The University Senate of Michigan Technological University

Amendment to Proposal 15-12
(Voting Units: Academic)

“PROPOSAL TO REVISE GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS”
Contact: Brad Baltensperger (brad@mtu.edu)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The administration approved proposal 15-12 on 05 April 2012 subject to the following amendment: strike through the added revision “Once a student has enrolled at Michigan Tech they cannot take a class to transfer in to meet this requirement” under #1 Communication and #2 Global Learning.

2. RATIONALE

It goes in the opposite direction of what the Presidents Council of State Universities of Michigan recommends in order to improve statewide transfer process for general education requirements.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES

1. Communication.

a. Move UN2001 (Composition) to the First Year and renumber as UN1xxx. Once a student has enrolled at Michigan Tech they cannot take a class to transfer in to meet this requirement.

Justification: provide early instruction in written and oral communication.

Student Learning Goal: Communication; Information Literacy

2. Global Learning.

a. Increase the number of sections of UN1002 (World Cultures), rename and renumber course as UN1xxx “Global Issues,” and decrease section size. The goal is to reduce average section size from 220 to approximately 80-100 and to offer equal numbers of sections each semester. Current goals of World Cultures emphasize understanding of cultural awareness, globalization, and global complexity. The course will place greater emphasis on contemporary digital data/information and on global forces of change (see course description in section 7). Once a student has enrolled at Michigan Tech, they cannot take a class to transfer in to meet this requirement.

Justification: Extremely large section sizes have proven unwieldy and do not advance student learning; smaller section sizes will be more accessible to first-year students.

Learning Goal: Global Literacy; Information Literacy