FROM:            The Joint Committee on General Education of the
                        Faculty Senate and the Administration
 
TO:                  UVM Faculty, Staff and Students

DATE:            April 19, 2011

RE:                  General Education Motion, Outcomes and Process Diagram Posted
 
Based on the formative feedback offered by the Faculty Senate and the campus, we are proposing that the work of completing a general education proposal be moved into the Faculty Senate.  Attached to this message please find 1) a motion and the premises on which it is based; 2) a revised version of the proposed General Education Outcomes; and 3) a flow diagram which outlines a proposed process by which the General Education project would move forward under faculty leadership with checks and balances to ensure Faculty Senate control and appropriate resources.  These documents and additional information are posted on our website <http://www.uvm.edu/provost/generaleducation/ >. 
 
The Joint Committee’s proposal has grown out of extensive outreach and consultation across the campus, research on national models, and a continual review and revision process. 
 
The motion on General Education was approved by unanimous vote of the Student Government Association on April 19th and unanimous vote of the Curricular Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate on April 21st.  The motion is now moving to the full Faculty Senate for consideration. 
 
There will be a special meeting of the full Faculty Senate on Monday, April 25, 4:00-5:30 pm, Livak Ballroom, Davis Center.  The sole purpose of the meeting is to discuss the motion on General Education. There will not be a vote on the motion at this meeting but possibly at the Faculty Senate meeting of May 19, 2011.  We urge you to review the attached documents and to explore the Gen Ed website in preparation for the special meeting on April 25th. 
 
The Joint Committee on General Education feels strongly that its work should be continued in an inclusive, transparent manner.   Voting YES to the Joint Committee’s proposal will:
establish a Senate committee to continue this work

• The committee’s charge from the Senate would likely emphasize
• Refinement of outcomes
• Implementation plans
• Assessment plans
• encourage this new committee to complete this work
• validate the work that has been done to this point, without indicating complete agreement with the entire outcomes document