About the General Education Council
The by-laws call for a committee that includes representation from all Gen Ed categories, community campuses, the library, and at least two non-Gen Ed units. The committee intends not to be exclusive and invites those interested to engage. If over-representation is identified, this can be addressed by the committee.
Membership in the GEC
The Governance Coordinator sent out an original call for nominations in Fall 2022.
Thirteen people self-nominated or agreed to be nominated by
others. All thirteen were appointed by the Faculty Senate in October 2022. One appointed
member later removed herself from the Council since
another faculty member (among the 13 appointees) was also from her unit. Thus, 12
members were initially appointed along with the chair of UAB to
serve as ex officio; two additional faculty self-nominated after the deadline due
to a glitch in the faculty list-serv. These two were added to the GEC
roster and approved by the Faculty Senate in November, bringing the group to 14 members
and the ex officio. In the first AY23 GEC meeting, gaps in
representation were identified from the Natural Sciences, community campuses (other
than Mat-su), and non-GER teaching units. A second call for
nominations was distributed, which yielded a nomination for Natural Sciences also
approved in Faculty Senate in November and interest from Kodiak
College faculty to provide a representation, who is yet to be identified. In November
a second Natural Sciences faculty member also volunteered
(pending approval in December from Faculty Senate), bringing the group to 16.
In future years, members will be appointed in the spring for the following year. Continuity
from year-to-year is recommended, but bringing new people
in is also encouraged.
The vision document from the AY22 Gen Ed Task Force prescribed a set of three working groups and perhaps
a tri-chair model for the leadership. The
first task of the new GEC in AY23 was to discuss the structure of the Council. In
lieu of three working groups, it was proposed to have two working
groups, one on assessment and one on curriculum review, with Gen Ed vision and outreach
being a task for the whole Council. The leads for these two
working groups were proposed to be co-chairs of the GEC. A survey was distributed
to the 15 AY23 GEC members in October 2022 to seek approval
for the proposed structure. With a response rate of 80%, there was unanimous agreement
to approve the structure.
Working Group Appointments
Committee member interest is the primary criteria for serving on an interest group.
However, when there is a need to balance out the membership in
the working groups, members may be asked to serve on one they may not be their first
preference.
For initial working group appointments in FY23, the survey circulated to members
asked about interest in serving on the two working groups. Of the 12
members who responded, six indicated interest in working on the curriculum review
working group, two on the assessment working group, three on
both groups, and one where they would be most useful. The co-chairs assigned members
to the two groups based on the survey and working group
need.