The Keene State College Senate has voted the new general education exploration program into effect.
Professor of History and Senator Nick Germana, chair of the senate curriculum committee (SCC), outlined the plan for how the college will transition to this new general education program. The motion to approve the transition plan was carried by the senate in addition to the program itself.
“The registrar’s office has reassured us [the SCC] that the most important thing is that they’re able to start building the new course shells right now,” Germana said. “So the foundations courses and the liberal arts courses can start moving right away, and then before the end of the semester, we can come up with a plan that will get us through into the fall.”
Germana highlighted integrated interdisciplinary (II) courses as a point requiring future discussion from the SCC.
“Step three will determine how II courses will transition and determine how existing courses will be used to fulfill values and connections requirements,” Germana said.
All other integrated courses currently running will continue as part of the liberal arts curriculum, according to the presentation Germana used during the meeting.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Kirsti Sandy read a statement from President Melinda Treadwell during the courtesy period of the meeting, adding that Treadwell was not able to be physically present because of influenza in her family.
In the statement, Treadwell commended the members of the general education task force for their work putting together the new plan and fielding input from members of the campus community in the process.
“Ultimately, this curriculum affirms both our commitment to liberal arts education as foundational to our identity and flexibility for our programs of study across applied and specialized disciplines that prepare our students for meaningful lives and work,” Treadwell stated.
Associate Professor of Mathematics and Senate Chair Karen Stanish said she felt the lack of discussion of the general education program was not indicative of a lack of interest.
“It just reflects the fact that we’ve had such a thorough and open process that everyone feels at home, that they have been heard,” Stanish said.
Also on the senate’s agenda were some program additions and deletions, including the addition of a certificate in applied genocide prevention, the inactivation of the atrocity prevention graduate certificate and the addition of the early childhood minor. All three motions were carried unanimously.
Senior and Senator Jacob Favolise voiced his support for the certificate in applied genocide prevention and spoke about a detail that would allow prospective students to use previous work experience as part of their portfolio when applying for the program.
“There’s been some discussions about the unprecedented nature of this portfolio option for evaluating admission to the certificate program,” Favolise said. “Undergraduate students at Keene State College have the option to fill out a form to indicate an intent to apply credit from work or life experience before. This is not totally without precedent, this is a means that our expert faculty in their expert areas use to evaluate student learning knowledge all the time.”
The senate will next convene for its regular monthly meeting in March.
Charlotte King can be contacted at
