Use of Shared Governance for GE Council Development and Assessment Sustainability
Track 5: Assessment, Student Success, and Institutional Learning
Name(s):
E. George Beckwith, Faculty Senate Chair, Debra Bean, Associate Provost, and Susan Silverstone,Undergraduate Council Assessment Committee Representative, National University; Bonnie Paller, Director, Office of Academic Assessment and Program Review, and Vicki Pedone, Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, California State University, Northridge
At California State University, Northridge, a recent multi-year effort resulted in a revised General Education package. While individual courses were subsequently certified through the Educational Policies Committee, there was no systematic process for GE curriculum review, program review, assessment, and other aspects of GE management. This challenge has been addressed through the formation of a GE Task Force which, after research and consultation, recommended the creation of a GE Council to oversee all aspects of the program. With a faculty director and a dedicated focus on all aspects of GE, the council is expected to lend coherence to GE management and highlights the holistic relationship among assessment, program review, development of learning outcomes for GE sections, course modification and certification. Until the formation of a GE Council occurs, the GE Task Force, with Faculty Senate approval, continues to work to perform many of the tasks the Council will assume.
