GEAC Minutes
9/29/08
Meeting began 4:00 ended 5:40
Minute taker: Rice

In attendance:  Chapdelaine, Koosed, Thomas, Kalouche, Falabella, Campbell, Langran, Nicolas, Rice.

• The committee agreed that in Jennifer’s absence Irene would forward the EPC motion for creation of the new freshman seminar to Tom Brogan.  The language would be the same as specified in last week’s meeting.

• Jennifer agreed to send the workshop invitation to all faculty.  The committee agreed she should use the draft invitation she had emailed earlier in the day.

• Dan volunteered to post Jennifer’s readings for the 2nd workshop on the blackboard site.  Participants and other interested parties would be enrolled in the blackboard course and informed of the reading’s presence on the site in Jennifer’s invitation email.

• Andrea reviewed the history of the committee to remind us all of our foundations and time line.  The committee agreed that the faculty needed to be shown our structural goals for curriculum reform and the rationales for those structures.  Furthermore, the faculty need a time line for when these structures are expected to be implemented.

• It was agreed that, specifically, we could share the flow chart summary presented in the faculty retreat with some of the “options” representing roads not taken removed from the chart.  Dates of expected implementation could also be added to the chart.  In addition, short statements on the key rationales drawn from the 2006 Dean’s seminar could be provided with the flow chart.  The entire summary should be no more than a few pages, however.

• We decided that we are not prepared to present this summary at the current time, but that we will produce it by December.

• This summary will be presented to the EPC first.  It will then be presented at a faculty meeting, and then there will be informational meetings by division and led by the GEAC representatives from that division.

• The committee began discussion of defining the “Foundations” courses.  We agreed that while the previously existing definition of the structure still suited the committee at least two areas needed to be fleshed out.

First, we need to define the writing portion of the course.  What are our objective for writing in these courses and what required elements will be used to assure those abjectives.

Second, we need to create criteria and method by which courses will be qualified as “Foundation” courses.

• Melissa and Al agreed to present some of the material for the third workshop next meeting and it is presumed that this will help the committee with the planning for the foundations’ writing requirements.