a way to monitor the quality of instruction in writing, communication, and perspectives courses.

PHYSICS DEPARTMENT

See answer to question V.

PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. The "CQ" designation is vague. The C and Q should definitely be separated.

2. In the absence of any data, this would be speculation and not reliable information.

3. None.

4. The requirements are fine as they are; however, other departments should offer more perspectives courses.

5. Make courses available!

SOCIOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Require a C or higher in the AW course. Allow students to count up to two C/Q courses in their major.

Additional Comments

SOCIOLOGY/ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1. Do not eliminate or water-down the writing requirements for students. Support the principle of allowing a department to maintain reasonable class sizes in key writing courses, e.g., Engl 110, all AW courses that 20 students); 'W' courses (max. of 25) and 'P' courses at 20 if the department compensates by offering enough seats in introductory and upper level non "W" courses to satisfy the Gen Ed. requirements for distribution and 200 level courses.

The following is taken from the department minutes of the October 4, 1995, meeting:
The faculty vigorously responded to the request to discuss "the interim measures concerning Writing Course requirements and class size." As an interim measure, faculty should continue to use their discretion regarding the number of pages of revisable prose as it relates to increasing class sizes. However, it was felt that our Writing requirement, in as intensive a form as it currently exists, is crucial for our students. Any long-term increase in the number of students in classes, in which we focus on the process of writing, will be detrimental. If necessary, the University should look at reducing the number of "W" courses offered so that a thorough critique can be done, even if in a reduced number of sections. We must maintain the expectation of revised prose for our students. A dual system of courses with "W" and "nonW" sections may be a desirable option providing departments and the University with the flexibility they need. A reluctance to participate in University-wide standard setting was seen as a possible outcome of the current situation if it is felt that the faculty have no control when the University responds to non-academic forces.

The following are taken from the department's response to the "conversations" questions:

The cumbersome and conservative nature of the Millersville University Curriculum approval process needs to be overcome. Courses need to be approved quickly with a minimum of interference. One of the reasons for the current general education crisis is because getting a course approved with a "P" designation is harder than getting to the moon. Let's have courses be approved in departments and then go directly to the Faculty Senate for approval. The UCPRC would continue to function only as the subcommittee of Senate, responsible for course processing but not as a separate stage of approval. The School Curriculum Committees should be eliminated. The goal of the curriculum approval process should be to improve course proposals, not to block them.

It is essential that our students obtain a solid grounding in the liberal arts and develop the necessary skills, as well as have an appreciation for the value of life-long learning. This is necessary if they are to have the ability and personal commitment to keep abreast of changes in their chosen career field and current knowledge relevant to making informed decisions as members of their local communities, states and nation. Certainly, one of the most important and complex set of issues is, and will continue to be, those involving the stewardship of the environment. This single issue alone will demand that our students be able to develop the ability to make interdisciplinary connections between fields in the humanities, natural, and social sciences.

Clearly, a proficiency in using computer and other communications technology to access and communicate information via World Wide Web/Internet will be indispensable for graduates in the future if they wish to continue to be productive and informed members of our society. To communicate effectively, our students must develop good writing skills; thus, our writing intensive courses must be maintained at a size which is consistent with our efforts to emphasize the importance of clarity in writing and that good writing means re-writing. The academic programs in anthropology and sociology assure that our students will be both literate in the English language and the basic communication technologies of the 21st century.

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