One week ago, the General Education Task Force held a town hall meeting to discuss piloting classes this fall for the new general education program.

Professor of Religion George Wiley said the task force is using town hall meetings to keep staff and faculty up-to-date on what it is doing while simultaneously getting feedback.

With staff approval, the task force will take its plans to the Educational Programs Committee, which helps form new classes, and then to faculty senate.

“We wanted to see if the town hall attendees would encourage us to continue with our plans to pilot classes for next year,” Wiley said.

Wiley said the classes to be piloted would be for first-year students and would focus on written and oral skills, as well as some ethical principles and critical thinking.

Rob Flaherty, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the task force has been putting a lot of emphasis on these pilot programs, which would act as substitution courses for LA101 and LA102.

“As we roll out new courses, they will substitute into courses we already have,” Flaherty said. 

Wiley said professors whose pilot classes are approved will be required to attend summer training sessions to get them up to speed on how to teach these new courses.

Wiley said if faculty senate approves the pilot plans, it will send out a request for proposals from the faculty.

Flaherty said the program is in a constant state of progress.

“There will always be a dynamic feel to a program like this,” he said. “We don’t expect to get it right the first time.”

The town hall meeting also discussed the search for the general education director.

Mark Stutz, assistant professor of physical education, said the search committee will soon begin narrowing the field of applicants for the position.

Wiley said the biggest concern from faculty members seems to be that they want only to see a finished product.

“GET3’s job is to present things to the faculty incrementally,” Wiley said.