View Bill 20-21-10
Senate Bill 20-21-10
| Bill ID: | 20-21-10 |
| Name: | Revisions to the Diversity General Education Requirement |
| Proposed: | 09/17/2020 |
| Sponsor: | William Cohen, Dean of Undergraduate Studies |
| Proposal: | The Senior Vice President & Provost, Mary Ann Rankin, and Dean of Undergraduate Studies, William Cohen, submitted proposed revisions to the University's General Education diversity requirement based on recommendations from the Diversity Education Task Force (DETF) convened by the Senior Vice President & Provost in 2018. The DETF recommendations proposed revising the General Education diversity requirements and the titles and learning outcomes for the diversity course categories. |
| Active? | No |
Status
| Status: | Completed |
| Completed On: | 03/02/2022 |
History
| Approval(s): |
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| Reviewed By: | Senate |
| Received: | 02/22/2022 |
| Decision Date: | 03/01/2022 |
| Decision Due By: | 03/01/2022 |
| Decision: | The Senate voted to approve the proposal. |
| Next Step: | Presidential Approval |
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| Reviewed By: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 02/09/2022 |
| Decision Date: | 02/14/2022 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to place the proposal on the agenda of the March 1, 2022 Senate meeting for consideration. |
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| Reviewed By: | Educational Affairs Committee |
| Received: | 09/25/2020 |
| Decision Date: | 02/02/2022 |
| Decision Due By: | 02/04/2022 |
| Decision: | The Educational Affairs Committee voted to recommend revising the General Education diversity requirement at its February 2, 2022 meeting. |
| Actions: | The Educational Affairs Committee began considering the initial charge during the spring 2021 semester by reviewing the current structure and course requirements for the General Education diversity requirement, several University strategic plans related to diversity and inclusion, and the November 2020 Diversity Education Task Force Report. The committee met with the co-chairs of the DETF; the sponsor of the proposal recommending the acknowledgment of multilingualism as a component of diversity, the Director of the School of Languages, Literatures, & Cultures; the Director of Training for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI); and current General Education Diversity Faculty Board members. The committee engaged in ongoing consultations with the Associate Dean for General Education, who is an ex-officio member of the Educational Affairs Committee, and the Associate Dean, Office of Undergraduate Studies, who is both a current ex-officio member of the Educational Affairs Committee and a member of the DETF. The committee also reviewed feedback from several stakeholders and shared its preliminary recommendations at the Senate December 9, 2021 meeting. The committee had extensive discussions about whether the proposed revisions to the diversity course category titles and learning outcomes reflect the University’s principles of diversity and inclusion. During its consultations, the committee was briefed on the factors and considerations that contributed to the proposed revisions. The committee also considered the impact of the proposed revisions on current course offerings and the administration of the General Education diversity requirement. The committee determined that the proposed revisions to the General Education diversity requirement should be implemented. The modifications include revising the course category titles and learning outcomes and requiring students to satisfy the diversity requirement by taking one course in each course category. The committee also determined that the University should establish a working group to develop a plan for implementing the recommended revisions. The working group should include representation of the disciplines within the diversity course categories and subject-matter experts in the academic study of race and racism and student learning, as well as a broad representation of various instructional ranks and campus demographics. After due consideration, the Educational Affairs Committee approved the recommendations to revise the General Education diversity requirement at its meeting on February 2, 2022. |
| Next Step: | SEC Review |
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| Reviewed By: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 11/02/2021 |
| Decision Date: | 11/03/2021 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to approve the extension of the charge deadline until February 4, 2022. |
| Actions: | The SEC voted to approve the Educational Affairs Committee's request to extend the charge deadline until February 4, 2022. The SEC also amended the charge to include considering proposed revisions to the General Education diversity requirement submitted by the Director for the School of Languages, Literatures, & Cultures. |
| Next Step: | Educational Affairs Committee Review |
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| Reviewed By: | Educational Affairs Committee |
| Received: | 12/18/2020 |
| Decision Date: | 11/02/2021 |
| Decision: | The Educational Affairs Committee requested an extension on its charge. |
| Actions: | While the committee has been reviewing the recommendations of the Diversity Education Task Force (DETF) in its November 2020 report, the proposed revisions related to the learning outcomes continued to be refined by the DETF throughout the Spring 2021 semester. Additionally, the DETF issued an updated report in late September 2021. The updated report includes revisions to the proposed diversity requirement recommendations and course category learning outcomes. Given the revisions to the DETF General Education diversity requirement recommendations since the committee received its charge from the Senate Executive Committee and the impact that revising the diversity requirement will have on the campus community, the Educational Affairs Committee requested an extension until February 4, 2022, to submit its report on the proposed revisions to the General Education diversity requirement. |
| Next Step: | SEC Review |
| Reviewed By: | Educational Affairs Committee |
| Received: | 09/25/2020 |
| Decision Due By: | 11/05/2021 |
| Actions: | The Diversity Education Task Force (DETF) recommended revising the diversity education requirement of General Education by changing the course category labels and learning outcomes and requiring students to take courses in each diversity course category. The Educational Affairs Committee began its work by reviewing the current structure and course requirements for General Education, the November 2020 Diversity Education Task Force Report, and several University strategic plans related to diversity and inclusion. During Spring 2021, the committee consulted with the Director of Diversity Training and Education in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to discuss several issues related to faculty preparedness and student comfort in discussing race and racism. The committee also met with the co-chairs of the DETF, who discussed the principles that guided the DETF recommendations related to the course category titles and the learning outcomes. The committee benefited from ongoing consultation from the Office of Undergraduate Studies representative and the Associate Dean for General Education, who are ex-officio members of the committee. Committee members also had the opportunity to attend the faculty listening sessions sponsored by the DETF during the semester. They reviewed a summary of the comments from all the listening sessions and the Undergraduate Studies Student Board. |
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| Reviewed By: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 09/18/2020 |
| Decision Date: | 09/25/2020 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to charge the Educational Affairs Committee with review of the proposed revisions to the General Education diversity requirement. |
| Next Step: | Educational Affairs Committee Review |
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