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from the issue of October 5, 2006
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Faculty respond favorably to General Education objectives
BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
An Academic Senate survey on the basic objectives of the General Education Reform Initiative recorded a positive response from UNL faculty. However, the chair of the reform initiative and a member of the Academic Senate agree the results should not be over analyzed.
"The General Education Planning Team members were very pleased with the survey results, but I was not very surprised by them," said John J. Janovy, chair of the reform initiative and professor of biological sciences. "After all, these kinds of institutional objectives are pretty much the ideals of most faculty members, not only at UNL, but certainly across the country."
The survey, offered online in September, asked to what extent faculty agreed with each of the four institutional objectives for undergraduate general education. Developed by the General Education Planning Team and the General Education Advisory Committee, the objectives serve as the guiding principles for the development of outcomes. The outcomes will be used to develop the general education program.
A total of 529 of the nearly 1,400 UNL faculty participated in the survey.
Combining faculty who either "agreed" or "strongly agreed" with each of the objectives, responses ranged from 88 percent to 69 percent. Adding the "somewhat agree" responses bumps the percentage range to between 95.2 percent and 86.6 percent.
"You have to be careful about something with this survey," said Glenn Ledder, a professor of mathematics and senate representative who also serves on the Academic Senate Executive Committee. "The questions asked what faculty thought of each individual objective. It did not ask faculty what they thought about the set of four objectives."
Ledder said the objectives were "very general. However, he believes the objectives are important and he has integrated the objectives into his syllabus for a freshman level course this semester.
"These objectives were created to focus thought on outcomes associated with general education," Ledder said. "But, they serve another purpose that appeals to me."
Ledder said students come to college with a variety of views on what college is about - some good, others bad. He said the objectives are a way to demonstrate the purpose of higher education.
"Some students think college is about buying a commodity, that they have essentially bought a degree when they step on campus," Ledder said. "But, it's not about that. We as a faculty need to do a better job telling new students what college is about. And, I think these objectives do a great job."
Janovy said the General Education Advisory Committee is finalizing language on General Student Learning Outcomes and the Structural Criteria for General Education. Both proposals will be presented to each undergraduate college in October for a vote of affirmation.
The Academic Senate will continue to offer faculty surveys with the release of general education-related proposals. Ledder said the senate would also continue to provide a forum for faculty of different disciplines to discuss the reform initiative.
"The Academic Senate has no formal vote in this process," Ledder said. "But we are the one faculty body on campus that meets regularly and includes faculty from all colleges. We are a forum to help faculty raise issues and formulate opinions on general education and other important issues."
Results of the Academic Senate survey are available online at www.unl.edu/asenate/InstitutionalObjectivesSurveyResults.htm.
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Faculty respond favorably to General Education objectives
Verbatem
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