GENERAL EDUCATION TASK FORCE REPORT Faculty Forum February 24, 2010

1. GENERAL EDUCATION TASK FORCE REPORTFaculty ForumFebruary 24, 2010 Stephenie Paine-Saunders(Chair) Dyanne Anthony, Nancy Murphy, Beth Newton, Genevieve Robinson, Randy Rosenberg, Pam Siemer, Corinne Taff, Jane Theissen

2. Goals of the Workshop 1) Present a working vision of what might be called the “Core of the Core Curriculum”: Fontbonne Mission Core: Culture and the Common Good 2) Present two tentative working models (A and B), both of which include Fontbonne Mission Core 3) Invite feedback and discussion

3. Our Priorities in General Education Revision (December 2009) • Increased institutional priority • Common set of intended learning outcomes for all undergraduate students • A variety of assessment tools • More emphasis on “engaged learning practices” • Transcending the “cafeteria-style” approach • Mission orientation • Interdisciplinarity • Global diversity • Upper-level as well as introductory courses Source: Trends and Emerging Practices in General Education (May 2009), Based on a Survey Among Members of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, Conducted by Hart Research Associates

4. Feedback from the Faculty (Fall 2009) The Fontbonne graduate should be able to: Use quantitative measures Communicate effectively Find, discriminate, and use information Take interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving Advocate for social justice Serve the disenfranchised Participate as a world citizen Understand history in context of the present Use logic to make an argument Act ethically Exhibit leadership Embrace and explore diversity Reflect on their intellectual growth

5. Fontbonne Mission Core:Culture and the Common Good The Fontbonne Mission Core unites key priorities: • Promoting the mission of the university • Service learning • Interdisciplinary methods • Global understanding • General education at 100, 200, 300, and 400 levels • Building community and institutional identity through common learning experiences

6. Mission Core Rationale The theme reflects Fontbonne’s mission to serve a world in need. The “common good” manifests the flourishing of human development and social progress. “Culture” refers to a web of symbols, values, and narratives that give context and meaning to being human in the flow of history. It is the vehicle for our changing collective ideologies and imaginations.

7. Mission Core Rationale Therefore, our students are challenged to reimagine and represent more intelligent and moral alternatives. This requires the skills to read, critique, and employ the processes of culture to advance the common good. Because both culture and the common good intersect with every area of life, their study requires interdisciplinary approaches to understanding.

8. Seminar I: Serving the Dear Neighbor • Seminar I critically examines the notion of service. • What counts as service or as a “need,” and who counts as the “other” who receives our service? • What are the historical, religious, and ethical principles that motivate service? • How do we choose a career and leadership positions in order to promote service as individuals? • What are our responsibilities as community members, as Americans, to serve a world in need? • What does citizenship mean, and how might we conceive of service more broadly to include activism, advocacy, and intellectual critique?

9. Seminar II: Reading Culture, Resisting Culture: Narrative, Symbol, and Rhetoric Seminar II emphasizes the importance of critical and creative reading (written texts, visual imagery, music, speeches, mass media, etc.) that form, inform, and deform a culture’s way of life. How might our narratives, symbols, and uses of rhetoric foster bias and social decline? How might they also promote healing and social progress?

10. Seminar III: Whose Common Good? Globalization and the Challenge of Solidarity Seminar III explores the “common good” in the context of globalization. Who decides what is “good for all”? What is authentic intellectual and moral solidarity? Do our efforts at achieving intellectual and moral solidarity with the rest of the world threaten true global diversity? How do local identities and historical remembrances challenge globalism? How do these challenges affect our understandings of service?

11. Seminar IV: Self and Vocation Seminar IV explores the ways in which vocations—professional and personal— serve a world in need. Students design and complete a service project related to their vocations Students also identify and explore the global political, cultural, and economic dimensions of their majors.

12. Gen Ed State Goals 1. Skills Areas a. Communicating b. Higher-Order Thinking—addressed in the seminars c. Managing Information d. Valuing—addressed in the seminars 2. Knowledge Areas a. Social and Behavioral Sciences—behavioral sciences as part of life sciences b. Humanities and Fine Arts c. Mathematics d. Life and Physical Sciences e. US and MO Constitutions

13. Models A &B Preliminary working models Model A and Model B Both include the “Mission Core”

14. Model A Total credit hours: 47 (including religion) A. “Mission Core”– 10 credit hours B. Skill Core – 16 credit hours • Reading Writing – 6 credit hours • Communication – 3 credit hours • Math – 3 credit hours • CIS – 3 modules, 1 credit hour/module • INT199 – 1 credit hour

15. Model A (cont.) C. Knowledge Core – 21 credit hours The Knowledge Core is content driven to develop a rounded liberal arts education. • Social Sciences/Government—3 credit hours • Religion—3 credit hours • Philosophy—3 credit hours • Fine Arts/Literature –3 credit hours • History –3 credit hours • Science—6 credit hours

16. Model B A. “Mission Core”– 10 credit hours B. Two three-course concentrations (Fontbonne’s Liberal Education Concentrations -- FLECs) – 18 credit hours Each student completes two (2) FLECs unless they plan to complete two majors or a major and a minor; then they are required to complete one (1) FLEC.

17. Model B • These FLECs are courses grouped by the faculty into topics or areas of inquiry. • When appropriate, concentration courses may be counted toward the other degree requirements: • service learning (SL) • scientific reasoning (S) • laboratory experience (L) • US and MO government (G)

18. Model B (cont.) A short list of potential FLECs may include:  Children, Adolescents, School Class, Inequity, Poverty, and Justice Conflict and Threat: War and Disease Dispersions and Immigrations Evidence: Documentation and Reality Globalization Law and Society Public Health The Third World

19. Model B (cont.) C. Five Foundational Courses—15 credit hours Composition I Composition II Communication Math Religion D. Four (4) courses** that include: Service Learning (SL) Scientific Reasoning (S) Laboratory Experience (L) US and MO government (G) **all met by four distinct courses**

20. Model B: FLEC Example Class, Inequity, Poverty, and Justice HUS 221 Social Issues and Social Welfare Policy PHY 250 Cross-cultural Psychology, prereq. PHY 100 SOC 235 Social Stratification, prereq. SOC 100 SOC 265 Diversity and Social Justice, prereq. SOC 100 EDU 120 Psychology of the Exceptional Child EDU 234 Philosophical Foundations of Education COM 240 Intercultural Communication ENG 260 American Literary Tradition: to Whitman ENG 261 American Literary Tradition: since Whitman ENG 365 Development of the American Novel ART 207 High Art, Propaganda, and Kitsch ART 492 The American Photograph: 150 Years of American Culture PER 314 Multicultural Experiences in Performance GGY 205 Cultural Geography HST 105 Introduction to American History-I HST 106 Introduction to American History-II HST 310 African-American History HST 340 American Social History HST 366 Trends that Shaped the Modern World   PHL 221 Business Ethics PHL 260 Contemporary Moral Issues SSC 201 The American Economy HES 105 Personal, Professional, and Cultural Dress HES 106 Essentials of Fashion HES 308 History of Costume HES 397 Advocacy in Professional Practice HES 440 History of Women in the United States ACS 100 Introduction to American Culture Studies ACS300 Topics in American Culture Studies WGS 101 Introduction to Women’s Studies WGS 220 Masculinities SPT 101 Introduction to Sports Management BAC 400 Foundations in Contemporary Cultures BAC 410 Corporate Responsibility and the Impact of Marketing on Values and Culture BAC 411 Impact of Religion, Value, and Culture on Education BAC 412 American Culture BAC 420 Reel to Real: The Impact of Representation in Film on Cultures BBA 407 Management and Business Ethics ORG 312 Values/Ethics in the Organization SEM 350 Ethic and Legal Issues in Sports and Entertainment

21. GENERAL EDUCATION TASK FORCE REPORTFaculty Forum Please return handouts and comments on Mission Core, Model A and Model B to Steph’s mail box by Friday. Thanks for your considerations. Please see the Fontbonne website under “General Education Task Force” for review of our minutes and reports of this Forum and the previous Dean’s Forum. We look forward to more discussion in the following months.