Core Education Committee

Oregon State University Faculty Senate

Meeting of the Core Education Committee
April 23, 2025
10:00-11:45 A.m.
Zoom

Minutes

Committee members present: Kelsey Emard (Co-chair), Daniel Faltesek (Co-chair), Andrea Allan, Aidas Banaitis, Abigail Crowell, Liz Delf, Matthew Kennedy, Lori McGraw, Brian Mills, Holly Mitchell, Kari-Lyn Sakuma, Dave Stemper, Paula Weiss
Committee members absent: Vipin Arora
Ex-officio members present: Stephanie Baugh (Curriculum Management), Heath Henry (General Education Assessment), McKenzie Huber (Core Education Director), Kali Furman (Difference, Power & Oppression Director), Karen Watte (Ecampus), Ashley Holmes (WIC)
Visitors and staff present: Caitlin Calascibetta (Faculty Senate Office), Troy Hall, Michael Jefferis, Kristin Nagy Katz, Caryn Stoess

 

New Business & Information Items

The co-chairs called the meeting to order. There was no new business or informational items.

Course Reviews

The committee reviewed and discussed the following Core Education proposals.

• ENGR 415 Multidisciplinary Engineering Capstone Design 1
  • Both ENGR 415 and 416 were both good courses. Minor typo on page 6 of the syllabi regarding the individual project for WIC. It is an individual project, not an ‘individual or team’ project.

Action: Motion to approve ENRG 415 and ENGR 416 with a note to fix the typo on page 6 of the syllabi - Design Proposal Draft should be "individual" not "individual or team"; seconded. The motion passed with 12 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• ENGR 416 Multidisciplinary Engineering Capstone Design 2
  • Voted on with ENGR 415.

• BI 450 Marine Biology and Ecology (2nd review)
  • Noted issues have been resolved, and the revised syllabus has been uploaded to CIM. It does have the old WIC outcomes listed but it can be approved with a note to update them.

Action: Motion to conditionally approve with a request for them to update the Learning Outcomes (LOs); seconded. The motion passed with 13 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• BI 371 Ecological Methods (2nd review)
  • The Corvallis campus syllabus has incorporated some of the requested changes, but the Cascades campus syllabus did not incorporate many of them. There seems to have been a lack of communication between the campuses around the requested changes. Cascades could also use more Beyond II content in the course. The Cascades campus syllabus could be more student friendly in regards to its late policy.

Action: Motion to rollback and request Cascades to better incorporate Beyond II content into the syllabus, use the new WIC LOs, and make the Cascades syllabus more student friendly (reconsider the late policy); seconded. The motion passed with 12 votes in favor, 1 vote in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• GD 329 Graphic Design Engagement and Inclusion
  • Exemplary.

Action: Motion to approve; seconded. The motion passed with 12 votes in favor, 1 vote in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• AG 201 Indigenous Ecosystem Science in the PNW
  • No issues with the course and a good fit for the category.

Action: Motion to approve; seconded. The motion passed with 13 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• ANTH 270 Indigenous Anthropology (2nd review)
  • Revised proposal addresses most of the issues but it could have used a little more description on the course activities. Meets minimum Core Education requirements.

Action: Motion to approve; seconded. The motion passed with 13 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• ES 223 African American Experience - New Deal to Present (2nd review)
  • The course is heavily lacking in contemporary examples. The category LOs are not addressed, partly because of the contemporary issue but they are also somewhat ill-addressed in general.

Action: Motion to rollback ES 223: Course needs to include contemporary content and needs to more clearly address each of the category Learning Outcomes; (the first two issues the committee rolled back for previously are addressed, but issues 3-5 have not been addressed); recommendation to work with Difference, Power & Oppression (DPO) Office on revisions; seconded. The motion passed with 13 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• GEO 306 Minerals, Energy, Water, and the Environment (2nd review)
  • The course still seems to largely be a survey class. It covers issues around different kinds of mining but how does the committee make sure there is social science in the course? One reviewer answered this by providing their review of the course: “the problem addressed in the course is unsustainable/harmful resource extraction; there are multiple weeks of social science content including policy creation and impacts, risk and vulnerability, globalizing economics, and rights, siting and environmental justice; they work in a group on research an extraction case and offering solutions for addressing harmful impacts.” Co-teaching would be a great solution to encourage transdisciplinary cooperation, but it was noted that is hard to get administrative support for that sort of effort.

Action: Motion to approve; seconded. The motion passed with 9 votes in favor, 2 votes in opposition and 2 abstentions.

• WSE 392 Bamboozoosa: The Fascinating World of Bamboo (2nd review)
  • It is still unclear what the global issue is, but other issues have been resolved. It is a good Science, Technology and Society (STS) course but may not be a good course for Seeking Solutions. Originator response regarding the global issue: “The problem lies in the gap between perception and reality, where many consumers and businesses believe bamboo products are inherently eco-friendly, without understanding the complexities involved in bamboo growth, its role in ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, and relevant socio-economic dynamics.”

Action: Motion to rollback WSE 392. The second and third request the committee made was addressed, but the first was not addressed. The committee still needs to understand the scope of the global problem. This course needs to clearly be a Seeking Solutions course not an STS course; seconded. The motion passed with 11 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• AG 221 Women in Agriculture
  • Good class but one reviewer suggested it may not be a social science class and may be a better fit for humanities. The other reviewer felt it hit all the checkboxes for the category but had some minor grammatical issues.

Action: Motion to rollback AG 221: request that the originator please articulate what the field of social science that is introduced in this course is. Clarify how human behavior is explained for LO1. Identify qualitative data used for LO2, especially for On-campus syllabus; seconded. The motion passed with 11 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• GEOG 250 Land Use Planning for Sustainable Communities
  • Exemplary.

Action: Motion to approve; seconded. The motion passed with 10 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 1 abstention.

• ANTH 230 Introduction to Archaeology
  • Needs an Ecampus redevelopment proposal. Could use more detail on the course assignments meet the LOs but it is otherwise a good fit for the category.

Action: Motion to conditionally approve pending an Ecampus redevelopment proposal; seconded. The motion passed with 11 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• PHL 170 The Idea of God
  • Good course for the category but the reviewer had some minor suggestions for verbiage in the syllabus related to some of the reading required in the course. There are a few liaison comments, but the reviewer felt the originators responses were appropriate and reasonable.

Action: Motion to approve with a friendly note to be prepared for conversations with students about assigning works by Neil Gaiman; seconded. The motion passed with 12 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• WR 240 Introduction to Creative Nonfiction Writing
  • Great course but are the pre-requisites limiting? The response was that WR 121 is a course most students take in their first term, so it was not largely considered an issue.

Action: Motion to approve; seconded. The motion passed with 12 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• ES 275 Arts & Social Justice
  • The course looks like a good fit for the category, but it could maybe use an updated course description.

Action: Motion to approve; seconded. The motion passed with 12 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• PHL 207 Political Philosophy
  • No major issues with the course but could use some details about how the course activities meet the LOs.

Action: Motion to approve; seconded. The motion passed with 11 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 1 abstention.

• ANTH 251 Language in the USA
  • They need two speech products, but none are listed in CIM; one is on the syllabus. There is a need for assessment of the communication category LOs. LO3 is not covered, at all. It also needs an Ecampus redevelopment proposal. Once the originator makes those changes, they will need to provide a rationale to remain in the Baccalaureate Core as a Difference, Power & Discrimination (DPD) course.

Action: Motion to rollback: 1. They need two speech products, none are listed on CIM. They have one on the syllabus; 2. They need to assess the communication category LOs; 3. Once they make these changes, they need to provide a rationale for also remaining as a Baccalaureate Core DPD course; 4) Needs Ecampus redevelopment proposal; seconded. The motion passed with 11 votes in favor, 0 votes in opposition and 0 abstentions.

• AG 250 Advancement & Consumption of Ag & Nat Res Media
  • Moved to next week’s meeting.

• COMM 222 Small Group Communication
  • Moved to next week’s meeting.

Adjournment

With no further discussion or business before the committee, the co-chairs adjourned the meeting.