Theme 1: Meetings/Minutes

October 6, 2006

Summary: Greater Humboldt Expectations, Meeting #2, October 6, 2006

Most of the discussion focused on areas of interest raised by the readings (listed on the previous meeting’s notes). Among them:

  • College is available to a large range of people; we must celebrate what everyone brings to the table and help our students – and ourselves – become more aware of biases.
  • Liberal education is a practical education. How do we frame that awareness as a goal for our university? Promote understanding that the mental agility fostered by a liberal education is itself a critical job skill.
  • There is tension between the acceleration of required adaptation vs. the slow pace of courses; there is need for more flexibility – how do we get that in there?
  • What has happened [in higher education] that keeps parents from believing us [about the necessity and practicality of a liberal education]?
  • According to the literature of sociology, vocationalism is a function of social class; its rise is a response to a contracting economy.
  • The necessity to have a moral compass is at the heart of a liberal education.
  • A number of faculty as well as members of the general public disbelieve the claims regarding the practical nature of the liberal arts.
  • This disbelief can be seen in the way we structure classes.
  • The Cornerstones redesign may have an effect on this effort to define our outcomes.
  • Our own emphasis on our own disciplines has led to a structure that doesn’t create opportunities to demonstrate the practicality of the liberal arts.
  • We discussed our charge to produce a document listing the knowledge and skills that should characterize all students who graduate from Humboldt, and agreed to bring in rough ideas for the next meeting.

Readings distributed:

“Guiding Principles for Creating Seamless Learning Environments for Undergraduates,” by George Kuh, Journal of Student Development, March/April 1996, Vol 37 No 2.

WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition:www.english.ilstu.edu/Hesse/outcomes.html