Review of General Education Requirements Courses in Humanities

GER Subcommittee of the University APCC Departmental Documentation Submitted: 2015

Subcommittee Report: Initial Report, April 2017

Please direct any questions to the subcommittee via Kristen Murphy at kmurphy@uwm.edu

Overview Overall Compliance: Self-studies were submitted for 224 out of the 290 total HU courses. These were submitted by 18 of the 28 departments housing Humanities courses with 12 departments submitting complete self studies (covering all GER HU courses). No self-studies were submitted by 10 of the 28 departments housing Humanities courses. A number of departments have a number of jointly-offered courses and reporting responsibility may have been unclear. Syllabi Compliance: Departments with GER Humanities courses for which self-studies were submitted have, in general, done a good job of integrating UW System and UWM learning goals into the syllabi. There are numerous models of syllabi that can be used to further develop and/or re-develop less complete materials. These model syllabi with nicely articulated learning goals and assessment provide reassurance that similar courses within the department also meet GER criteria. In the department-specific review sheets we have also made recommendations for the current review cycle (to move a course from the recommendation of deletion of GER HU status) and future reviews. For future syllabi altering and developing for GER HU courses, it is also recommended that departments consider using the template developed by the College of Letters and Science. Learning Goals/Assessment: Alignment of the UW System and UWM learning goals with the course goals or learning objectives were generally well done when completed. It was evident in some of the submitted materials, that some instructors/departments have not fully articulated the course assessment details (including the use of rubrics where applicable, types of assessments, assessment schedules, etc.) nor how these align to the learning goals. Instructor Qualifications: Because most of the courses with GER designation are integral pieces of a department’s introduction to the major, an investment has been made to provide instruction by faculty or experienced teaching academic staff, and it was found that instructors are qualified. Data Review Supporting Data: Overall, only a small number of departments have collected assessment data on the achievement of Humanities learning outcomes. For most departments that provided self-studies, actual hard data was not consistently presented for an array of courses over a consistent period. Future pressures to provide assessment data, particularly for GER courses may require that departments submit consistent assessment plans with supporting assessment data for a fixed period of time leading into review. Support from campus may be required for this to be fully operationalized. Incorporation into Course/Curriculum Planning: Because assessment data was not widely submitted, the use of the assessment data into course and curriculum planning was also limited. As assessment plans are more fully developed, it is expected that subsequent course and curriculum planning will also increase.

Attachment 12

Recommendations Continuation of HU GER Designation: The committee recommends the GER HU designation be continued for all compliant courses. These are listed by department and subdepartment in Table 1. In particular, the committee would like to commend the departments of the bold courses as excellent examples of articulating the GER HU intent.

Table 1: Courses recommended for HU GER continuation 

Dept  Sub Dept  HU Course 

Africology     100, 102, 205, 210, 314 

Art Hist     101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 205, 206, 250 

Celtic Studies     133 

Communications     103, 192, 362 

Comparative Lit     133, 135, 192, 207, 208, 230, 231, 232, 233, 209, 381 

Curr. & Instr.    233 

English    150, 192, 209, 210, 215, 223, 223, 229, 240, 243, 245, 251, 253, 268, 269, 276, 277, 278, 279, 310, 373, 685 

Foreign Lang & Lit 

Chinese  150, 160, 200 

Classics  101, 170, 171, 172, 201, 202, 274, 301, 302, 303, 304, 312, 370, 390 

FLL  240 

German  111, 112, 145, 260, 270, 301, 305, 311, 332, 333, 334, 381 

Hebrew St  100, 192, 230, 231, 235, 238, 254, 261, 368 

Polish  236 

Russian  245, 350, 361 

ScandStd  102, 115 (German) 

French     145, 192, 303, 324, 332, 357, 383, 426 

History   101, 102, 150, 176, 192, 201, 202, 203, 205, 229, 235, 236, 242, 267, 271, 280, 282, 398, 436 

Jewish Studies     101, 247 

Latin Am & Carib St     101 

Philosophy     111, 192, 204, 211, 213, 215, 217, 235, 237, 250, 253 

Ed Pol & Com St     212 

Therapeutic Rec     103 

Women's Studies    150, 192, 201 

Removal of GER HU from Courses: The committee recommends the removal of GER HU for any course that did not submit a syllabus. Additionally, the committee recommends the GER HU removal from courses where substantial information was lacking to support the GER HU designation. Both of these are listed in Table 2 by department and sub department (where applicable). Multiple attempts were made by the committee to the departments to receive the complete self-studies. The committee would be happy to change their recommendations in the event a department submits a late or revised syllabus. Table 2: Courses recommended for GER HU removal Department  Sub Dept  HU Course  Reasoning 

Africology    111, 112 

substantial information lacking in syllabi 

  235, 261  no syllabi received 

Table 2: Courses recommended for GER HU removal (cont) Department  Sub Dept  HU Course  Reasoning 

Am Indian Studies   

276, 520 substantial information lacking in syllabi 

Art History     111, 241, 261, 358, 381  no syllabi received 

English    111, 262, 290, 295, 332, 372, 507  no syllabi received 

  221, 222, 247, 248, 260, 261, 263, 280, 281, 507 

substantial information lacking in syllabi 

Ethnic Studies     101, 102, 192*, 255, 275, 497  no syllabi received 

Film Studies     111, 192*, 205, 206, 212, 290, 295  no syllabi received 

Foreign Lang & Lit 

Arabic  111, 164  no syllabi received 

Chinese  192*  No syllabus received 

Classics  192*, 260, 381, 497 No syllabi received; 497 no longer a candidate for GER 

FLL  192*, 216  No syllabi received 

German  160, 192*, 250  No syllabi received 

Hebrew St  232, 250, 251, 381  No syllabi received 

Polish  192*, 259, 260  No syllabi received 

Russian  192*, 235, 236, 360  no syllabi received 

ScandStd  114 (German)  No syllabi received 

History   

226, 227, 246, 270, 272, 274, 281, 283, 288 substantial information lacking in syllabi 

Honors College     200, 350  no syllabi received 

Italian   

145, 192*, 242, 243, 245, 256, 258, 265, 312 

no syllabi received 

Jewish Studies    192*  no syllabus received 

 261, 368, 379 

substantial information lacking in syllabi 

Journalism, et al.   

111, 113, 192*, 210, 214, 260, 361 substantial information lacking in syllabi 

Latin Am & Carib St     192*  no syllabus received 

LGBT     192*, 200, 275  no syllabi received 

L&S Hum     101, 192*, 291, 292, 293  no syllabi received 

Linguistics    100, 192*, 200, 211, 380  no syllabi received 

  210 

substantial information lacking in syllabus 

Philosophy   

101, 207, 212, 232, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 381 

no syllabi received 

Portuguese     225, 360, 380  no syllabi received 

Religious Studies     101, 192*  no syllabi received 

Spanish     225, 371, 373, 391  no syllabi received 

Ed Pol & Com St     3  no syllabi received 

Info Studies     2  no syllabi received *192 Courses are first‐year seminars 

Syllabi Compliance: Specific recommendations have been made to departments. See departmental reports.

Learning Goals/Assessment: Specific recommendations have been made to departments. See departmental reports. Administrative: The APCC and the APCC GER subcommittee should continue to articulate expectations for assessment results and subsequent use of these results. Both groups should also address consequences for departments that do not comply with the review process or meet the review guidelines.