FAQs - General Education Task Force

UGE is facing several challenges. While the UGE Council and an ad hoc UGE Procedures Committee have taken steps over the years to resolve some of the issues, there remains a limited availability of courses, especially at the 300+ level. That limited availability restricts students’ choices as they seek to meet the breadth component, which is an essential part of UGE. Breadth of knowledge is an important educational outcome stressed by our graduates’ future employers, accreditation bodies, and best practices for contemporary higher education.

Several faculty and administrators and advisors have repeatedly complained about what they perceive to be complex procedures and bureaucracy built into the UGE system. A system that would be simpler to implement has been requested by many.

2. What is the focus of the proposed K-State 8 General Education Program?

This is a curriculum-based model that “provides for a student’s exposure to a broad range of ideas, knowledge, and ways of thinking by requiring all degree-bound students to complete courses across a specified range of subjects and academic disciplines.” This was the definition of general education most preferred by both K-State faculty and K-State students in the 2004 surveys conducted by the General Education Steering Committee.

3. The K-State 8 proposal has no emphasis on pedagogy. Why not? Isn’t pedagogy important?

The importance of effective pedagogy was reaffirmed by the General Education Task Force in its November 2007 working document that was shared with the university community. We acknowledged that a strength of UGE is its “unique commitment to student learning and pedagogies that emphasize active learning, experiential context, integrative learning, and developing advanced writing skills.” However, we do not believe these teaching and learning principles should be a defining element of general education. We do believe that these innovative pedagogical principles and best practices should be continued throughout all K-State courses and curricula.

4. How would we transition from UGE to the K-State 8?

An implementation policy must state that students who begin their study at Kansas State University on or after a designated date (yet to be determined) will meet the requirements of the K-State 8 program. Students who began their programs of study at Kansas State University under the UGE system might complete their degrees with UGE requirements or might choose to move to the K-State 8 program. We would have to accommodate students in both the new K-State 8 and the current UGE program for about 3-4 years. The numbers in the UGE program would rapidly diminish over time.

5. What process was used to arrive at the proposal for the K-State 8 General Education Program?

During the past five years, several separate working groups have involved more than 75 faculty, staff, and students. Their responsibilities have included: (1) addressing problems facing UGE, (2) exploring the future of general education at K-State, (3) recommending possible programs for general education at K-State, and (4) developing an implementation plan for a new general education program at K-State. The process has included surveys, brainstorming sessions, attending conferences, conducting open meetings, reading related materials, and gathering input and feedback from faculty, advisors, administrators, and students.

6. What is general education?

The current General Education Task Force continues to believe that the statement of purpose set forth in the 1994 University General Education Proposal is an excellent guide for the development of a new program for general education.

[G]eneral education at Kansas State University should expand the experiences and vision our undergraduates carry forward in the conduct of their lives and should help students develop the interest and capacity for improving and enriching life. This purpose of general education can be addressed by targeting learning outcomes that characterize a preferred state of mind and habits of mind for Kansas State graduates. We envision graduates disposed to appreciate differing viewpoints, to consider openly new and divergent thinking, to weigh ideas with careful skepticism, to challenge conventional wisdom, and to explore for more accurate and more useful knowledge. We would expect K-State graduates to exercise educated habits, which include, at least, critical and analytical thinking, careful and thoughtful reading, writing and speech, an inclination to wonder, a penchant for questioning, and a desire to solve puzzles and problems. When that occurs, an undergraduate degree signals more than specialized competence for a career.

Beginning with this vision, the General Education Task Force has defined “general education” as that part of university learning shared by all students. It is intended to provide broad exposure to multiple disciplines and to form the basis for developing important intellectual and social competencies. It is the cultivation of knowledge, skills, and attitudes important to learning throughout life. (from AAC&U’s Greater Expectations)

The Task Force holds to this definition and the guiding vision set out for UGE in 1994 because they clearly represent general education as a means or as a beginning, not as an end in itself, and because they reflect the same set of comprehensive goals framed by K-State’s university-wide student learning outcomes.

7. Is general education the same as liberal education?

No.

The AAC&U has usefully defined "liberal education" as:

… an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. It provides students with broad knowledge of the wider world (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific area of interest. A liberal education helps students develop a sense of social responsibility, as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills such as communication, analytical and problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings.

Thus, general education has come to be generally understood as that aspect of a student's liberal education that she or he shares with the other undergraduates at a college or university. General education curricula usually emphasize breadth, experiences in different disciplines, critical thinking, and civic responsibility. Moreover, as the AAC&U report College Learning for the New Global Century (one of the key sources we used in assembling our working understanding of these terms), "General Education may also be called 'the core curriculum' or 'liberal studies.'"

8. How is the K-State 8 appropriate for a land-grant institution?

The General Education Task Force asserts that this proposal represents K-State’s land-grant mission as interpreted for the 21st century. We purposefully integrated land-grant themes in the eight areas.

Throughout its history, Kansas State University – as a land-grant institution – has been committed to an evolving mission. That mission remains grounded in the concept of widely accessible programs of higher education that combine a liberal arts education with a professional or practical education to prepare graduates to be “informed, productive, and responsible citizens who participate actively in advancing cultural, educational, economic, scientific, and socio-political undertakings” (from K-State’s Mission Statement).

The context for today’s land-grant mission extends from rural to urban to international settings, and reflects the world’s increasing interdependence, a rich cultural diversity, and an explosive growth of knowledge and best practices. Our land-grant commitment encompasses a multitude of diverse fields, including areas such as food science, interior architecture, management, communications, education, human relations, music, and technology – to name just a few.

Each degree program is presented with the opportunity and the challenge to help students select wisely as they integrate general education into their own programs of undergraduate education as they move toward becoming the responsible citizens envisioned in the mission statement.

9. Where is the assessment plan for the K-State 8?

The Task Force believes that a general education assessment plan must be designed and implemented by faculty from across disciplines with the involvement of many people within the University community, beginning immediately upon approval of a new general education program.

However, several assessment projects, already being implemented and discussed at K-State, relate to the assessment of the five common undergraduate SLOs and, therefore, relate to general education outcomes. An explanation of those projects is included in the next FAQ.

We do need to do some "authentic" assessment of our students' best work, such as the kind that is done as a culminating project within their majors. Thus, the Task Force has always offered a strong recommendation – “general education outcomes could be assessed within capstone experiences in degree programs.”

In addition to the assessment of general education learning outcomes, there should be a regular and systematic program evaluation plan for the new K-State 8 program. This is separate from (but related to) assessment and carries the goal of determining the strengths and weaknesses within the program itself rather than focusing on student learning outcomes.

10.What is being done at K-State right now to assess general education outcomes?

Several assessment projects, already being implemented and discussed at K-State, relate to assessment of the common undergraduate SLOs and, therefore, relate to general education outcomes:

1. The Diversity Writing project in the English Department requires all students in Expository Writing I to read, discuss, and write about human diversity topics. This project has significant data about student learning, which clearly relates to the communication and diversity outcomes and to critical thinking as well.

2. The Office of Assessment initiated the use of "CAAP" tests in Fall 2008. CAAP (Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency) is the standardized, nationally-normed assessment program that K-State is administering as part of the Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA), a joint venture between NASULGC and AASCU. K-State is using the CAAP tests on critical thinking, reading, and writing, which may assist in assessing the critical thinking and communication SLOs. If the university finds these data at all helpful, we could add modules on math and science eventually, even as a pilot over the next few years, working closely with representatives of math and science faculty.

3. The HLC Academy project at K-State focuses on teaching and assessing critical thinking through the collaboration of academic faculty and student affairs professionals. This group has been working for the past year. The model, if promising, could be expanded to other areas like ethical reasoning or diversity.

4. Another group was organized in November 2008 to think about helping faculty teach and assess ethical reasoning in various majors and courses. This project should eventually produce some helpful assessment data.

5. A committee working through the Office of Diversity is developing an instrument to assess student knowledge, attitudes, and/or behavior related to the diversity SLO. Pilots of the instrument are underway.

Additional Note from Dr. Cia Verschelden, who served as director of K-State's Office of Assessment for several years and had a one-year appointment during 2008-2009 to work with the Higher Learning Commission:

Because I understand that someone has asked about this, I’ll address just briefly the “state of the art” of general education outcomes assessment at large, complex institutions like K-State. (Disclaimer: These are only my observations from my work with HLC over the past several years.)

Of course, many institutions like us currently, or soon will, administer one of the standardized tests required by the Voluntary System of Accountability. We chose the CAAP – the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency, a product of ACT.

Outside of that, most places like K-State are at about the same place we are. KU does a process of interviews with a sample of seniors – similar to what we did ten years ago. There are some schools where examples of writing are being collected from a sample of students and scored for institutional assessment. These projects are, I believe, in the early stages at most places. In my experience, if we were to implement the plan as suggested above and do it well, we would be succeeding in this area given the size and complexity of our institution.

11. How would courses be identified (tagged) as fitting within the K-State 8 areas?

Tagging a course/experience – designating the appropriate K-State 8 area(s) – will be the responsibility of the program or department teaching it.

A single course/experience may be tagged for up to two K-State 8 areas. To be tagged for a given area, courses and experiences 1) must be credit-bearing, 2) must cover the content area as a principal SLO essential to students’ work in the class, and 3) must significantly evaluate student learning in that area.

We also recommend that departments indicate if a course is open to only majors, only non-majors, or to all students – as information useful to students and advisors.

12. How will the K-State 8 be incorporated into iSIS and DARS and the electronic catalog?

Members of the General Education Task Force met on more than one occasion with those responsible for iSIS, DARS, and the electronic catalog. We asked questions. We answered questions.

Changes needed in the electronic catalog will not be difficult to implement. That system is basically informational.

While there will be challenges with iSIS and DARS and the interface between those two systems, incorporating the K-State 8 is doable. It will take time, however. Those responsible for DARS and iSIS note that if a new general education proposal were approved in the very near future, they would be confident of completing the necessary changes in DARS and iSIS to be ready for an implementation date of Fall 2010.

13. What is the timeline for implementing the K-State 8 program?

Successful implementation of a new general education program at Kansas State University will require cooperation and coordination among faculty members, advisors, students, and administrators at all levels – department, college and university. There are many practicalities to consider – tagging courses, programming changes in DARS and iSIS, making changes in the electronic catalog. These changes will be far more robust if there is the opportunity to beta test before the implementation date.

You may have heard that the new general education program was planned for implementation in the Fall 2009 semester. That was discussed at one point. But the Task Force took additional time to meet with faculty groups and submitted the proposal to Academic Affairs later than originally planned. You will notice the proposal does not give an implementation date. We believe it’s more realistic to make that decision in the context of when a proposal is approved by Faculty Senate.

A flowchart was developed and first sent to Academic Affairs in late November to help them picture one likely scenario for the implementation of the K-State 8 General Education Program. The flowchart was only slightly modified to coordinate with the December 12 proposal revision.

14. Why not wait until the new university president arrives to consider a change in the general education curriculum?

In our view, the faculty is responsible for the university's curriculum. We hope and expect that our future president, like our current president, will be supportive of the curriculum that our faculty thinks best for our students.

Various groups of faculty members have been working on the issue of general education reform for five years. We think we are ready now to move from research, discussion, and planning to action and the start of an implementation process.

15. Can K-State afford a change like this in the midst of a budget crisis?

Curricular changes cost. Current programs cost. The question is whether a new program will cost more and whether the change will be worth whatever it will cost.

We believe this is a question for administration, and so the General Education Task Force posed the question to Provost Nellis and the Deans Council. They responded in a letter to the Academic Affairs Committee in which they state that they “…see no reason to expect budget difficulties if the proposed program is accepted and implemented.” (October 30, 2008 Letter from Provost and Deans Council)

16. Why did you call this program “the K-State 8”?

When presenting this proposal, we needed an effective way to discriminate between the current general education program and the proposed general education program. People were getting confused about which program was being discussed. It’s clearer to talk about UGE as the current program and the K-State 8 as the proposed program. And, of course, there are eight areas of emphasis in the proposed program.

A Final Clarification

As a Task Force, we have worked hard during months of study and deliberation to create a general education program that fits into the overall university mission and goals of Kansas State University. We believe that the K-State 8 General Education Program reflects the objectives of our university mission statement and our university undergraduate student learning outcomes.

Excerpt from the K-State Mission Statement:

Kansas State University prepare its students to be informed, productive, and responsible citizens who participate actively in advancing cultural, educational, economic, scientific, and sociopolitical undertakings.

Undergraduate student learning outcomes

Kansas State University strives to create an atmosphere of intellectual curiosity and growth, one in which academic freedom, breadth of thought and action, and individual empowerment are valued and flourish. We endeavor to prepare citizens who will continue to learn and will contribute to the societies in which they live and work.

Students share in the responsibility for a successful university educational experience. Upon completion of their degree, all undergraduates are expected to demonstrate ability in at least five essential areas.

Knowledge
Students will demonstrate a depth of knowledge and apply the methods of inquiry in a discipline of their choosing, and they will demonstrate a breadth of knowledge across their choice of varied disciplines.

Critical thinking
Students will demonstrate the ability to access and interpret information, respond and adapt to changing situations, make complex decisions, solve problems, and evaluate actions.

Communication
Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly and effectively.

Diversity
Students will demonstrate awareness and understanding of the skills necessary to live and work in a diverse world.

Academic and professional integrity
Students will demonstrate awareness and understanding of the ethical standards of their academic discipline and/or profession.