A faculty member posed the following questions about the General Education Issues:

I know you have a very complex set of options and are doing a fantastic job of motivating folks to look into the choices and contribute to the dialogue. 

 

I am not sure why folks would have to just vote NO on Health in order for the IE category to be created. If it is a question of limiting the total number of Gen Ed credits, doesn't the "optionalizing" of Speech into the Humanities category free up more credits than the Health change? Certainly, in order for health courses to be moved into an IE category, such a category would have to exist. But if I am reading things correctly, it looks like  BOTH the speech and health requirements have to be changed in order to open up the credits to add an IE/other requirement. Is that the case? And if so, wouldn't we need to vote for those changes as one, comprehensive change?

 

To clarify, what would happen if folks voted YES on keeping Speech as is and NO on keeping Health? Wouldn't we then wind up with more required credits than at present? If so, I think we need to make that clear.

 

Sorry, my head is spinning on this - hopefully you folks have an explanation that will set me straight. Thanks for any clarification you can provide.

Dear Spinning,

We know what you mean - this has been the most complicated issue to present clearly.  Our heads are spinning, too. 

The General Education Committee wants you to go back to the Three Major Issues and think of them in terms of general education philosophy, not in terms of credit totals and categories.  Breathe deeply, and simplify:

1)  Should a Speech course be a requirement for all students?
2)  Should Health course be a requirement for all students?

If you answer "No" to either of these questions, these If/Then results have to be considered.

1. If Speech is not required, then it becomes a choice among courses offered in the Humanities Distribution category (click here to see courses already in Humanities).  Another consequence of a No to Speech vote is that 3 extra credits are added into the General Education Program.  Individual Degree Programs would need to decide how those three extra credits are used.  The creation of an IE category would not be automatic based on the availability of those 3 extra credits.  Some programs might elect to keep a Speech requirement (Business, Education, many AAS degrees); others might keep an additional Humanities course.
   
2. If Health is not required, then an Interdisciplinary and Emerging Issues (IE) category does open up, and health courses would be part of that category.  Other disciplines could elect to offer courses within IE, but they would first need to pass General Education course criteria (meeting competencies and areas of proficiency) as well as meeting the definition of an IE course.  Remember that IE can be 1 - 3 credits.

So, Speech and HE voting results are not tied together, they're really separate issues.  Faculty then need to consider:

Is an IE (Interdisciplinary and Emerging Issues) Credit needed to maintain minimum general education credit totals in current Montgomery College Degree Programs?   [or, if Health goes, what then?]     

2/26/08   (The chart below is a rough draft but will give you an idea of which programs will be affected)

• All AA degrees (transfer programs) currently require 32 credits of Gen Ed with 1 credit minimum of HE; all AA degrees could drop to 31 credits of General Education credit and still meet the State requirement of 30 credits minimum.  Some programs would need to add 1 elective credit to make up the difference to maintain 60 credits for the degree
  
  
• All AAS degrees (career programs) require 20 credits minimum of Gen Ed.  Programs could either elect to keep an IE course requirement to maintain the 20 credits minimum.  Another option would be to add one more General Education course from any Gen Ed distribution area to the total (for example, Criminal Justice has plenty of other Gen Ed courses which could be counted in the Gen Ed total).
  
• All AS degrees (mainly science, math & engineering) require 30 credits minimum of Gen Ed; those with Additional Distribution courses not counted into 30 credits could use AD courses to bring total to 30 if one IE credit is removed.  Here's an example:  Engineering programs could add one credit to the Math requirement (increasing it from 3 to 4 credits) to “make up” the difference if 1 credit of HE is removed.
• Current Maryland State General Education Credit Requirements:

  	Associate of Arts  AA Generally designed for transfer	Associate of Applied Science AAS - Career	Associate of Arts in Teaching AAT	Associate of Fine Arts AFA	Associate of Science AS Engineering & science
  Total  Gen Ed Credits ·         State minimums are 30 for AA, AAT and AS ·         20 minimum for AAS and AFA	32      -1 HE 31 IE could be optional, by degree 23 AA degrees, including General Studies	20 -1 HE 19 MUST have IE or one extra General Education  course credit An increase in credits for IE beyond 1 credit could affect all totals	32     -1 HE 31 IE could be optional, by degree Current credit totals: AAT/Early Childhood 64 AAT Math – 62 AAT Physics - 63	21 Has no IE!	30 -1 IE ______ 29 MUST have IE or Additional Gen Ed credit (AD, explained below) All engineering degrees have a 1 cr. Health; complication either  if removed or replaced with a 3-credit IE

  
  If the vote is HE No, then each Degree Program would need to examine whether to continue with an IE category or not depending on whether it is needed to bring Gen Ed totals in line.  All AA degrees could elect not to have an IE and still meet State min. gen ed course standards.
  
  General Studies, our largest degree program by far, is "owned" by Counseling/Student Development.  With the PE requirement in that degree, this degree in particular would need to decide whether HE should remain the IE course.  It currently 'pairs' with PE, so students can take either 1 HE course & 1 PE or a 2- or 3-credit HE to cover both requirements.  This chart makes it a little clearer:  http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studevgt/0708129.html 

  If your head is still spinning, or has just started to, remember that the decision to include IE could be optional if HE is not required, and that decision could be made degree by degree rather than as a requirement to include an IE course.

  The chart below shows degrees and indicates whether the removal of a one credit HE course would require an IE credit to maintain state minimum general education totals.  In cases where the credit total drops below the minimum requirement, programs could either require an IE credit(s) or increase general education credits from other General Education Distribution Areas (noted as AD for Additional Distribution).  A decision about whether to include IE or AD credit would be made program by program.