General Education Curriculum

Program Review

May 1996

Appendix D
Consultant's Report

CONSULTANT'S REPORT ON GENERAL EDUCATION REVIEW AT MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY MAY 1994

Dr. Michael E. Knight of Kean College visited Millersville University on March 17 and 18 [of 1994] at the invitation of the General Education Review Committee to contribute to the review of the General Education Program. Prior to the visit extensive written materials, including the catalog, advisement materials, and committee reports and documents of both the Assessment Committee and the General Education Review Committee were examined. During the visits meetings were held with the following groups.

Administrators

Members of the Faculty Senate

Members of the Student Senate

Members of the Assessment Committee

Members of the general faculty and student body

Members of the General Education Review Committee

The report that follows is based on those meetings and the review of the previously described documents. An effort has been made to identify a series of issues regarding general education and to develop the report based on these issues with recommendations regarding possible actions.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

It is clear that the General Education Program designed by Millersville University is the product of much discussion and deliberation. The program certainly demonstrates an institutional perspective encouraging high standards of performance, integration of the curriculum and the application of knowledge, skills and abilities in a variety of settings. This structure of the program and the students' educational experiences supports the following description of program review by J. Gaff in General Education Today (1983):

Formative evaluation asks students and faculty to describe the best and worst parts of the program, problems encountered, and suggestions for improvement. Although a formative evaluation may not yield a definitive verdict about the success of the program, it provides information that can help program planners maximize whatever strengths it possesses. (p. 147)

The consistent implementation of a formative evaluation perspective seems more likely to support a continual journey toward program improvement. At the same time measures of success can be described and ascertained through the assessment process so that concerns about the development of students can be addressed. Gaff also states:

Formative evaluations are designed and conducted primarily to yield information that can be used by program planners to adjust the program as it evolves. (1983, p. 147)

The balance between accountability and improvement seems to lean toward improvement as the long term strategy to demonstrate institutional effectiveness and therefore provide accountability.

The key issues of general education identified during the March visit can be categorized as follows:

Leadership and Administration

Advisement

Curriculum and Professional Development Assessment

LEADERSHIP, ADMINISTRATION AND OWNERSHIP

It appears that there is a degree of fragmentation of general education that is interfering with the announced intentions of the program. The questions of ownership and participation were addressed very differently in some of the group meetings. In order to maintain a focus on general education a consistent voice is required. An examination of your catalog and the discussions on campus about the perspectives component led me to two relatively unrelated definitions of its purpose and implementation. What I had expected to be a group of integrating, culminating courses were presented as something quite different. The fragmentation is likely created by the absence of a common understanding of the general expectations for the program, and the specific contributions of the various clusters and the perspectives courses. Use of Fundamentals, Proficiency Requirements, and Competency Courses as titles for the same educational experiences may also contribute to the confusion particularly that of entering students.

Information in the Millersville University catalog (pp. 25 and 26) describes the purpose and intention of perspective courses. Consistent responses by students and faculty led me to the conclusion that the purposes and intentions of the perspectives component are not being achieved with regularity.

There is no intention to suggest abandoning the concept of perspectives courses but rather to encourage the development of a clear definition that is communicated across the campus and consistently represented in those courses. I believe the perspectives component is the highlight of a well designed program.

Recommendations:

1. The General Education Program Review Committee should immediately make a request of the Faculty Senate that the committee be designated as the group with a clear charge of responsibilities including conducting the assessment of general education, and the principal body for proposing changes in general education.

2. Develop a proposal to modify the current designations of types of courses to provide a more easily understood structure and sequence of courses that reflects the intended focus of a particular course or cluster. An emphasis has been created that focuses on satisfying requirements rather than supporting student development.

3. Rewrite the general education objectives to emphasize achievement and performance of the objectives. (What will the students learn and how will they demonstrate their learning?)

4. Efforts should be initiated to develop a shared vision of general education and its role in the curriculum experienced by each student. This vision should be consistently communicated to all of your constituencies. The participation of all interested groups is crucial.

5. There is a need for additional information about general education. An understanding of course taking patterns would allow for more efficient and effective scheduling and staffing of courses. Strategies used by students to complete their schedules and satisfy the requirements have apparently created a situation in which more attention is given to efficiency than to encouraging an examination of their educational planning and development. Transcript studies in several departments will provide you with information on student trends and patterns on how requirements are fulfilled. A recommendation to support the Institutional Research Office with additional staff seems appropriate. Consideration should be given to inviting faculty to participate in or propose research projects that will improve the quality of available information and involve these faculty in your efforts to improve general education. The General Education Review Committee would probably be in the best position to identify these research needs and the individuals with the particular skills to complete a specific project.

6. I believe it is essential to select an individual to provide daily leadership and direction to the General Education Program. There is a need for someone who has the responsibility and authority to address the problems that frequently arise and coordinate the efforts to respond to these problems. The question of appropriate levels of authority and responsibility might best be addressed through discussions between the committee and the individuals who currently have responsibility for the following areas. Scheduling, staffing, advisement, registration, exemptions, course sequencing, and the necessity of continuous communication about these matters are some of the specific problems to be expected. I would further suggest that this position be filled by a faculty member on three quarter released time. Among the reasons for this suggestion is the time necessary to address the problems and issues, and guide the evolution of the program would tax anyone who has other administrative responsibilities. In addition, someone who has been involved in the creation and teaching of general education would have an advantage as they worked with faculty in course revisions and faculty development. ADVISEMENT

The following recommendations are proposed to enhance the advisement process and are extensions of some of the prior suggestions.

1. Methods for training and informing new faculty for advisement should be developed to support the current program and maintain accurate and consistent information as modifications are made.

2. Recruiting and registration materials should include the outline of general education and its role, contribution, and relationship to the major.

3. Major departments should be encouraged to include information on general education in appropriate publications and in their orientations for students.

4. Incoming students should participate in a formal orientation which would include general education information.

5. Focus groups with students at various levels should be conducted on a regular basis to assess the advisement processes. CURRICULUM AND FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

These two areas may be seen as the design and implementation of the curriculum. As such, the following recommendations are an attempt to take advantage of the natural synergy between them.

1. The need for continuing faculty development should be recognized as a high priority in budgetary planning.

2. The orientation and training of faculty, particularly new faculty, regarding their role in contributing to the goals of the General Education Program and the application of these goals within the major departments is essential. The goals listed in your catalog (p. 25) virtually mandate these activities.

3. Incentives should be identified to support the development and teaching of perspectives courses that provide the broad-based, integrative qualities described in your catalog. These incentives could best be determined by the faculty who might be involved in the course development.

4. The recent survey on general education provided little impetus to make changes in the current program. However, every group with whom I met identified significant concerns. A conclusion that the campus community believes changes should be made, but the fear is that they will be made in a "piece meal" manner seems reasonable. The charging of the General Education Review Committee with primary responsibility for guiding change would address that fear.

Writing Emphasis

5. The committee should discuss the possibility of requesting the faculty in each academic program to develop proposals to address their need for writing emphasis. This suggestion is intended to encourage a writing across the curriculum viewpoint focusing on the writing abilities, skills, and the needs of the particular program.

6. Modify the ten page writing requirement to encourage a broader variety of writing activities to meet the specific needs and purposes of particular courses. Perspective Courses

7. Prepare a one page definition/explanation/description of the purpose of these courses.

8. Examine existing courses for inclusion in this component.

9. Assess the current perspectives courses as one of your first assessment activities to determine if they are meeting their objectives and how they are contributing to the goals of general education.

10. Request faculty provide course syllabi to their department chair communicating what they expect their students will learn and how they expect the students to demonstrate this learning.

11. Arrange informal meetings to discuss general education and teaching, bringing diverse groups together. ASSESSMENT

1. A first requirement is the development of a "policies and procedures" document by the Assessment Committee including the requirements for reports.

2. A three-year plan for the assessment of general education should be developed, approved and widely disseminated.

3. Faculty development in assessment should be planned in conjunction with the Assessment Committee.

4. Current activities that may be used to support general education assessment should be identified. SUMMARY

I am aware of two facts. The number of recommendations may seem overwhelming, and many of the recommendations require actions by others. Participants in the various meetings communicated support for the structure and intentions of the General Education Program. For these reasons, and because many of the recommendations are interrelated I believe you will be successful in your efforts.

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