search articles:     from the issue of January 31, 2008         Mitchell named interim director of general ed  BY KIM HACHIYA, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS With the endorsement of the Academic Planning Committee on Jan. 16, UNL's Achievement-Centered Education program cleared a final hurdle.     Mitchell All eight undergraduate colleges approved the ACE program in actions taken during the 2007 fall semester. Earlier in January, the University Curriculum Committee endorsed ACE. Last fall, both ASUN and the Faculty Senate endorsed the program, under which students will first enroll in fall 2009. Nancy Mitchell, professor of advertising in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, has been appointed interim director of General Education. Mitchell served on both the General Education Planning Team and the General Education Advisory Council, which developed ACE. She is a former chair of the Academic Planning Committee and former chair of the advertising sequence in the college. The position is a .75 appointment and runs through December 2009. An internal search for a permanent director will occur fall 2009. The position is housed in the Office of Undergraduate Studies, which will oversee ACE. Barbara Couture, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, thanked the faculty committees, and the faculty at large, who worked over about two years to review and reform UNL's general education program. "You took a difficult issue and crafted an academically sound, outcomes-based curriculum common to all eight undergraduate colleges and 150-plus majors. I particularly wish to thank John Janovy Jr., Varner Professor of Biological Sciences, for his leadership," Couture wrote in her electronic newsletter. The benefits of ACE are many, Couture said. "We have streamlined the process by which students move through the UNL curriculum and attain their degrees. Transfer students will find the program requirements to be more transparent. And -most important - our students will be able to articulate the meaning of a baccalaureate degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Our expectations and outcomes are stated, known and measurable. ACE promises to be a leading program among research universities - addressing general education outcomes directly and making clear to our students what we believe to be the foundation of a college education." The next steps include appointment of an Interim ACE committee to facilitate review and approval of the initial set of ACE-certified courses. Each undergraduate college will appoint a faculty member to this committee. Additionally, 10 ACE Course Facilitators will be appointed. Each of the undergraduate colleges will appoint a faculty member as course facilitator. The College of Arts and Sciences will have three ACE Course Facilitators: one for the sciences, one for the humanities and one for the social sciences. The course facilitators will help faculty in colleges and departments submit successful course certification proposals for the ACE program. Couture said departmental and unit incentives to produce ACE-certified courses have been approved by the chancellor. For each course certified by the ACE committee, the home department or academic unit receives a one-time $1,000 incentive; up to five new or revised courses per department/unit are eligible for ACE incentives. Additionally, upon implementation, the home department/unit will be awarded an additional $500/course bonus. GO TO: ISSUE OF JANUARY 31 NEWS HEADLINES FOR JANUARY 31 Tax-prep site files 60 returns in first 3 days Kooser's new book chronicles 22 years of Valentine's prose Mitchell named interim director of general ed Sometimes evolution reinvents the wheel WINTER BLAST Computer Science and Engineering moves into Schorr Center Extension or engagement debate raised at strategic plan forum Garden Friends raises donation bar UNL participates in 'Focus on the Nation' 733072S37784X