HOUGHTON, MI--When the Michigan Tech Board of Control approved the switch from quarters to the semester system at a school renowned for the quality of its science and engineering programs, faculty and administrators saw a sparkling opportunity."Michigan Tech students have always been famous for 'loving the work that they do',"says Vice Provost for Instruction Dr. Stephen H. Bowen. "But they can no longer expect to stick with the same career throughout their working lives. They may go into business, management, education, or any of a variety of other endeavors. Whatever they do, their success will depend on their being good independent learners who understand the education landscape they'll have to negotiate. To do this they'll have to broaden their information skills. We saw the conversion to semesters as an opportunity to create a strong general education program that will help our students meet the challenges they'll face in everyday life. Education isn't just preparation for a specific job anymore."
Bowen believes the growth of knowledge and our increasing access to it through computer technology have not only made university level teaching more challenging, but have "transformed society in virtually every aspect and have defined the world in which our graduates will live. If there is a common denominator to the experiences we can anticipate for our graduates, it is an increasing rate of change."
He says universities must prepare their students to live in a less predictable, more dynamic world. This applies to their personal relationships, their roles in the community, their relationships to their immediate physical environment, and their careers.
"Different constituencies have different interests in how and what kind of knowledge and skills students acquire," says Bowen. "Smaller employers like new employees who are adaptable and flexible. Larger employers may prefer graduates who can grow through different assignments to become leaders. Neighbors like graduates who have an understanding of diversity and community. Parents like graduates who have a sense of well-being and their place in the world, and whose lives are rich in a variety of ways.
"In the past, over reliance on the academic major has tended to paint students into an educational corner. Now, many constituents expect universities to provide their students with a broader education which addresses the needs of the whole person."
But how to build such a program?
To start, Michigan Tech formed a General Education Development Task Force consisting of faculty from every teaching department, representatives of key University Senate committees and the Senate President, a student affairs professional, and one undergraduate and one graduate student. Several faculty with special responsibility for curriculum planning were added. The Vice Provost for Instruction served ex officio and chaired the task force. The Provost asked the group to prepare a new general education curriculum for a faculty referendum to be conducted by the Senate.
The task force first had to consider the findings of panel discussions, surveys, and individual research as to what makes an effective general education curriculum.
"Students have come to view knowledge as fragmented into disciplinary units, and have difficulty transferring their knowledge, skills, and understanding from one discipline to another," says Bowen. "An effective general education curriculum stresses the integration and linkages of disciplines."
The task force also recognized that the elements of general education must fit together in meaningful ways if its goals were to be achieved. The possibility of coherence had to be designed into the curriculum, but ultimately it is created by each student as an essential part of his/her learning experience. "Shared learning and learning experiences in specific knowledge and vocabulary foster a sense of academic community," says Bowen. "And integrity is paramount. An effective general education curriculum provides clear public statements of its goals and structure, and students' experiences are largely congruent with those statements."
The task force devised a curriculum wherein every student takes the same four foundation or "core" courses during his/her first two years. Five additional courses are chosen by the student from diverse lists and may be taken as soon as prerequisites are met. The four foundation courses provide every student of whatever major or career interest with a core education he or she shares with every other student at Michigan Tech.
The four core courses include "Perspectives on Inquiry," which provides selected readings designed to teach critical reading and reasoning, clear and precise expression, evaluation of evidence, balanced argument, accuracy, thoroughness, and respect for individuals and differences.
"World Cultures" examines western and non-western cultures from the perspectives of fine arts, literature, philosophy, religion, history, anthropology, and technology--giving students perspectives on how fundamental cultural beliefs impact the attitudes of people toward science and technology, and the ways in which science and technology impact other aspects of a culture.
"Re Visions" teaches the important skills of oral and written communication, using specific work which students did in their Perspectives on Inquiry and World Cultures courses as a starting point for instruction.
"Institutions" focuses on the ways in which economic, social, and political institutions impact students' professional work and how they can marshal these forces to enhance the work of science and technology.
"We designed a general education curriculum specifically to develop information skills that will be further enhanced as students work through their majors," says Bowen. "We now have what is considered across the United States as the best kind of general education program--a core of coherent, integrated courses which together provide students with the knowledge and skills that will help them solve problems both in the workplace and in their private lives."
The new curriculum differs from the old one where students chose whatever they wanted from a smorgasbord of course offerings in that it is more highly structured to respond to the real needs of both students and prospective employers.
"We've successfully combined our internal perspectives on student needs with the outside perspectives of employers to better prepare our students to lead successful, satisfying lives," says Bowen.
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