General Education: The Human Community is JMU's core curriculum completed by all undergraduates. Based on common learning outcomes, not a distribution of disciplinary areas, it is a coherent, intentionally designed program of study with elements that distinguish it from conventional general education programs. As new conversations around a strategic renewal of the program begin, faculty and students are invited to visit the website to reacquaint themselves with its mission, outcomes, curricular structure, governance model, diversity statement, guiding principles, and more.
IMPROVING THE TRANSFER EXPERIENCE @JMU
Most (about 53%) of our roughly 4,600 traditional, first-year students come to JMU with transfer credit, chiefly from dual enrollment courses, that they use to satisfy general education or degree requirements. In Fall 2019, JMU awarded credit for over 8,000 courses! Add to that figure the credits awarded to hundreds of transfer students from Virginia community colleges and you’ll understand why we became an active participant in Transfer Virginia last year.
Sponsored by the State Council on Higher Education (SCHEV), Transfer Virginia is a new initiative focused on increasing degree attainment rates while closing the equity gap for underrepresented populations and Pell Grant recipients, especially baccalaureate-seeking community college students. Some crucial aspects of the project are:
- Improving communication and academic collaboration within regions and across the state
- Aligning academic expectations at two-year and four-year institutions
- Developing program maps (pathways) that can guide students from high school, to community college, to four-year degree completion
- Streamlining transfer articulation agreements
- Improving guaranteed admissions agreements
Additional elements include a required Passport (a 16 credit block of community college courses that will satisfy general education requirements at ANY four year, public in the state) and a Uniform Certificate of General Studies (a 30 credit series that will also transfer into any four-year institution.) Although implementation won’t happen before fall 2022, about 90 commonly transferred VCCS courses have already been identified for course revision, and more than 300 two-year and four-year faculty members are involved in the collaboration.
In the meantime, what can we at JMU do make the transfer process more efficient and less arcane to the students who rely on community college transfer credits the most? Several projects are worth noting.
Last year, the General Education program and dozens of departments across campus worked with the Registrar’s office to review and post over 30,000 JMU course equivalencies to Transferology, a new digital transfer credit portal that went live in December 2019. Now, prospective and admitted students can easily determine not only which dual enrollment courses at their high school or community college will transfer but how. By helping students avoid repeating credits already earned, the portal reduces their cost and time to degree. Faculty and advisers can access it using their JMU eIDs, so check it out. Special kudos to Arin Hawse, Andrea Currence, and the rest of the Registrar's team whose collaborative approach made this important project a success!
Additionally, the General Education Program (Meg Mulrooney, lead) coordinated with Admissions, PCE, CISE and colleagues from PVCC, LFCC, and BRCC to secure a SCHEV Excellence and Innovation grant to develop a regional transfer pathway curriculum process. About 70 people, including representatives from local K-12 districts and regional economic development partners, attended an inaugural Pathways Summit in October, and the first regional pathway toward a JMU Information Technology major is now in progress under the expert guidance of Dr. Samy El-Tawab (ISAT). When completed later this spring, it will include the general education Passport along with other aligned VCCS courses needed as prerequisites or major requirements.
Stay alert for more information about Transfer Virginia in the future. As JMU faces shifting enrollments and changing student demographics, more attention will be paid to improving the transfer experience, broadly, especially if we want to maintain our outstanding 4-year and 6-year graduation rates.
Annoucement: General Education Council Collaboration Grants. For deadline and Call for Proposal (CFP), see the website link below:
2020 DISTINGUISHED TEACHING AWARD
I enjoy hearing them say....It has broadened my view of Philosophy and I have a deeper understanding of what Philosophy is and why it's important.
Congratulations to Prof. Michael Trocchia (pictured, far left, with one of his former students), this year's recipient of the General Education Distinguished Teaching Award. He will be honored at two award ceremonies this spring and receive a $1500 honorarium. In the fall, he will be the keynote speaker at the General Education Student Conference banquet. An instructor in the department of Philosophy and Religion, he is being recognized for outstanding instruction of PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy in Cluster Two. Trocchia works in the Scholarly Resources & Discovery Department in Carrier Library and is also an accomplished poet. He is the 17th recipient of this award, which was established in 2004.
Meet the newest members of the General Education Program Team
Ms. Karen McDonnell (WRTC) is our interim Cluster One coordinator for AY 2019-20.
She holds the BA and MA in English from JMU, and her expertise integrates interests in public discourse, ethics, law, and gender. A long-time instructor of WRTC 103: Critical Reading and Writing, she has been involved in the work of the cluster in different ways over the years and is an important asset to the cluster committee, the cluster teaching faculty, and students.
Dr. Elizabeth Theta Brown (Math and Statistics) is our new Cluster Three coordinator.
Brown holds an MA in Philosophy and an MA and PhD in Mathematics, all from Boston University. She has taught multiple courses in the Quantitative Reasoning area, and received the CSM Distinguished Teaching Award in 2017 as well as her department’s teaching award in 2016.
A co-founder of the Logic and Reasoning minor, she regularly teaches mathematics in relation to other disciplines, including the arts and humanities, and brings additional experience as chair of the CSM Diversity Council.
Jackie Robinson joined the General Education program office during the summer (a busy time of year) as our Curricular Support Specialist .
From fielding calls and emails from incoming students, parents, advisors, and academic unit heads, she jumped to managing enrollment processes, handling drop/add and override requests, supporting the annual Student Conference, organizing the Pathways Summit, scheduling meetings, managing the budget, and querying JMU systems.
Fortunately, Jackie has a wealth of administrative experience and good humor. She previously worked in SCOM as the fiscal specialist and before that, she served as office manager and administrative assistant in Student Activities & Involvement office. She holds a BS in Business Administration from Bridgewater College, and will complete the Administrative Assistant Certificate Program (AACP) this year.
General Education Council
The GEC is an advisory body to the program staff and a college level C&I committee charged with curricular oversight of the general education program. Because of those two functions, it is made up of faculty representatives who are either elected or appointed by their respective units, as well as persons from key stakeholder offices. The GEC also has subcommittees that manage some of the program's projects such as the Student Conference, Grants, Distinguished Teaching Award, and Integrative courses. GEC meets monthly. Recent discussions have focused on new course proposals (Math 233 & Math 229), the College of Education's six new degree programs, integrative learning, the coming enrollment "cliff," student mental health concerns, and program renewal. Minutes are distributed to GEC members, so feel free to ask them for updates.
Thank you to the GEC's current members for their service:
Kathy Clarke-JMU Libraries, Chair * Tim Ball-SCOM, Cluster One Rep * Sarah Brooks-Art History, Cluster Two Rep (Bill Wightman, alternate) * Amanda Biesecker-ISAT, Cluster Three Rep, GEC C&I Chair * Tara parson-JUST, Cluster Four Rep * Kethera Fogler-Psychology, Cluster Five Rep* Jon Gibson-Music, CVPA * Aram Shahin-Foreign Language/Lit & Cultures, CAL* Holly McCartney-Early, Elementary & Reading, COE* Kayla Yurco-Geographic Science, CISE *Jana Walter-Kinesiology, CHBS * Phil Heap-Economics, COB * Kristen St. John-Geology & Environmental Science, CSM * John Hathcoat, CARS * Liz Thompson, Libraries * Alan Kirk-PHIL/REL, Faculty Senate * Chris Campbell, CAP * Heidi Deger, SGA Rep
Integrative Learning: Discover Options, Make Connections
"Integrative and applied learning is an understanding and a disposition that a student builds across the curriculum and co-curriculum, from making simple connections among ideas and experiences to synthesizing and transferring learning to new, complex situations within and beyond the campus." American Association of Colleges and Universities
Now in its fourth year, the program's experiment with 300-level, integrative thinking and learning courses continues apace. In Fall 2019, five sections ran with an enrollment of 81; in Spring 2020, there are five sections with an enrollment of 114. That brings the grand total to more than 500 students enrolled!
Faculty interested in participating in the project should consult the program's integrative experiment website and contact Dr. Harold Butner (Integrative Committee Chair) or their friendly neighborhood cluster coordinator.
Kudos to the faculty who are teaching classes this spring semester:
- David Ehrenpreis (ARTH): Monuments & National Identity
- Kathryn Hobson (SCOM): Communication in a Social Media Age
- George Vidal (BIO): Brain and Mind
- Emily York (ISAT): Design Fiction
- Laura Taalman (MATH): Puzzle Analysis
George D. Kuh is the Founding Director, Senior Scholar and Co-principal Investigator at the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment. In this video he describes deep, Integrative Learning:
15th Annual Student Conference, Oct. 11, 2019
The 15th annual General Education Student Conference celebrated excellent work of about 160 student participants in 43 panel sessions. Nearly 20 faculty nominated students to present research or class projects developed in a wide-range of General Education courses. In translating their prior work for conference sessions, student presenters benefit from active or engaged learning--a high impact practice--and enhance their skills in writing, oral communication, and critical thinking (especially metacognition). Scroll down to see what students have to say about the positive impact the conference has on them.
Please join us in congratulating all the student presenters: Erin Arnold * Grace Bailey * Hannah Bailey * Claire Baldacci Ashleigh Bar * Crystal Bateman * Jessie Beddow * Carley Belknap * Bobbi Benassa * Ashley Berdos * Kevin Bie * Mary Binder * Jordan Blake * Veronica Bresnan * Will Brobeck * Gavyn Broce * Meredith Browder * Emily Burdige Chloe Butterfield * Grace Buyas * Emma Calogero * Sylvia Chan * Michael Chladon *Reid Christensen * Steven Chu Ryan Colarossi * Sagan Coleman * Abby Conde * Summer Conley * Benjamin Corey * Peighton Corley * Kaitlin Costello Kate Croxton * Blake Day * Rachel DelRosso * K. Taylor Denny * Taylor DeRosett * Unda Dittaboot * Christine Donald * Nick Dunard * Jordana Dunphy *Paul Dwight * Allison Edwards * Alex Elliott * Emily Flaherty * Charles Flick * Danielle Flinchum * Henry Ford VI * Brittany Frazier * Veronika Funke * Megan Galvani * Will Galvin * Sophia Garabedian * Josie Garner * Grace Garvey * Liam Godbold * Megan Goldsworthy * Elle Good * Brenda Goodson * Courtlan Grinder * Becca Gvozden * Skylar Hatten * Sean Henry * Benjamin Herbert * Dorianna Hill * Gaby Hirsch * Kyle Hogan * Adia Horvath * Ryan Hutcherson * Ryan Hylton * Ben Irwin * Courtney Johnson * Samantha Johnson * Madison Jones * Amadeus Kang * Ryan Keilty * Dylan Kellum * Gillian Kniley * Katarina Knudsen * Jordan Koenig * Lingjia Kong * Bailey Kramarik * Olivia Lacafta * Emily Lambert * Sydney LaScola * Kaitlyn Lauffenberger * Isabel Ledesma * Andrew Lesemann * Ashley Lindquist * Kelsey Liske * Kendall LoMauro * Meghan Long * Reese Manning * Clair Martin * Jacqueline Mateo-Sanchez * Lauren McCusker * Andrew Meyers * Kaylee Mills * Kylie Mirabella * McKenna Mitchell * Emma Mitchum * Clark Moeller * Rob Monachello * Bryana Moore * William Nettles * Allie Newhart * Olivia Nice * Kelsey Nihill * Alexandra Novis * Augustina Osei * AnaLeah Overbey * Olivia Page * Alexa Paredes-Idiaquez * Parth Parik * Irene Peterson * Elijah Poole * Sam Preece * Brook Purcell * Djounelle Rasheeda Tolo * Jessica Reid * Sonya Richard * Molly Rickabaugh * Julia Rogers * Emely Roman * Cassidy Sadonis * Tess Seibel * America Serrano * Leigh Shaffer * Carly Sines * Sarah Slusher * Colby Smith * Kendall Smith * Leah Smith * Emily Snyder * Brooke Solderich * Kat Sparagno * Anoush Stamm * Jason Starr * Kellen Sweeney * Jaeden Tearne * Charlotte Terry * Skylar Thiemann * Rowan Thomas * Chloe Thompson * Tran Trang * Nick Trusty * Madi Tucker * Travis Valle * Rachel Van Roekel * Molly Van Trees * Katie Weaver * Colleen Wetzelberger * Shaye Widlacki * Ashley Wilkins * Claire Willis * Kellyn Womeldurf * Phillip Wong * Ryan Woody
What was your experience participating at the General Education Student Conference?
"I believe that the General Education Conference is a wonderful event unique to JMU; it shines a bright spotlight on the classes and projects that can fly under the radar at other universities. I had a great time last year's event and I expect this year to be even better. I am humbled by the opportunity to have been selected to speak at this conference for the past two years."
By Kellen Sweeney, a junior Management major with a minor in Human Resources Management. He presented at both the 2018 and 2019 conference.
What is your experience participating at the General Education Student Conference?
The General Education Student Conference was such a rewarding experience. It gave me the opportunity to meet like minded students and showcase my research - all while practicing my professional presentation skills.
By Allison Edwards, a junior Public Policy & Administration major with a concentration in public policy. She presented at both the 2018 and 2019 conferences.
What is your experience participating at the General Education Student Conference?
"Being a presenter in the General Education conference really allowed me to feel as though my own hard work had paid off while also still furthering my knowledge on a variety of topics from other student's presentations."-
By Emily Snyder, a senior Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies major with a minor in Elementary Education. She presented at both the 2018 and 2019 conferences.
We would like to extend a special thanks to faculty members who nominated students from their General Education courses and gave them the opportunity to share their academic achievements beyond the classroom:
Michael Allain * Tim Ball * Terry Beitzel * Mike Brislen * Marty Cohen * Christian Davis * Lori Beth DeHertogh * Danielle DeRise * Kerry Dobransky * Liz Edwards * Kathleen Ferraiolo * Sheila Fielding * T.J. Fitzgerald * Dolores Flamiano * Evan Friss * Michael Galgano * H. Gelfand * Mary Handley * Kevin Hardwick * Joanne Hartog * Yongguang Hu * Skip Hyser * Cindy Klevickis * Louise Loe * Karen McDonnell * Carole Nash * John Ott * Heidi Pennington * Steve Reich * Vanessa Rouillon * Michael Seth * Maureen Shanahan * Kristen St. John * Debra Sutton * Megan Tracy * Budimka Uskokovic * Johnathan Walker * Emily Westkaemper * Andrew Witmer * Jim Zimmerman