New Ongoing Curriculum Review Process

The Faculty Senate’s charge to the University Studies Advisory Committee (see p.37) places among the committee’s duties to review existing and proposed content of University Studies curriculum. As part of meeting that charge, the USAC proposed—in a 2014 motion that was approved by the Faculty Senate—a mechanism for regularly reviewing the existing courses that form the curriculum.
Starting this fall, we will at long last operationalize this process, which had not been put into effect because of previous reviews and revisions to the curriculum and because of extensive recertification efforts like the one undertaken in AY 2016-17.
The review will follow a four-year schedule:

• Year 1: Approaches and Perspectives (AIL, HPA, SANW, UHIB, LDN, LGS) (~340 courses)
• Year 2: Foundations + WI (~275 courses)
• Year 3: Explorations Beyond the Classroom (~255 courses)
• Year 4: IL + CR (~270 courses)

The motion from 2014 established these general guidelines for the review process:

• Establishing a faculty committee by USAC to undertake the annual review;
• Creating a secure repository by the Office of Undergraduate Studies for ongoing review materials, organized by year;
• Developing a rubric by the Review Committee to use for the ongoing course review process;
• Establishing a cycle during which all components are reviewed and a sample of courses is analyzed in a “systematic and collaborative manner”;
• Conducting regular meetings of the Review Committee to discuss, build consensus, and identify courses that may need additional monitoring; and
• Generating a report at the end of each review cycle by the Review Committee and Office of Undergraduate Studies, submitted to USAC.
• By the beginning of September, the review committee (eight members plus a chair) for that year should be constituted. USAC members will have right of first refusal.

Undergraduate Studies Stands by Our Students After Atlanta

We hear you; we see you; we support you; we respect you. Undergraduate Studies, University College, and our Honors College stand in solidarity with our Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities and especially our undergraduate students. We are with you, and encourage you to reach out to your advisors with particular needs and questions.

University Studies Diversity Curriculum Grants

UNCW’s University Studies program is offering two funding opportunities for faculty interested in strengthening University Studies and department/program-level course offerings that directly address UNCW’s Living in Our Diverse Nation learning outcomes and our university’s learning goals of Diversity and Global Citizenship. Full-time faculty, both lecturers and tenure-track faculty, are encouraged to apply. Application deadlines are April 15 and May 1, 2021. Click here for more information and the application forms.

UGS Faculty Forum on Race and Diversity

On Friday, March 12th at 2:00, Undergraduate Studies will host a virtual forum to facilitate faculty reflection on our university-level diversity student learning outcomes and the curriculum that delivers them.

Topics for reflection and review will include the Living in a Diverse Nation SLOs, what past assessment of these and related outcomes has to say about how we are doing in this area, and department/program-level diversity outcomes and how these outcomes accord with department/program curricula.

From the forum, we hope to develop practical ways to encourage and resource departments to reflect on their curricular offerings as they relate both to their own programs and to University Studies.

For more information, click here.

For a link for the virtual forum, please contact Don Bushman at bushmand@uncw.edu.

New Director of University Studies

The Dean of Undergraduate Studies and University Studies is pleased to announce that Dr. Donald Bushman, associate professor in the Department of English, has been appointed director of University Studies, effective at the start of the Fall 2019 semester.  Dr. Beverley McGuire will remain in this role through the summer and will support Dr Bushman’s transition.  We hope you all will join us in thanking her for her three years of service as she transitions back to full time faculty status. 

 

As director of University Studies, Dr. Bushman will work with the Faculty Senate and the University Studies Advisory Committee, UNCW’s colleges and schools, University College, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and other campus constituents to help administer the University Studies program and strengthen that curriculum.  He will also serve as an advocate and source of information for University Studies, represent University Studies in appropriate venues, and facilitate coordination among the University Studies' Explorations Beyond the Classroom component and the work of the Office of Applied Learning.  In addition, he will work with the General Education Assessment Coordinator and others in the assessment and strategic improvement of University Studies.  The director is also responsible for the review of relevant student petitions and requests for waivers.  He will also collaborate with the Dean of Undergraduate Studies on efforts to enhance and promote undergraduate education at UNCW.

 

Dr. Bushman earned a Ph.D. in English, with a specialization in rhetoric and composition, from the University of Tennessee.  Prior to his appointment at UNCW, he was a member of the University of Arizona’s University Composition Board, the unit of the English Department that oversees their writing-across-the-curriculum program.  At UNCW he has served as both composition coordinator and Chair in the English Department.  He regularly teaches first-year composition classes, as well as upper-level classes on such topics as argument, style analysis, and the history of rhetoric.  He is excited to assume his responsibilities and contribute to the strengthening of UNCW’s undergraduate liberal arts experience.

 

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Bushman on his new role. 

Apply to be a Writing Intensive Faculty Fellow!

Would you like to join a multidisciplinary conversation about how to move the university forward in its approach to and support of writing across the disciplines? Stipends of $1000 will be awarded to faculty from a variety of disciplines in this program to discuss strategies for improving writing across the disciplines at UNCW. Fellows will meet for four sessions of 90 minutes (two in spring 2018; two in fall 2018) to discuss how they instruct students about writing within their discipline, incorporate an iterative writing process in their instruction, and address challenges posed by Writing Intensive courses. Fellows will also work on individual and collaborative projects to improve writing instruction across the university by revisiting the role of WI courses in the curriculum and developing a shared vocabulary for writing strategies and concepts.

See below for details about the program. Your application should include the following:

• Your name, department, and Writing Intensive courses that you teach
• Examples of activities or assignments you use to instruct students about audience expectations, genre conventions, and citation practices within your discipline
• How you approach the iterative writing process in your course (e.g. how you give feedback, etc.)
• Challenges you have encountered in teaching Writing Intensive courses
• A potential project for improving writing across the disciplines at UNCW

Send it as an attachment (Word or PDF file) to Dr. Beverley McGuire (mcguireb@uncw.edu) by Wednesday March 28, 2018. Email Dr. McGuire if you have any questions about the program!

Writing Intensive Faculty Fellows Program

University Studies Requirements 2018-2019

Click here for a 1-page PDF of University Studies requirements for students in the 2018-2019 catalogue year and later, which reflects the reduction in the required hours of Writing Intensive and Information Literacy from 9 hours to 6.

Maximizing Student Success in High Impact Practices

A workshop with Michele Hansen and Susan Kahn, IUPUI
Friday February 23, 2018
2-4 pm
Morton 100

Click on the links below to access the handouts from the workshop:

• Powerpoint from workshop
• HIPs Assessment Plan Checklist
• Direct and Indirect Measures of Student Learning
• IUPUI Experiential and Applied Learning Record
• HIPs Taxonomy for Themed Learning Communities
• HIPs Taxonomy for Service Learning
• IUPUI ePortfolio mission, values, and vision
• UW-Stout ePortfolio rubric
• ePDP (Personal Development Plan) Rubric

WI / IL credit hour reduction (for 2018-2019)

In October 2017 the Faculty Senate voted to reduce the required hours of Writing Intensive and Information Literacy from 9 hours to 6, beginning for students next year (2018-2019 catalogue).

Apply to be the General Education Assessment Faculty Fellow!

Undergraduate Studies seeks a General Education Assessment Faculty Fellow for the 2017-2018 academic year. This new position will collaborate with the General Education Assessment office in strengthening the faculty role in reviewing UNCW student learning and assessment data and processes, and supporting and enhancing the communication of assessment findings.

Anticipated responsibilities include:

• support and coordination for General Education Assessment processes at UNCW
• assistance in disseminating General Education Assessment findings to faculty
• assisting the General Education Assessment Coordinator and University Studies Director and the University Studies Advisory Committee in developing and implementing review processes

The rewards of the position include:

• opportunities to discuss and share assessment findings and ways to use them, especially across and between disciplines
• a broader appreciation of and input into how General Education Assessment is done across campus
• opportunities to help develop future General Education Assessment initiatives and practices
• a course release or overload pay equivalent to one course release credit per academic year

To apply for the General Education Assessment Faculty Fellow position, please send a current CV and a statement of intent of one page to Paul Townend at townendp@uncw.edu by noon on Friday October 13, 2017. In your statement, please address your experience with assessment, your assessment philosophy, and some ideas for increasing faculty awareness and use of assessment findings.

If you have any questions about the expectations or qualifications for the Fellow position, please feel free to contact Paul Townend, Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Undergraduate Studies or Lea Bullard, General Education Assessment Coordinator (bullardlr@uncw.edu).

New Coordinator of General Education Assessment

Undergraduate Studies is happy to announce that Lea Bullard has accepted a new position as coordinator of General Education Assessment, collaborating with the Director of University Studies and the University Studies Advisory Committee in keeping UNCW's assessment of University Studies robust and effective. She is a homegrown Seahawk, born in Wilmington and receiving a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s of Arts in Teaching degree from UNCW. Lea returned to UNCW in September 2010 as a research assistant for General Education Assessment. Prior to that, she was a research assistant at the University of Michigan where she earned a master’s degree in Educational Assessment and Measurement. She has more than 10 years of experience in higher education as both an educator and researcher.

"I’m passionate about student learning and I look forward to supporting UNCW’s commitment to the journey of learning, inquiry, and discovery for our students. As a critical piece to supporting the learning experience, assessment of our general education program helps guide curriculum and ensures that our learning outcomes remain focused on the needs of our students and society. I am excited to continue that work and to continue to grow with UNCW.”