Bell Tower and CSUCI skyline

Office of the Provost

FAQs | Process

 

What is the timeline for the new GE program? | Back to Questions

Fall 09: Faculty feedback, refinement of vision 
Senate approval of the new University Studies vision and direction 
Spring 10: University Studies Coordinator Appointed 
Development and Senate approval of policies 
Required Elements levels fully developed and NEW? courses approved by GE and Curriculum Committees 
Fall 10: Faculty teams devise rubrics keyed to GE outcomes 
University Studies Outcomes Elective courses approved by GE Committee or faculty task forces 
Development or adoption of e-portfolio software 
Catalog copy 
Spring 11: University Studies Director hired 
Scheduling and staffing of Required Elements level classes for Fall 11 
Faculty training for e-portfolio 
 Fall 11: Freshman class and transfers begin new University Studies program

 

How will students know which courses will help them fulfill which outcomes? | Back to Questions

Each semester there will be a chart linking outcomes to Required Elements and courses that have been approved as meeting specific outcomes. Students can consult the chart and choose classes accordingly. This chart will be posted online for ease of access.  Since it will change frequently, it should be electronic.  The office of University Studies will be responsible for ensuring that it is updated before course schedules are sent to students. 

How will it be determined that a student has met an outcome? | Back to Questions

For courses identified with specific outcomes, the faculty member teaching the course will determine whether the particular product (i.e. paper, experiment, other assignment) has met the outcome. Students will be able to upload documents to the e-portfolio only upon faculty approval. Students might also petition to have accomplishments outside the classroom evaluated by a faculty committee for a particular outcome, using the rubric for that outcome.

What if a particular assignment only partially fulfills an outcome?(for instance, the rubric won't only have meets/doesn't meet categories, but partially meets, etc) How can that be noted?  | Back to Questions

The e-portfolio will be the student record.  If a particular project partially meets an outcome, then the next project/paper/assignment can be looked on to build on that first part and then possibly complete the outcome. 

Who will develop rubrics for the GE Goals and Outcomes? | Back to Questions

Faculty with expertise with specific outcomes will develop rubrics for evaluating student work and course suitability. These groups will also approve student petitions to meet outcomes with work from outside of courses.

How will the Required Elements classes be defined and outlined? | Back to Questions

For each level, faculty will be invited to join a working group charged with 1) writing learning outcomes that will be shared by each section of the course and that map to GE Goals and Outcomes; 2) identifying essential elements of course content and pedagogy; 3) and choosing a set of readings that will form a portion of the syllabus for all courses in that level. These shared elements will create a common intellectual foundation and learning experience for students and faculty alike. Faculty teaching the courses will be free to build upon these foundations in ways that reflect their own expertise.

Who will students "petition" to? | Back to Questions

The new University Studies Director will funnel this to the faculty groups that wrote the rubrics for each level. 

How will faculty (all kinds) be given the opportunity on how to incorporate outcomes, be normed, the use of rubrics, assimilated into the new model? | Back to Questions

Workshops through Faculty Development office, University Studies administration, program level.

How will students learn about this new University Studies/GE program, how to use the e-portfolio? | Back to Questions

The e-portfolio will be featured at most orientations, and each Required Elements level (especially Level 1 courses) will emphasize teaching students to understand and use the e-portfolio. Student perceptions of the e-portfolio are related to our goal of shifting student perceptions from GE (an obligation vaguely connected to their educational and career goals) to University Studies, where the e-portfolio helps them take ownership of and responsibility for their own learning. The e-portfolio allows students to see and assess their own growth over time; it allows them to chart their own progress prior to waiting for the mysterious and intimidating grad check. It is our intention to have a e-portfolio that allows students to customize portfolio views for employers and graduate school applications.

To what degree will courses listed as potentially satisfying a GE outcome include that outcome in the course syllabus as a student learning outcome? | Back to Questions

Including the GE outcome as a student outcome in the course would be a reasonable requirement for approval in the University Studies Program. Course may include additional outcomes that may be necessary to meet other goals of the course (as a disciplinary prerequisite, for example), but the GE Outcomes will be listed separately so that students can clearly see which outcomes the course will help them meet.

What will be the procedure for transitioning from the current to the new system? For example, there was the idea to make UNIV 110 a course common to first year students, to inculcate the mission into their perspectives and bind them more tightly to the university (aiding in retention as well as the intellectual benefits). However, the obstacle of the fact that many juniors and seniors wait until those years to take it proved too great. How will we deal with the transition years? | Back to Questions

We would REQUIRE entering freshpeople Fall 2011 to take a course in Level I, and require the the next year as sophomores that they take Level II, so they can't wait until year 3 and 4 as they have been doing.  For transfers entering Fall 2011, they'd be required to take a Level II or Level III their first semester.  For students already enrolled before Fall 2011, they'd continue with existing GE rules, though we could identify which old GE categories fit with the new University Studies course offerings so that those "old" students can take advantage of the new program.

Yes, and if critical thinking principles are designated as part of the common Level 1 material, UNIV 110 can be retired, (or from an alternative POV spread out more broadly in the curriculum.

What happens when a student transfers to another CSU? Are the University Studies requirements translatable into standard CSU breadth requirements? | Back to Questions

Yes, Goals 5, 6 and 7 map to old A-E subject areas, so students transferring out of CSUCI to another CSU could get certification from us that courses satisfy old GE?

What might students get out of the new program? | Back to Questions

Students who now see GE as “just” checking of boxes, not related to their major, extra stuff they don’t need, etc. instead will have the opportunity to see how one discipline relates to another in a problem-solving and/or community context.

The e-portfolio offers the potential for students to reflect on the mission-based outcomes and their interrelationship to their studies and their growth as citizens.

The e-portfolio also offers the possibility of different “views” of the stored evidence of having achieved learning outcomes. Students could present aspects of their university studies work to prospective employers who will see a well-rounded, articulate student, presenting a “public face” for their intellectual achievements.

What might faculty get out of the new program? | Back to Questions

Faculty involved in teams building rubrics for each outcome and getting trained and/or training others in applying rubrics (sometimes referred to as “norming”) have the opportunity to develop their teaching skills.

As is true now for those who do it, faculty team who team teach as part of University Studies have the opportunity to broaden their own research methodologies, bring new questions to their work, through interaction with colleagues from different disciplinary backgrounds.

Having assessment built in to the University Studies courses will save faculty time during course level, program, and university-wide assessment and review.

Will Level II and Level III courses include STEM disciplines, which would support the university’s STEM strategic initiative? | Back to Questions

Yes. A Level II course might emphasize mathematics and quantitative reasoning as part of an integrative course. UDIGE courses with STEM aspects that already exist can become Level III.

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