ACADEMIC ALERT #

Transcription

1 DATE: July, 2015 ACADEMIC ALERT # COLLEGE: DECISION: College of Professional Studies and Advancement (CPSA) (formerly College of Management and Business and College of Arts and Sciences) Updated General Education Requirements for CPSA Undergraduate Programs RATIONALE: This Alert: communicates the standardized general education requirements for CPSA s undergraduate programs to the University community; updates Academic Alert # published in October 2014 by providing additional detail on the College s approach to its general education requirements for its comprehensive and degree completion baccalaureate programs; defines content of specific disciplines within general education. APPROVAL(S): Program Director, General Education: 05/19/2015 Vlad Dolgopolov, PhD Applied Behavioral Sciences B.A. Program Chair: 05/22/2015 Wytress Richardson, EdD Applied Communications B.A. Interim Coordinator: 05/19/2015 Christen Embry Business Administration B.A. Program Chair: 05/26/2015 Willie Burnside Criminal Justice B.A. Program Chair: 05/21/2015 Richard Schak Health Care Leadership B.S. Program Chair: 05/19/2015 David San Filippo, PhD Human Services B.A. Program Chair: 05/19/2015 David San Filippo, PhD Management B.S. Interim Program Chair: 05/22/2015 Stephen Thompson, PhD Management Information Systems B.S. Program Chair: 05/21/2015 James Nowotarski Psychology B.A. Program Co-coordinator: 05/21/2015 Gale Stam, PhD Social Science B.A. Program Chair: 06/01/2015 Diane Nititham, PhD CPSA Curriculum Committee: 06/22/2015 Office of the Dean: 06/30/2015 Page 1 of 13

2 CURRENT PROGRAM AUTHORIZATIONS: This is an internal policy change and does not require approval from or notification to the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), Florida Commission for Independent Education (FL CIE), Wisconsin Education Approval Board (WI EAB), or the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). IMPLEMENTATION DATE: For pending and new applicants for admission and re-admission for Fall 2015 and subsequent terms. CONTACT(S): Name: Vlad Dolgopolov, PhD Associate Dean, CPSA Interim Program Director, General Education Phone: (312) Ignacio Lopez, Ed.D. Vice Provost Page 2 of 13

3 Information Background In October 2014, the Provost s Office published Academic Alert # , Reduction of General Education Course Inventory, advising the University Community of the work completed by the dedicated team comprised of Dr. David San Filippo, Dr. Margaret Stemler, Dr. Deborah O Connor, Stephanie Poczos, Hanna Wielgat, and other colleagues. The Alert described the intended approach of (1) standardizing general education requirements for all undergraduate programs and prescribing a core curriculum of 12 undergraduate courses (total of 60 quarter hours); and (2) reducing the number of courses offered in the University s general education program. In , the College s faculty, administrators, and staff, in consultation with their colleagues in Advising, Registrar, Enrollment, Student Services, and the Harrison Professional Pathways Project (HP3), determined that additional operational adjustments to the strategy established by the Alert # were required. This Alert communicates such adjustments. The General Education program at National Louis University continues to be guided by the philosophy, integrated competencies, and fields of knowledge as indicated in the current Academic Catalog (see Catalog/General-Education-Core for more detail). (1) General Education Requirements for CPSA s Comprehensive and Degree Completion Undergraduate Programs The College of Professional Studies and Advancement offers two types of baccalaureate programs: comprehensive programs and degree completion programs. While the the two types of programs share similarities, the degree completion programs are typically offered in the cohort format, use an accelerated model with all or most courses offered in the blended and/or online formats, and serve adult students who have already graduated with an Associate s degree and/or earned more than 90 quarter credit hours of coursework in their prior higher education experiences. The degree completion programs have traditionally utilized a more flexible model of general education requirements in order to attract students from a wide variety of prior undergraduate backgrounds and enable them to use their previously earned credits effectively toward fulfilling degree requirements, reducing time to degree completion and financial burden, and maximizing graduation rates. In order to maintain that flexibility for the baccalaureate degree completion programs, such programs have agreed to adopt an approach to general education requirements that is uniform across the programs and utilizes available courses in the general education course offerings, while providing a greater amount of flexibility in fulfilling course requirements compared to the comprehensive baccalaureate programs. The revised program requirements are shown in the tables in the following pages. Page 3 of 13

4 (2) General Education Requirements, Comprehensive Baccalaureate Programs General Education Fields of Knowledge and Competencies Student Success Seminar Written Communications (2 courses) Oral Communications Humanities Fine Arts (1 course equivalent) Social Sciences (2 courses) Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses) Physical and Life Sciences Applied Communications, B.A. LAN110, General Biology (5); or LAN150, Survey of Physical Science (5); or LAN225, Human Impact on the Environment (5) 6 Business Administration, B.A. LAN110, General Biology (5); or LAN150, Survey of Physical Science (5); or LAN225, Human Impact on the Environment (5) 6 Criminal Justice, B.A. Human Services, B.S. GEN103, Student Success (5) 1 LAE101, English Composition I (5) and LAE102, English Composition II (5) LAE202, Effective Speaking (5) LAH120, Logic and Effective Thinking (5) 2 LAA101, Art Appreciation I (2) and LAA102, Art Appreciation II (3) 3 LAS118, Introduction to Politics and U.S. Government (5) and LAS203, Survey of U.S. History (5) 4 LAM106, Basic Statistics (5) and LAM110, Applied Mathematics (5) 5 LAN110, General Biology (5); or LAN150, Survey of Physical Science (5); or LAN225, Human Impact on the Environment (5); or CSJ235, Introduction to Forensic Science 6 LAN110, General Biology (5); or LAN150, Survey of Physical Science (5); or LAN225, Human Impact on the Environment (5) 6 Psychology, B.A. LAN110, General Biology (5) Behavioral Sciences LAP100, General Psychology (5) 7 Total 60 quarter credit hours (12 5-quarter credit hour courses) 8 Social Science, B.A. LAN110, General Biology (5); or LAN150, Survey of Physical Science (5); or LAN225, Human Impact on the Environment (5) 6 Page 4 of 13

5 Notes: 1. The requirement to take GEN103, Student Success (5) may be waived, upon student request, for students who (1) enter National Louis University with an Associate s degree or 90 or more quarter credit hours of transfer credit; and (2) have maintained a cumulative GPA of or above in their previous undergraduate studies. Such students will be required to complete or transfer in additional coursework in general education instead of a waived course to meet the 60-quarter credit hour requirement. 2. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any course in humanities. The field of humanities includes the following disciplines and subfields: literature; languages (modern and ancient); philosophy; religious studies; and courses in anthropology, history, and fine arts that cover intellectual history and culture. 3. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any course in fine arts. The field of fine arts includes the following disciplines and subfields: visual arts (including art history, art appreciation, and studio arts, such as drawing, painting, digital art, or film); film and cinema studies; and performing arts (including music appreciation, music theory, and music performance; theatre appreciation and performance; and dance). 4. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any course in social sciences. The field of social sciences includes the following disciplines and subfields: anthropology; communication studies (theory); economics; geography; history; linguistics; political sciences and government; and sociology. Courses in psychology (see below), while classified as within the field of social sciences, are covered by their own general education program category of behavioral sciences. Students in the Social Science B.A. program are required to complete coursework in politics, political science, and/or government; and United States history at National Louis University or transfer in an equivalent course to fulfill this requirement. 5. This category includes courses in mathematics, statistics, and quantitative research methods. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any college-level mathematics course to fulfill the LAM110, Applied Mathematics requirement. Students in all comprehensive baccalaureate programs are required to complete LAM106, Basic Statistics at National Louis University or transfer in an equivalent course to fulfill this requirement. 6. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any course in physical and life sciences. The field of physical and life sciences includes the following disciplines and subfields: biology (including human anatomy and physiology, microbiology, genetics, and zoology); chemistry; physics (including astronomy and astrophysics); earth-space science (including geology, meteorology, physical geography, and others); and interdisciplinary fields such as environmental science, and ecology and conservation. Students in the Psychology B.A. program are required to complete LAN110, General Biology, at National Louis University or transfer in an equivalent course to fulfill this requirement. Page 5 of 13

6 7. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any course in behavioral sciences. The field of behavioral sciences primarily includes the discipline of psychology, as well as selected courses in interdisciplinary fields that examine human behavior. Students in the Psychology B.A. program are required to complete LAP100, General Psychology, at National Louis University or transfer in an equivalent course to fulfill this requirement. 8. Most transfer courses taken at institutions that utilize the semester credit hour system for recording academic credit are 4.5 quarter credit hours (equivalent of 3.0 semester credit hours). Courses with the value of 4.0 or more quarter credit hours continue to be accepted as satisfying individual fields of knowledge in the general education core requirements. However, students will be required to take additional coursework in general education to meet the University general education core requirement of 60.0 quarter credit hours. Students who have completed an Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) general education core at another Illinois college or university may transfer this core to meet National Louis University s general education core requirements. Page 6 of 13

7 (3) General Education Requirements, Degree Completion Baccalaureate Programs General Education Fields of Knowledge and Competencies Written Communications Oral Communications Humanities Fine Arts (1 course equivalent) Social Sciences (1 courses) Quantitative Reasoning Physical and Life Sciences Behavioral Sciences General Education Electives (4 courses) Total Applied Behavioral Sciences, B.A. LAM106, Basic Statistics (5); or LAM110, Applied Mathematics (5) 12 Health Care Leadership, B.S. Management, B.S. LAE101, English Composition I (5) LAE202, Effective Speaking (5) LAH120, Logic and Effective Thinking (5) 9 LAA101, Art Appreciation I (2) and LAA102, Art Appreciation II (3) 10 LAS118, Introduction to Politics and U.S. Government (5) or LAS203, Survey of U.S. History (5) 11 LAM106, Basic Statistics LAM106, Basic Statistics (5) 12 (5) 12 LAN110, General Biology (5); or LAN150, Survey of Physical Science (5); or LAN225, Human Impact on the Environment (5) 13 LAP100, General Psychology (5) 14 Management Information Systems, B.S. LAM106, Basic Statistics (5) 12 Coursework in any general education area (Communications (Written/Oral), Humanities, Fine Arts, Social Sciences, Quantitative Reasoning, Physical and Life Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, or other courses consistent with the integrated general education competencies of information and technology literacy, analytical skills, and ethics, values, and respect for human diversity, including Student Success courses) to bring total general education courses to 60 quarter credit hours quarter credit hours (12 5-quarter credit hour courses) Page 7 of 13

8 Notes: 9. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any course in humanities. The field of humanities includes the following disciplines and subfields: literature; languages (modern and ancient); philosophy; religious studies; and courses in anthropology, history, and fine arts that cover intellectual history and culture. 10. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any course in fine arts. The field of fine arts includes the following disciplines and subfields: visual arts (including art history, art appreciation, and studio arts, such as drawing, painting, digital art, or film); film and cinema studies; and performing arts (including music appreciation, music theory, and music performance; theatre appreciation and performance; and dance). 11. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any course in social sciences. The field of social sciences includes the following disciplines and subfields: anthropology; communication studies (theory); economics; geography; history; linguistics; political sciences and government; and sociology. Courses in psychology (see below), while classified as within the field of social sciences, are covered by their own general education program category of behavioral sciences. 12. This category includes courses in mathematics, statistics, and quantitative research methods. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any college-level mathematics, statistics, or quantitative research methods course to fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning requirement for the Applied Behavioral Sciences B.A. program. Students in Management B.S., Management Information Systems B.S., and Health Care Leadership B.S. programs are required to complete LAM106, Basic Statistics at National Louis or transfer in an equivalent statistics course to fulfill this requirement. 13. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any course in physical and life sciences. The field of physical and life sciences includes the following disciplines and subfields: biology (including human anatomy and physiology, microbiology, genetics, and zoology); chemistry; physics (including astronomy and astrophysics); earth-space science (including geology, meteorology, physical geography, and others); and interdisciplinary fields such as environmental science, and ecology and conservation. 14. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any course in behavioral sciences. The field of behavioral sciences primarily includes the discipline of psychology, as well as selected courses in interdisciplinary fields that examine human behavior. 15. Most transfer courses taken at institutions that utilize the semester credit hour system for recording academic credit are 4.5 quarter credit hours (equivalent of 3.0 semester credit hours). Courses with the value of 4.0 or more quarter credit hours continue to be accepted as satisfying individual fields of knowledge in the general education core requirements. However, students will be required to take additional coursework in general education to meet the University general education core requirement of 60.0 quarter credit hours. Students who have completed an Illinois Articulation Initiative Page 8 of 13

9 (IAI) general education core at another Illinois college or university may transfer this core to meet National Louis University s general education core requirements. Page 9 of 13

10 (4) General Education Requirements, Pre-Licensure Program(s) As of Fall 2015 academic term, students who intend to pursue National College of Education s undergraduate licensure programs (Early Childhood Education B.A., Elementary Education B.A., and Special Education B.A.) are admitted to the Social Science B.A. program, rather than the Liberal Arts Studies B.A. program. Such students are initially admitted to the Pre-Licensure Social Science B.A. program track. As admission to licensure programs, among other criteria, requires completion of all General Education courses in these licensure programs, students admitted to the pre-licensure program track must complete the following General Education requirements in order to be eligible for admission: General Education Fields of Knowledge and Competencies Student Success Seminar Written Communications (2 courses) Oral Communications Humanities Fine Arts (1 course equivalent) Social Sciences (2 courses) Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses) Physical and Life Sciences Behavioral Sciences Total Social Science, B.A. (Pre-Licensure Track) GEN103, Student Success (5) 16 LAE101, English Composition I (5) and LAE102, English Composition II (5) LAE202, Effective Speaking (5) RLL220, Children s Literature and the Literacy Learning Environment (5) 17 LAA101, Art Appreciation I (2) and LAA102, Art Appreciation II (3) 18 LAS118, Introduction to Politics and U.S. Government (5) and LAS203, Survey of U.S. History (5) 19 LAM112, Mathematics Content for Teachers I (5) and LAM213, Mathematics Content for Teachers II (5) 20 LAN110, General Biology (5) or LAN150, Survey of Physical Science (5) 21 LAP100, General Psychology (5) quarter credit hours (12 5-quarter credit hour courses) 23 Notes: 16. The requirement to take GEN103, Student Success (5) may not be waived for pre-licensure students. Students who intend to pursue teacher education programs that lead to licensure as educators must complete this course at National Louis University. 17. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may only use a course in Children s Literature substantially equivalent to the National Louis University s course at the discretion of the program. 18. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use any introductory Art, Music or Theatre course including any fine arts history and appreciation. Studio arts and performance courses cannot be used to fulfill the licensure program requirements. Page 10 of 13

11 19. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use coursework in Politics or Government; and United States History to fulfill the licensure program requirements. 20. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may only use coursework in Mathematics Content for Teachers substantially equivalent to the National Louis University s course(s) at the discretion of the program. 21. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may use coursework in General Biology or other life science; and/or Survey of Physical Science, General Chemistry, Chemistry and Society, General Physics, Physics and Society, or Earth Science, which covers at least four areas of physical science. 22. Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at National Louis University may only use coursework in General Psychology substantially equivalent to the National Louis University s course at the discretion of the program. 23. Most transfer courses taken at institutions that utilize the semester credit hour system for recording academic credit are 4.5 quarter credit hours (equivalent of 3.0 semester credit hours). Courses with the value of 4.0 or more quarter credit hours continue to be accepted as satisfying individual fields of knowledge in the general education core requirements. However, students will be required to take additional coursework in general education to meet the University general education core requirement of 60.0 quarter credit hours. Students who have completed an Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) general education core at another Illinois college or university may transfer this core to meet National Louis University s general education core requirements. However, such core may not meet the requirements of the licensure programs, and thus students will be required to take additional specific coursework in general education. Page 11 of 13

12 (5) Additional Information The following general education courses will be regularly offered within the University s General Education program in multiple formats (i.e., in 6- and 10-week schedules; and in traditional, blended, and online modalities): CSJ235, Introduction to Forensic Science (5) GEN103, Student Success (5) LAA101, Art Appreciation I (2) LAA102, Art Appreciation II (3) LAE101, English Composition I (5) LAE102, English Composition II (5) LAE202, Effective Speaking (5) LAH120, Logic and Effective Thinking (5) LAM106, Basic Statistics (5) LAM110, Applied Mathematics (5) LAM112, Mathematics Content for Teachers I (5) LAM213, Mathematics Content for Teachers II (5) LAN110, General Biology (5) LAN150, Survey of Physical Science (5) LAN225, Human Impact on the Environment (5) LAP100, General Psychology (5) LAS118, Introduction to Politics and U.S. Government (5) LAS203, Survey of U.S. History (5) RLL220, Children s Literature and the Literacy Learning Environment (5) Please note that other coursework in traditional general education/liberal arts and sciences fields and disciplines, as identified in this Alert (such as written and oral communication, humanities, fine arts, social sciences, quantitative reasoning, physical and life sciences, and behavioral sciences) may still be offered by the various programs within the college. For example, such coursework may be used to fulfill major requirements, concentration requirements in supporting programs, or other programmatic needs. Such courses are still considered to be general education courses and may be used, if necessary and as appropriate, to fulfill the general education distribution requirements identified in this Alert. Impact on Current Students and Teach Out Plans The new general education requirements apply to all new and re-entry students subject to the academic catalog and beyond. Existing students continue to be subject to the general education requirement of the Academic Catalog as of the date of admission to the program, reentry to the institution, or voluntary switch to the new program requirements approved by their Program Chair/Director or Advisor. Implementation Upon issuance of this Alert, the following actions will be implemented: Registrar s Office o Update the Academic Catalog for CPSA undergraduate programs for all affected programs; Page 12 of 13

13 o Build all changes in CAPP (degree audit) for each program; o Update Banner records; o Review updated Academic Catalog requirements prior to the publication with the CPSA Associate Dean and Program Chairs/Directors; o Train all Transfer Articulation and Degree Audit Analysts on the updated General Education requirements for each program, as well as procedures for reviewing transfer credit and credit previously earned at National Louis University for application to revised requirements. The Associate Dean of CPSA will be available for scheduling appropriate training in Summer 2015; o Update all manuals and operating procedures with revised information and transfer guidance; o Update all transfer guides posted on the NLU website. Advising o Train all undergraduate advisors on the updated General Education requirements for each program, as well as procedures for reviewing transfer credit and credit previously earned at National Louis University for application to revised requirements. The Associate Dean of CPSA will be available for scheduling appropriate training in Summer Marketing o Update all marketing materials, where appropriate, with the new requirements. Enrollment o Schedule and deliver training for all enrollment advisors on the new program requirements. Registrar s Office, Director of Articulation o Audit all existing articulation agreements with college partners to determine which agreements will require revisions and updates, and communicate such information to CPSA Dean s Office and Transfer Coordinators at partnering institutions. CPSA Dean s Office o Coordinate the process of Academic Catalog updates, training for Enrollment and Advising Offices, and provide regular updates to the CPSA faculty and faculty colleagues at NCE and LLS; o Assist Director of Articulation and Program Chairs/Directors in updating and revising existing Articulation Agreements. CPSA Academic Programs o Review existing Articulation Agreements for own programs and in collaboration with Director of Articulation, update and revise Articulation Agreements by December 31, 2015 with articulation partners. CPSA General Education Program o Continue updating University Course Outlines (UCOs), as necessary; o Review General Education course schedules for upcoming terms and revise them, as necessary, in coordination with colleagues from Advising; o Determine the need for updating and creating new course templates for general education courses, and establish a plan for such work. Page 13 of 13