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General Education Program Principles
The purpose of general education at Keene State College is to contribute to the liberal education of our students. As the current catalog states, general education is "designed to enhance the student's capacity for thought and effective expression, and facilitate both the expansion and the integration of knowledge". (p. 13)
The Conceptual Framework on which the program will be built is based on the Greater Expectations report of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. This report emphasizes the importance of integrative teaching and learning. Integrative learning is a process by which students:
- connect knowledge and skills from multiple sources and experiences
- apply knowledge and skills in varied settings
- utilize diverse points of view
- understand issues contextually
Significant knowledge in both individual and multiple disciplines is the foundation upon which integrative learning builds. Integrative learning often occurs as learners put theory into practice, "making meaning" as they apply abstract concepts in practical settings. In this approach to curriculum and pedagogy, greater connections are made. Integrative approaches move beyond the fragmented curriculum to connect learning; learning is greater than the sum of its parts. Integrative teaching and learning is teaching and learning that is purposeful, intentional and transparent. The integrative teaching and learning process approaches teaching and learning in intentionally connected ways.
Here are the objectives of an integrative model, the corollary program expectations, and learning outcomes.
Integrative Model
Any general education program adopted by the college will be based on the following principles:
1) Inclusiveness:
Predicated on creative thinking about general education in our public liberal arts college, the program will provide opportunities for all academic departments and programs to contribute to general education.
2) Coherence:
The program will offer courses that:
- connect to each other thematically, sequentially, or developmentally
- are organized to span the entire college career
- provide culminating and synthesizing experiences.
3) Intentionality:
The program will have identifiable goals to develop skills and abilities in writing, reading, speaking, listening, critical and creative thinking, information literacy, quantitative reasoning, and technological fluency so that students
- acquire existing knowledge, and create and disseminate new knowledge
- understand the practices and the nature of inquiry in a range of specific disciplines beyond the major as well as in interdisciplinary studies
- develop knowledge and understanding of a diverse world and multicultural perspectives
- integrate, apply, and transfer knowledge and skills to differing contexts
- engage with their communities
- reflect on the ethics and impact of their choices and actions
4) Structure:
The program will be supported by an administrative structure.
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The committee will not be a part of the Senate but will have a Senate liaison.
- The committee's proposals will go through the regular Senate process for approval.
- All courses proposed for general education will go through the standard curricular process.
- The committee will be composed primarily of faculty who will be responsible for the curricular aspects of the program.
- No new administrators will be hired.
5) Four Credits:
The program will be designed with the College wide move to a predominantly four credit curriculum.
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The current general education curriculum requires completion of 15 courses with a minimum of 43 credits.
- In a 4-credit program, the general education program will consist of a minimum of 10 courses and a maximum of 11 courses, with minimal credit requirements of 40 credits and maximum credit requirements of 44.
6) NEASC Standards:
NEASC Standards for General Education will be utilized in the program design.
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4.15 The general education requirement is coherent and substantive. It embodies the institution's definition of an educated person and prepares students for the world in which they will live. The requirement informs the design of all general education courses, and provides criteria for its evaluation, including the assessment of what students learn.
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4.16 The general education requirement in each undergraduate program ensures adequate breadth for all degree-seeking students by showing a balanced regard for what are traditionally referred to as the arts and humanities, the sciences including mathematics, and the social sciences. General education requirements include offerings that focus on the subject matter and methodologies of these three primary domains of knowledge as well as on their relationships to one another.
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4.17 The institution ensures that all undergraduate students complete at least the equivalent of forty semester hours in a bachelor's degree program, or the equivalent of twenty semester hours in an associate's degree program in general education.
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4.18 Graduates successfully completing an undergraduate program demonstrate competence in written and oral communication in English; the ability for scientific and quantitative reasoning, for critical analysis and logical thinking; and the capability for continuing learning, including the skills of information literacy. They also demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific, historical, and social phenomena, and a knowledge and appreciation of the aesthetic and ethical dimensions of humankind.
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Committee