St. Cloud State University

Core Component 4B:
The organization demonstrates that acquisition of a breadth of knowledge and skills and the exercise of intellectual inquiry are integral to its educational programs.

St. Cloud State University demonstrates that acquisition of a breadth of knowledge and skills and exercise of intellectual inquiry are integral to its educational programs through its stated goals, Strategic Plan, curricular design and criteria, collaboration and cross-disciplinary interaction, strong interdisciplinary programming, integration of research opportunities into student life, and focus on advanced practical applications and pre-professional experience.

The language of St. Cloud State University’s stated goalsand Strategic Plan shows that the university is intentional in providing a breadth of knowledge and skills and education of the whole person for lifelong learning. Goal three explicitly calls for the university to “promote liberal arts and sciences as an integral part of the General Education program and many major and minor programs” as well as to provide “opportunities for specialized learning at the graduate and undergraduate levels.” In addition, St. Cloud State University seeks to provide preparation for “leadership and fulfilling careers”; “knowledge of the social, intellectual, and artistic foundations of history and culture”; skills such as “creative and critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and self-understanding” necessary for “productive and responsible living”; “appreciation of both continuity and change”; “respect for the values of a diverse society and multicultural world and a concern for individual worth and human rights”; “understanding of the application of technology and scientific methods”; “skills necessary for the critical evaluation of information, technology, and methodology”; international and interdisciplinary awareness; and “access to lifelong learning.”

The Strategic Plan makes explicit reference to providing a “comprehensive learning experience,” “meaningful diversity education for the entire campus, including support for curricula that include diverse perspectives,” and “technological skills necessary to compete in the marketplace.” With these goals in mind St. Cloud State University offers broad-based curricular and co-curricular opportunities for education of the whole person.

In keeping with St. Cloud State University’s mission as a comprehensive university, departments and academic programs recognize the importance of their role in educating students in the higher order thinking, creativity, and practical applications required by academic disciplines, professions, management, leadership, employment, citizenship, and lifelong learning. Building on general education and basic preparation for college-level study, the university’s academic programs bring students from the introductory level to experience with the higher order skills of analysis and integration to advanced levels of research, practical applications, and problem-solving.

General Education

The university has established general education criteria which call for the acquisition of a breadth of knowledge, development of inquiry and critical judgment, education in diversity, and preparation for lifelong learning. St. Cloud State University’s General Education Curriculum is accordingly a multifaceted program consisting of the General Education Core Curriculum (the core), three distribution areas, and requirements in diversity, racial issues in the United States, and wellness. None of these elements is specifically designed as an entrance to majors, though the three distribution areas can beused to try out courses within programs in which a student might have an interest.

The core consists of five academic competencies: written communication, oral communication, mathematical thinking, critical thinking, and democratic citizenship. These competencies are intended to establish the fundamental skills that all students need to be successful at the university level within every major, as well as in their lifelong experience. In order to be included in the General Education Curriculum, a course must meet three of the following five criteria: development of academic skills, interdisciplinary connections, inquiry and critical judgment abilities, understanding of human values, and multicultural appreciation.

The distribution areas encompass fine arts and humanities, natural science, and social and behavioral science. These distribution areas allow students to understand how the domains of knowledge and different disciplines approach the acquisition, analysis, dissemination, and use of knowledge. Since the overall goal of St. Cloud State University’s General Education program is to ensure that students are exposed to a breadth of disciplines and skills, only in a few selected programs are students required to take, as part of their degree program, a course that is also a general education course. The rationale is that St. Cloud State University wants its students to select general education courses from a wide variety of topics. In those disciplines where a general education course also is required for the major there is a clear logic. For example CHEM 101 and CHEM 105 are clearly intended for non-science majors. They serve as valuable courses for giving non-science majors a basic understanding of chemistry and scientific analysis. However, it would not be appropriate for students in some of the science majors to take these chemistry classes. Hence CHEM 210 is also a general education course, but is required in major programs such as Biology and Chemistry, as it is an essential core course for some science disciplines.

The fact that the two professional colleges, Business and Education, have very limited offerings within the distribution areas demonstrates that the General Education program is primarily designed for students to acquire a breadth of knowledge and skills rather than for immediate specialized application.

The diversity requirement is structured to help students gain an understanding of minority, gender, and global issues. Students must complete at least three courses within the diversity curriculum, including one Racial Issues course.

Students can meet their general education requirements through the General Education Curriculum, the Honors Program, or the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (see below). The vast majority of students complete the St. Cloud State University General Education Curriculum with very few variations. Any variation in the General Education Curriculum must be approved through the University Curriculum Committee (UCC).

General Education Committee

The General Education Committee (GEC) is made up of faculty representatives from each college and special services and is chaired by a faculty member. The Committee is responsible for the General Education Curriculum at St. Cloud State University. Specifically, the committee:

• Makes recommendations to the University Curriculum Committee (UCC) concerning General Education policies.
• Examines the program continually for improvement and makes recommendations to the UCC for action.
• Studies, helps, and makes recommendations concerning effective teaching practices, desirable objectives and educational consequences in the General Education program.
• Assists in the planning and development of interdepartmental general education courses and assessment.
• Plans and implements the revision of General Education

Without question, a major current initiative in progress is the university-wide review of General Education. A Position Paper concerning General Education Curriculum Review was approved by both the Strategic Planning Committee and the GEC in March 2005. Subsequently, the Strategic Planning Committee approved the Academic Distinction Indicator that includes the objective that “the University will continually improve the quality of the General Education program through ongoing program review and assessment.”

In January 2006, the St. Cloud State University Faculty Senate approved the General Education Mission Statement, as follows: “The General Education Program at St. Cloud State University is committed to the ideal of liberal education that provides knowledge, skills and experience and promotes critical thinking and ethical values for a lifetime of integrative learning in a diverse and changing society.” The development of the mission statement was informed by the St. Cloud State University mission and goals, Minnesota Transfer Curriculum, HLC Statement on General Education, General Education mission and goals statements from peer institutions, and various documents published by the American Association of Colleges and Universities.

The GEC has hosted three faculty forum sessions (April 6, 2005, “General Education at St. Cloud State University”; August 30, 2005, “Re-Envisioning General Education at St. Cloud State University”; and April 5, 2006, “St. Cloud State University General Education Student Learning Outcomes that Matter in Today’s World”) with the express purpose of engaging faculty in discussion of General Education mission and goals. At the spring 2006 Faculty Forum, attendees had an opportunity to consider the draft goals from GEC.

It is the intent of the General Education Committee to proceed with discussions at department, college, and university meetings in order to achieve broad consensus on approval of operational and measurable goals. The next steps will be to develop student learning outcomes, and then to undertake revision of the General Education Curriculum structure. It will be important to consider the interface between General Education and major/minor programs of study across four years. Some of the larger credit programs on campus (e.g. Education, Engineering) suggest specific courses in General Education to take to streamline student program requirements and facilitate their graduation schedule. The GEC needs to get more information about this and incorporate it into its revision process.

General Education assessment initiatives have been detailed under Core Component 3A. Another current initiative in progress is implementation of the Upper Division Writing Requirement for students who entered the university as of fall 2005. Generally, this requirement involves satisfactory completion of a writing intensive course at the 300/400 level within the student's major.

Minnesota Transfer Curriculum

As noted above, the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) offers an alternate, statewide General Education program. During the 2000-2001 academic year, this curriculum was introduced by legislative mandate with the expectation that all public institutions of higher education, including the University of Minnesota, would not only honor the curriculum but offer it as a General Education program. The curriculum was designed specifically for transfer students to allow them to move between state institutions with ease. The MnTC is built around the following ten goal areas: (1) communication, (2) critical thinking, (3) natural sciences, (4) mathematical and logical reasoning (5) history and the social and behavioral sciences, (6) humanities and fine arts, (7) human diversity, (8) global perspectives, (9) ethical and civic responsibility, and (10) people and the environment.

Students completing the MnTC must fulfill all ten goals and complete a minimum of 40 semester credits. Currently, only St. Cloud State University approved general education courses are assigned to each of the ten goal areas.

The impact of the MnTC on the mission and goals of the St. Cloud State University General Education program is limited because fewer than five percent of our students graduate having completed the MnTC. The biggest difference between the two programs is in the diversity and racial issues requirements within the St. Cloud State University General Education Curriculum. The university has placed a high priority on educating students about issues of diversity in terms of minority, global, gender, and racial issues. The emphasis that St. Cloud State University places on these issues is significantly greater than in the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum. St. Cloud State University’s program also features a wellness and fitness requirement that MnTC does not include. On the other hand, we do not include an environmental requirement, as does MnTC.

Concurrent with the internal General Education revision is a review of courses designated to fulfill MnTC requirements. MnSCU has directed each campus to submit a report on such a review by January 2008. As both of these processes proceed, the university should anticipate the possibility of future pressure to align its General Education Curriculum more closely with MnTC or to adopt MnTC in place of the internal program. Such a scenario could seriously impact St. Cloud State University’s diversity and physical education requirements, as well as departments currently offering so-called “right-column” courses, which students may use on a limited basis to fulfill distribution requirements. Each of the three distribution areas allow students to choose no more than four credits from a secondary list of courses. Some departments only offer general education courses on the secondary, “right-column” list. The MnTC does not provide for this option, and affected departments could experience declining enrollments.

University-wide Curriculum, Majors, and Advanced Programs: Contribution to a Breadth of Knowledge

St. Cloud State University offers a broad range of majors in the liberal arts, sciences, and professions. Curriculum development is directed by faculty, beginning at the department and college levels, with oversight and approval by Faculty Association college curriculum committees, the General Education Committee, and the University Curriculum Committee, as well as the Office of Academic Affairs. The University Curriculum Committee:

• Establishes curriculum policy in relationship to general university purposes and goals.
• Examines the curriculum continuously for possibilities of improvement.
• Reviews, coordinates, and acts upon all university curriculum proposals.
• Establishes and acts upon academic policies related to curriculum, such as evaluation of students and graduation requirements.
• Aids in establishing guidelines and transmittal procedures for submitting curriculum proposals.
• Studies and evaluates instructional problems and makes recommendations accordingly.
• Hears appeals on any curriculum matter.
• Reviews and makes recommendations on proposals concerning External Studies and Continuing Education.

Throughout the curriculum development and approval process there are opportunities for consultation with departments and programs that may be affected by new curriculum, as well as with deans and other administrators. This faculty driven process helps ensure academic integrity and cross-disciplinary communication.

The cross-disciplinary work of the curriculum process can be seen university-wide in such requirements as the senior capstone course or experience in many major programs and the upper division writing requirement currently being implemented for all new students as of fall 2005. The capstone requirement directs students to advanced integrative work in seminars, research or design projects, senior thesis projects, internships, or, in the case of future teachers, in student teaching. The upper division writing requirement calls for each major program to ensure that its graduates have the synthesizing experience of advanced writing in the discipline. These requirements enable students to gain a vision of advanced scholarship and its applications and provide for vital career preparation, honing the ability to conceptualize and work across more than one framework of understanding. For example:

• Senior students carry out applied projects and theses in such departments as Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Mass Communications. History students participate in a two-semester senior thesis program.
• Students can take international geography field courses or participate in the Akita, Japan, summer English as a Second Language program and the Linking Akita and Minnesota Professionally (LAMP) program.
• The Communication Science and Disorders Department operates a Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic, serving up to 200regional clients annually, allowing students to practice their discipline in a professional setting while at the university.
• Teacher education programs in the sciences, social sciences, and the arts and humanities have traditionally ensured that St. Cloud State University programs maintain strong elements of both theory and practice, while demanding breadth of understanding and the ability to apply knowledge, all aspects of education that are important for keeping future educators adaptable as well as knowledgeable.

At a comprehensive university such as St. Cloud State University, faculty members collaborate and communicate across disciplines in the discovery, acquisition, and application of knowledge. St. Cloud State University’s faculty members commonly manage a variety of course preparations each year in order to ensure disciplinary coverage on both undergraduate and graduate levels, especially in programs with few instructors. As a result, St. Cloud State University faculty members can rarely be accused of being too narrowly specialized, and most can teach with an ability to convey the bigger picture of their fields to novice students while making use of applications that allow students to see each field’s usefulness in the world. We are particularly proud of our strong record of multi-disciplinary scholarship and faculty-student collaboration across disciplines. (See Exhibit 4B in Resource Room for more detail.)

This tradition includes a range of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary programs that bring faculty into collaborative work with one another on programming, curriculum, and student development, including cross-curricular programming. Some examples include:

• First Year Experience
• The African Studies, East Asian, and Latin American Studies programs
• The Community Studies and Ethnic Studies programs
• The University Honors program with its strong history of multi-disciplinary interaction in its faculty advisory committee, curriculum, and interdisciplinary teaching arrangements (the Honors Program is currently expanding its reach so that undergraduates may continue to work at the Honors level during their junior and senior years)
• The Humanities major, which enables faculty in Fine Arts and Humanities and in Social Sciences to engage in cross-disciplinary teaching
• The interdisciplinary Women’s Studies program which has recently expanded to a major
• The Jewish Studies program, currently under development
• Current initiatives in the College of Science and Engineering, including a college process of interdisciplinary program evaluation and development of a Master’s Degree in Regulatory Affairs and Services

St. Cloud State University offers 66 graduate programs at the Masters, Specialist, Professional Licensure, and Certificate levels. These programs have long made it possible for students to combine disciplinary approaches across departments for effective professional preparation. Interdepartmental master’s degree programs include the multi-disciplinary Social Responsibility Master’s degree, the Public and Nonprofit Institutions Master’s, and the Gerontology program. Cross-fertilization among undergraduate and graduate programs also occurs as graduate students serve as teaching assistants in undergraduate courses, as tutors for undergraduate and graduate students, and as participants in research projects that involve both faculty and students at all levels. St. Cloud State University has been exploring a number of five-year bachelor’s to master’s programs that would streamline students’ coursework towards graduation into specialized professions. Such a five-year program has already been established in Applied Economics. The opportunity to offer applied doctorates in several fields is also on the horizon.

Curricular and Co-curricular Activities: Contributions to Breadth of Knowledge and Skills

Student involvement in basic and applied research is covered under Core Component 4A above. Clearly, St. Cloud State University takes seriously its role as a public institution and its responsibility to support faculty and student research to discover, solve problems, and contribute to the good of the community, state, region, and the public. The range of curricular and co-curricular activities through engagement with local and state communities through service-learning projects and faculty research contributions facilitates an ongoing awareness of diversity and global perspectives. Additional evidence of institutional support for and student engagement in intellectual inquiry, independent activity, practical applications, creativity, and social responsibility follows:

• Interdisciplinary research programs include the Camp Ripley Field Station Initiative, CELS at Kathio State Park, the Environmental and Social Sciences initiative, and the Belize study abroad research program.
• The Human Performance Laboratory in the College of Education involves undergraduate and graduate students in numerous ongoing research activities.
• Students in the College of Fine Arts and Humanities engage in independent studies, internships, senior thesis projects, practicum development, community projects, audio and video projects, and public performances. (See the College Compendium in the Resource Room)
• Students maintain a campus newspaper, and the university operates radio and television stations staffed by Mass Communication students.
• The Theatre, Film Studies, and Dance department sponsors an annual International Film Series, live theatre productions, and dance performances.
• The Art department sponsors regular gallery exhibitions in multi-media formats, and the Music department sponsors a variety of instrumental and vocal performances.
• The English department publishes two student edited literary magazines
• A multitude of internship and graduate assistantship opportunities are available for students to acquire practical and pre-professional experience.
• Of the 242 student organizations on campus, many are professional student clubs; others provide practical experience and leadership development opportunities in a broad array of subject areas including arts, communications, language and culture, political and social concerns, recreation and sports, religion and spirituality, and student government.
• The Volunteer Connection office provides students the opportunity to develop leadership skills, a sense of belonging, and civic responsibility through involvement in meaningful service. (See Core Component 5B for more detail.) The co-curricular transcript enables students to document their co-curricular activities.
• Faculty often require students to attend University Program Board (UPB) events, such as concerts, films, literary arts, festivals, performing arts, speakers, special events, coffeehouse performers, and visual arts. UPB also provides students with concrete experience in planning, publicizing, and implementing programs, thus, helping them develop lifelong skills to complement their academic experiences and contribute to their future success.

Student Life and Development Activities

The Division of Student Life and Development (SLD) is committed to contributing to a student learning experience that creates formal and informal environments that facilitate the development of the whole person. Serving as an active partner provides opportunities to direct energy into intellectually engaged programs that capture the diverse richness that exists in the community and builds upon the complex ways that students grow, develop, and learn. Additionally, the division contributes to the learning community through its own programs that assist students in being successful academically and personally.

SLD works closely with Academic Affairs in the implementation of the university’s Strategic Plan, specifically the academic distinction strategic theme. The division is working closely with the Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the implementation of the university’s comprehensive Student Success Plan. Various staff members serve on the New Orientation Task Force as well as serve on various sub-committees.

Residential Life staff members are working closely with the First Year Experience program (FYE) in the implementation of learning communities in the residence halls. Additionally, the division is working with the FYE program in the implementation of the Academic Resource Mentors (ARMS), a program component of the learning communities. ARMs are sophomores, juniors, or seniors selected to help members of the community understand the various academic resources that exist on campus and how to use them. ARMs live in the same residence hall as the learning community and meet with the community once each week to discuss academic resources available on campus. The SLD staff and more specifically, Residence Life staff are integral partners in the development and delivery of ARMS Training.

Initiatives are currently in progress that will enhance the university’s ability to support inquiry, creativity, applied learning, and social responsibility. For example, different means of increasing student retention and tracking academic success, such as the early warning system, are currently being piloted by the university, and services provided by the Write Place are being expanded at a new satellite location in the Miller Center to increase accessibility to writing support.

Evaluation of Core Component 4B

St. Cloud State University demonstrates that the acquisition of a breadth of knowledge and skills is integral to its educational programs through its mission and goals, Strategic Plan, General Education program (including diversity and citizenship requirements), university-wide requirements and broad curricular offerings (including professional and applied disciplines), cross-curricular collaboration and multi-disciplinary programming, and its array of co-curricular activities.

Strengths: We have a strong tradition of faculty involvement at the center of curriculum development, review, and revision, a tradition which contributes to academic integrity, cross-disciplinary communication, and institutional coherence. Students benefit from a broad range of curricular offerings and co-curricular opportunities, cross-disciplinary programming, pre-professional experience, and practical applications of knowledge and skills.

Current Initiatives: Two major initiatives are the General Education revision process and the improvement of assessment structures and processes throughout the curriculum, including General Education and graduate programs. The continuing alignment of our General Education program with the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum could bring new curricular challenges. Meanwhile, we continue to develop initiatives to support student-faculty collaborative research and interdisciplinary collaborations and activities, of which the First Year Experience is particularly prominent. Expansion of writing support services is one indicator of ongoing improvement in support for student learning and success.

Future Challenges: As the General Education review and Minnesota Transfer Curriculum alignment processes continue, revision of the General Education program will constitute a future challenge. The General Education Committee has developed a highly consultative process, which promises to facilitate curricular transitions. The development of comprehensive assessment plans for both General Education and graduate programs and the development of inter-departmental programs, five-year Bachelors’ to Masters’ programs, and applied doctorates are other major areas of future growth.