ACADEMIC SENATE MINUTES

 

 

DATE:            February 2, 2006

 

PRESENT:     Agnes Samples                                            Mark Hardt

                        Lorrie Steerey (via phone)                          Sandie Rietz

                        Paul Bauer                                                   Audrey ConnerRosberg

                        Ben Marschke                                             Keith Edgerton

                        Randall Gloege                                            Bruce Brumley

                        Noreen Lee                                                 Craig McKenzie

                        Matt Redinger                                              Lewis Rife (student)

                        Mary Susan Fishbaugh (ex-officio)               Tasneem Khaleel (ex-officio)

                       

ABSENT:       David Garloff (ex-officio)                             Mary McNally (ex-officio)

                        Kirk Lacy (ex-officio)                                  John Cech (ex-officio)

                        George White (ex-officio)                            Terrie Iverson (ex-officio)

                        Curt Kochner (ex-officio)

 

GUESTS:        Dan Gretch                                                  Connie Landis

                        Susan Gilbertz                                              Brent Roberts

                       

PRESIDING: Keith Edgerton, Chair

 

 

Keith Edgerton called the meeting to order at 3:41 p.m. in the Missouri room of the SUB.

 

The minutes of January 26 were accepted as presented.

 

I.          ITEMS FOR INFORMATION

 

Item 48  Emeritus nomination of Dr. Randall Gloege, Assistant Professor, Department of English and Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences.  For information.

 

Þ Motion by Matt Redinger, seconded by Sandie Rietz to accept Item 48.

 

Þ Motion carried.

 

 

II.         DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS

 

A.  Academic Foundations Committee Update

 

Keith Edgerton stated that the Provost sent a memo to the Academic Foundations Committee (AFC) noting that he believed they had not completed their task.  The AFC sent a response that they have met the task, and they are also not completely finished yet.  Mark Hardt, Chair of the AFC, noted that if the Committee finishes the assessment tool this semester, we can have assessment data ready by 2008, when NWCCU is to visit.  It was noted that the Committee is much farther along than the Provost is giving them credit for.

 

It was cited that the Provost may want quantitative measures and data, but we don’t have those yet because the program is not running yet.  It was noted that the AFC does not want a cumbersome system like the College of Education is now dealing with.  Something more streamlined would be best.

 

It was noted that February 10 is the deadline to submit a course for Academic Foundations.  Once the final vetting of the courses is complete, the Committee can move quickly to an assessment tool.  The AFC is considering several models of assessment, such as student surveys, steering committees who decide outcomes for each category of general education, a portfolio system, a thesis/capstone course, and others.  It was noted that the problem with many assessments is that students are often not able to accurately report what they have learned.

 

It was stated that the AFC developed the matrix, which had to be submitted for each course, as the beginning of the assessment process.  When students finish Academic Foundations, they should be able to satisfy all parts of the matrix somehow.  Then, we have to show how our students grew as a result of what they learned.  The students should have some kind of physical product that shows they have grown.  The problem with any portfolio or essay-based assessment is:  Who is going to review 5400 of them?

 

It was noted that it took a year or more to build the matrix.  It’s possible it will take that long to create the assessment tool as well, and we don’t have that kind of time.  We have not done what NWCCU advised us to do.

 

It was stated that the AFC would welcome any help or suggestions that any of the faculty may have, especially for an overall assessment of the Academic Foundations program.

 

It was noted that a simplistic student opinion survey may be the easiest way to satisfy NWCCU.  They are not necessarily interested in the results of the survey or how hard we worked to create the survey.  They want to know that we have a list of objectives that all students should meet, and that we are assessing those in some way.

 

It was cited that no matter what assessment tool is chosen, it will be arguable.  The two problems inherent in assessing general education are that there is no clear point that defines the end of general education and the beginning of the rest of the student’s career and that we can’t mix up assessment with evaluation of faculty teaching.  It was suggested that we could set a barrier for students that they have to complete a certain portion of Academic Foundations before they can continue, and then assess at that point.  However, most colleges are not interested in that approach, and it is also an obstruction to retention of students.

 

The Senate agreed that the AFC should report the results of their assessment decision by March 23, 2006.

 

 

The meeting adjourned at 4:51 p.m.

 

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