PREAMBLE
The University Committee on General Education (and its predecessor committee) have reviewed much that has been written on general education, have suveyed faculty opinion directly and studied summary statements from college deans as well as comments from a cross-section of individual faculty members regarding our preliminary recommendations of February 2, 1987. To the greatest extent possible we have been guided by faculty opinion regarding changes which should be made in the general education curriculum. In particular, we have noted that more than three-quarters of the faculty have expressed the view that (1) general education courses should be more coherent than they are at present, (2) general education courses should consist of a selected set of core subjects with a limited number of courses in each area, (3) courses meeting the aims of general education should be selected and reviewed by a university-wide committee of faculty, (4) faculty from all colleges should be involved in teaching general education courses, and (5) general education should occur throughout a student's course of study at NMSU. We have tried to follow these views in what is proposed below.
More than ninety-five percent of the faculty were in agreement with the following statement of objectives of general education. The statement is given here to emphasize the point that all recommendations as to specific subject areas or courses listed below should be judged in terms of meeting these objectives to the greatest extent possible.
General education attempts to foster intelligent inquiry, abstract logical thinking, critical analysis, and the integration and synthesis of knowledge; it strives for literacy in writing, reading, speaking, and listening; it teaches mathematical structures, acquainting students with precise abstract thought about numbers and space; it encourages an understanding of science and scientific inquiry; it provides a historical consciousness, including an understanding of one's own heritage as well as respect for other people and cultures; it includes an examination of values and stresses the importance of a carefully-considered values system; it fosters an appreciation of the arts; and general education provides the breadth necessary to have a familiarity with the various branches of human understanding.
In addition, the members of the General Education Committee clearly recognize that no significant improvement in general education is likely to occur unless the faculty most suited are engaged in trying to convey to students the intellectual pleasures of the various subject areas which have been selected here. Also, we recognize that the curriculum proposed represents a minimal requirement, and we would encourage colleges and departments to add to these courses those which they deem most appropriate for developing broadly educated graduates.
In summary, we are proposing a program in general education which is comprised of a total of 38 credit hours distributed as follows: 7 hours in English composition, 3 hours in mathematics, 6 hours in critical thinking/analysis, 16 hours in liberal studies, and 6 hours in professional studies. The organization and rationale for these proposals are developed in the following document.
I. Developing Critical Thinking and Modes of Expression
1. English composition - All students matriculated at the main campus of NMSU will take one year of English composition. This requirement will be satisfied by taking English 111 (4 credit hours, must be taken in the freshman year) and one of the following in the freshman or sophomore year: English 203, 211, 218, 301, or 318 (3 credit hours each). Rationale: No skill is more important than being able to express oneself clearly in writing. Given the level of proficiency of the average student entering NMSU, we believe a second semester of composition is very much needed to help raise the ability of each student to adequately express himself or herself.
2. Mathematics - All students matriculated at the main campus of NMSU will complete one semester of mathematics past the curent basic skills requirement. At such time as intermediate algebra becomes the basic skills requirement, the general education requirement in mathematics will be reconsidered by the general education committee. (It is the intent of the committee that all students will eventually be required to take, at a minimum, a college-level course in mathematics.)
3. Information retrieval - While it is important for instructors in all courses to encourage students to be conversant with materials and tools in the University Library, this training process should not be left to chance. We propose a two-tier process. During the freshman year students will be given an orientation tour and talk describing the library holdings and operation, perhaps in connection with an English composition course as all students will be enrolled in at least one such course. In a later year students will take a course (see Recommendation III) in which a detailed literature search in a specific area is required, thereby giving them direct use of various reference sources and search procedures available in the library.
4. Critical thinking/analysis - All students matriculated at the main campus of NMSU will complete, sometime during their freshman or sophomore year, 2 courses from the following subject areas.
SUBJECT AREA* / CREDIT HOURS
Oral communication / 3 cr.
Philosophy (introductory survey) / 3 cr.
Computer science (some programming) / 3 cr.
Statistics / 3 cr.
It is the intent of the committee that each of these is to be concerned with the organization, relationships and validity of thoughts, concepts, arguments or data in the most fundamental ways. The itent of these requirements is that students would gain sound intellectual and methodological approaches which would be applied, subsequently, to their own fields of specialization.
*See Appendix below for course intent/content and rationale.
II. Establishing a Common Background
All students matriculated at the main campus of NMSU will complete, sometime during their course of study leading to baccalaureate degrees, the following set of general education courses.
SUBJECT AREA* / CREDIT HOURS
Historical perspectives / 3 cr.
Basic natural sciences (with lab) / 4 cr.
Human thought and behavior / 3 cr.
Social analysis / 3 cr.
Literature or fine arts / 3 cr.
___________
16 cr.
*See Appendix below for course intent/content and rationale.
III. Viewing a Wider World
All students matriculated at the main campus at NMSU will take, preferably during their junior or senior year, two general education courses (at the 300 or 400 level) from two colleges other than their own. To be approved for inclusion here each of these courses must include an assignment which will require the student to do a detailed literature search involving the use of library facilities. In addition we recommend to the General Education Steering Committee that, where applicable, they give strong preference to those courses which strongly emphasize the international character and multicultural influences in the fields of study.
Rationale
Each of the colleges at NMSU represents one or more active fields of human endeavor and thus can present to students unique ways of viewing the world. (The titles listed below are given merely to suggest the breadth of the courses which might be given.)
SAMPLE COURSE/CREDIT HOURS
Ministering to Human Needs / 3 cr.
Man and Commerce / 3 cr.
The Impact of Engineering on Humanity / 3 cr.
Agriculture and the Environment / 3 cr.
Education and Civilization / 3 cr.
International Perspectives / 3 cr.
Science, Technology and Society / 3 cr.
IV. Formal Designation of General Education Courses
Courses selected as filling the general education requirements will be designated in the catalog with the prefix GE, followed by the normal course designation of the department, for example, GE/ENGL 000. At an appropriate place in the front of the undergraduate catalog, all university courses approved as meeting the general education requirements will be listed by subject areas.
V. Certification of General Education Courses
A permanent standing committee, comprised of one member of the library staff and one faculty member from each college (each selected by the deans of the colleges in consultation with the Executive Vice President) will be charged with certifying that a course meets the criteria for a general education course. We propose that the permanent standing committee report directly to the Executive Vice President, who will serve as the chairman of this permanent committee. Recertification of courses will be required every four years, following an initial probationary period of one year. During the first year, the standing committee will meet with the faculty member in charge of each GE course to review the content and hear the faculty member's assessment of the effectiveness of the course in meeting the desired ends of the course. Annually the committee will be supplied with the course records (enrollment and grade distributions) for each general education course.
VI. Development of General Education Courses
Any college or department may offer a general education course, provided it meets the criteria stated above and is certified to do so by the permanent standing committee. Similarly, any faculty member (or team of faculty members) may teach a general education course.
VII. Alternatives for Meeting General Education Requirements
1. Students taking nine or more credit hours in a specific subject area, even though the courses are not designated as GE courses, will be judged to have met the general education requirements for that subject area. For example, an engineering student who takes Physics 215 and 216 and Chemistry 114 (all lab courses) will be considered to have met the intent of the 4-credit hour general education requirement in basic natural sciences, even though those courses are not designated with a GE prefix.
2. Students who wish to be given credit for a general education course without enrolling in it may request to challenge it. An exam set by the instructor in charge of the course will be administered one time at the beginning of the semester; the results of the exam will be made available to the student prior to the last day for registration.
3. Students who have successfully completed Advanced Placement, ACT or CLEP requirements in areas appropriate to General Education may be exempt from certain GE requirements, upon approval by the dean of the student's college.
APPENDIX
The intent/content, rationale and types of courses which the committee members considered suitable for each of these subject areas are given in detail below. It is the intent of the committee members that the courses selected as general education courses will be both intellectually stimulating and rigorous.
I. Developing Critical Thinking and Modes of Expression
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Intent/Content
Courses in this subject should deal with the theory of oral discourse, such as Aristotelian rhetoric, analysis of audience and types of argumentation, as well as the practice of delivering oral presentations to large and small groups.
Rationale
Every educated person needs the ability to present, orally, his or her ideas in a clear and logical way and to discern weak and illogical arguments presented by others.
MATHEMATICS
Intent/Content
Courses in these subject areas would be designed to provide students with some understanding of the role of mathematics in civilization and with the ability to read, understand, and use mathematics.
Rationale
An educated person cannot function intelligently in modern society without a substantial ability to understand numerical data and recognize the interpretations the data permit or exclude.
PHILOSOPHY
Intent/Content
Philosophy deals in the most fundamental way with the clarification of concepts. Thus, the nature of the knowledge, how knowledge may be acquired, the relationship of knowledge to belief, and the meaning of a moral act, are important philosophical questions.
Rationale
For any idea to be firmly held, it should first be well considered. The study of philosophy can help a student to develop a rational approach to inquiry, regardless of his or her field.
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Intent/Content
The operation of computers to process all sorts of data at high speed has invoked an interaction between a machine and the mind of man which is unique in human history. The logic and structure of programs, the organization and preparation of data, and the languages available to express these thoughts and data can have a powerful impact in dealing with many of the complex questions of our technical society.
Rationale
The various applications and the technology of computers are having an increasing impact on all areas of human endeavor and have numerous social, economic and philosophical implications. A knowledge of computers will be of benefit to all educated people.
STATISTICS
Intent/Content
Courses in this area should deal with ideas related to analysis of data, testing of hypotheses, the nature of correlations and their distinction from cause-and-effect and other basic concepts in statistical inference.
Rationale
Perhaps no methodology is more widely used and misused in describing data in an enormous range of fields than statistics. It is important that an educated person recognize the valid application of statistics to problems of interest.
II. Establishing a Common Background
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
Intent/Content
Courses in this area should present a coherent body of knowledge to help students acquire a sense of the main currents of his or her culture or that of others over an extended period of time. Courses should stress the nature and validity of historical evidence and the variety of historical interpretation of events.
Rationale
A knowledge of the patterns and precedents of the past provide the only means for an educated person to fully gain an awareness of his or her place in contemporary society.
Types of Courses
Suitable courses will be those which deal broadly with major cultural themes over a significant period of an important civilization.
BASIC NATURAL SCIENCES
Intent/Content
Courses should center upon the study of the behavior of matter, energy, and environment within representative biological or physical science disciplines; these are to deal with basic or fundamental questions of science, not applied ones. Scientific inquiry should be stressed, with weekly laboratories providing hands-on exposure to scientific phenomena and methodology within the discipline. A college-level treatment of some, but not necessarily all, of the following topics would be expected: atomic and molecular structure, electrical processes, chemical processes, elementary thermodynamics, electromagnetics, optics, dynamics, and mechanics.
Rationale
Matter and energy are universal concepts in science, forming a basis for understanding the interactions which occur in living and non-living systems in our universe. An understanding of the behavior of matter (all tangible creation including the "environment") energy provides a foundation for further scientific study and the creation of broader ranges of understanding about natural phenomena. As well, the study of the behavior of matter and energy illustrates the usefulness of mathematics in precisely describing and rationalizing certain physical phenomena.
Types of Courses
Courses meeting the above criteria might be formulated from traditional basic courses in biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, agriculture or geology, but each course must have a laboratory course associated with it.
HUMAN THOUGHT AND BEHAVIOR
Intent/Content
Courses in this category should focus on understanding the individual, his/her evolution, situation, relationship with others, place in the environment and universe, achievements and problems, and meaning and purpose.
Rationale
Courses should strive to equip students for life-long understanding and development of themselves as integrated physiological and psychological entities.
Types of Courses
Courses satisfying this requirement examine systems of human thought and belief, with emphasis upon matters of causation, value and choice. They also emphasize the ideal of the fully functioning person: mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and vocationally. Such courses might come from the areas of psychology, cultural anthropology, philosophy, and holistic health and wellness.
SOCIAL ANALYSIS
Intent/Content
The social analysis requirement provide students the opportunity to study institutionalized human social behavior in a systematic way. A course fulfilling this requirement should focus on one or more of the following units of analysis: families, organizations, communities, economies, or governments.
Rationale
In order for individuals to live responsibly and to fulfill their promise as individuals and as citizens of society, they should understand the patterns of human relationships which underlie the orderly interactions of a society's various structural units.
Types of Courses
Courses which would satisfy this requirement are found in the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, government, and sociology. In addition, certain courses oriented to the study of the family and of organizations might be appropriate.
LITERATURE
Intent/Content
Courses in this area are expected to introduce students to a systematic study of major literary texts in a context that emphasizes critical reading and writing; to represent the cultural, historical, and artistic frameworks in which the classic works of the world's civilizations were created; and to expose students to major features of literary genres and instruct them how to make and defend critical/valuative judgments about literature.
Rationale
Students need to appreciate and understand the classical writing which serves as the artistic, literary, and philosophical foundation of the Western tradition.
Types of Courses
Literature courses which survey literary classics from Homeric and Greek models to the modern century, or which span several centuries within a culture and language, will meet the intended aims.
FINE ARTS
Intent/Content
Courses in this area should provide students with an understanding of the importance of the arts in human affairs, of the artist's perceptions of the world and the means by which those perceptions are translated into the language of artistic expression. They will also provide an appreciation of the aesthetic values used in examining works of art and, ideally, a direct experience in expressing perceptions in an artistic medium.
Rationale
The ability to recognize and evaluate artistic and creative achievements is useful in many aspects of an individual's life. Since artistic expression is a fundamentally human activity, which both reflects and anticipates developments in the larger culture, its study will enhance the student's cultural and self-awareness.
Types of Courses
Any introductory course in music, art or theater arts which rigorously examines the subject matter of the discipline, not necessarily only courses which survey a field, should be acceptable.