College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
General Education Task Force
Final Report
May 2007
BACKGROUND
In 2004-2005, a University-wide task force conducted a review of General Education that left it
to individual colleges/schools to make actual changes. In 2005-2006, CUSA discussed the
findings of the University Task Force, and recommended that the College form its own task force
to make specific recommendations for the College. Dean Joseph Steinmetz formed this task force
in Fall 2006, and it continued work through May 2007. At the recommendation of CUSA and
Dean Steinmetz, the task force considered the following questions, among others:
• Should the number of General Education courses required be reduced? If so, how?
• Should the B.G.S. degree be abandoned or significantly revised and enhanced?
• Could the College combine “skill courses” and “content courses” by incorporating
Writing/Communication/Mathematics emphases across the curriculum?
• Should foreign language study be a significant part of both the B.A. and B.G.S. curriculum?
• Should units offering Principal Courses be required to demonstrate that such courses include
substantial attention to the assumptions and methods of the discipline, and not merely subject
matter instruction? How would they demonstrate this? To whom?
• Should the College emphasize demonstrated competency and achievement, rather than a
particular number of required courses or credit hours? If so, how is competency and
achievement measured?
At its final meeting on May 17, 2007, the Task Force agreed on the following set of
recommendations. Some are quite specific and practical, while others are broad. Some would
require no infusion of funds, while others presume major investments. Overall, the members
believe that it is feasible in the short term to accomplish the following goals:
• Reduce General Education requirements by 12 hours.
• Increase upper level and major courses by a corresponding figure.
• Better address the need for global awareness, especially in the BGS degree.
• Shift the emphasis of the BGS back to its original interdisciplinary intent, and away from its
current role as a means of avoiding foreign language.
• Refocus the principal courses on the mission of teaching the principals of inquiry.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
A. Reduction of General Education Hours
1. (B.A. only) Reduce the number of principal courses required for the B.A. in each area
(Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences) to two (reduces Gen Ed hours by 9).
¾ A majority of members also supported returning to the limit of four principle courses
per department, with these to be divided as the department wishes between levels.
