University Forum

Steering Committee to Consider General Education's Future at K-State

April 27, 2004 3:30 p.m.

K-State Student Union 212

Attendance: Approximately 40 people in addition to panelists and steering committee members.

Dr. Jerry Reeck, chair of the General Education Steering Committee, opened the forum with a brief introduction. He emphasized that the steering committee hoped to obtain insights from the campus community, an effort that will extend well into next semester. He then introduced the panelists, who had been invited to share some ideas as a means of initiating the open discussion.

The panelists were Marjorie Hancock (Elementary Education), Blair Reynolds (Student, Political Science), David Stone (History), Ray Hightower (Engineering), and David Sachs (Architecture).

Marjorie Hancock recommended that the university community use what has been learned from the UGE experience to inform future discussions. She emphasized that active learning is a successful strategy now implemented in many courses; small classes are more amenable to active learning; general education extends beyond traditional courses – extracurricular educational experiences; general education is becoming or should become much more interdisciplinary; a new vision for general education has to be defined for and by the faculty; and faculty members who deliver general education must be rewarded (merit, salary, etc) for their work.

Blair Reynolds briefly summarized his perceptions of students' expectations for general education. Students want a comprehensive experience and value gaining an appreciation and understanding of many disciplines. The general education program should be simple and efficient while still delivering high quality education.

David Stone distributed a program proposal as a “trial balloon.” Stated that most general education programs in various universities include courses that target basic skills, general knowledge, and a broad exposure to a variety of fields (various disciplines).

Ray Hightower distributed a program proposal and emphasized several attributes for a general education program: simplicity, option for students to take courses at other institutions, core curriculum. He noted that a general education program “should run by itself.”

David Sachs observed that general education should engender enthusiasm and confidence in learning. He suggested that general education might offer students tools for learning as represented by various ways of learning: a priori, intuitional, empirical, phenomenological, historical, experiential, aesthetic, and faith. He posed three questions that might guide the university discussion: How is general education related to liberal education? What might be unique about general education at Kansas State University? How many answers to this question do we really need?

Chair Reeck then opened the floor for discussion among all attendees.

Three major themes emerged from the discussion:

Dr. Reeck closed the discussion at 4:30 p.m. and promised that the university community will hear more from the General Education Steering Committee in the future.