Date: Fri, 01 Nov 1996 16:20:47 -0400 (EDT)
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From: chenaults@cofc.edu (Stephanie Low Chenault)
Subject: Group 9 report
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On 10/14, Inquiry Group 9 met to discuss Question 2a: How can the College of
Charleston facilitate the development of a liberally educated person?
Faculty has limited opportunity to come together to discuss liberal
education and/or general education, so this Forum has been effective for us.
However, students have no opportunity to discuss the issue, so many are
ill-informed or un-informed about their own liberal education and what it
means. We would suggest a similar forum for students.
We discussed several specific ways to further develop our students as
liberally educated persons:
1. Require a senior thesis outside of the student's major or one in which
the student would answer the question: "What is a Liberal Education?"
2. Instead of listing general education requirements by discipline, group
them under a rationale of that group's requirements. In other words,
describe to the student why s/he is required to take a particular number of
hours in a given area.
3. Offer or require upper-level seminar(s) as a capstone experience.
The latter suggestion was more fully developed in our discussion. We would
suggest that the student choose from a limited number of thematic,
interdisciplinary colloquia courses, after the student has completed a
majority of the general education requirements. A possible prerequisite
would be junior standing.
These courses would be developed by faculty, similar to the way in which
Honors courses are currently developed. They would be approved by a faculty
committee that would be separate from the Curriculum Committee; i.e., one
with responsibility for approving and supervising these capstone courses. It
was suggested that each department be required to develop and offer one
course, or at least contribute to the development of one interdisciplinary
course. It would be very important that students be asked to complete a
course outside of their majors. For instance, non-Science majors would be
encouraged to take a science-based course above the introductory level.
The goal of these courses must include an understanding of the value of
liberal education. Each department or professor could develop unique
objectives toward that goal, depending on the discipline(s) included in the
course.
Inquiry Group 9 will meet again on Thursday, 11/14, at 4:00pm.
slc
==============================================
Stephanie Low Chenault I run with scissors.
The College of Charleston
Computer Science Dept. (803) 953-3187
9 Liberty St., Room 216 FAX: (803) 953-8154
Charleston, SC 29424 http:/www.cofc.edu