UMD Liberal Education Forum

This document is a compilation of notes taken during the April Public Forum. About 50 members of the UMD campus community attended the forum. They were asked to join small groups to discuss five questions and members of the LE Task Force recorded the commentary. The Forum offered the opportunity for each person to join at least two different discussion groups. This Forum has led the Task Force into another revision process for the proposed General Education Program structure. A new draft of the Program structure will be presented in the Fall.

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Posted by William Payne at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This draft for a new General Education Program Structure for the UMD Campus is a work in progress. The following document attempts to outline both a new structure for General Education requirements, and present criteria for courses that would satisfy each theme and/or category in that program. All members of the Liberal Education Task Force have helped to generate this working document. This document will be the focus of the next Liberal Education Public Forum Wednesday April 9th in Kirby Ballroom C from 1:30-3:00 p.m. The forum will involve several small group discussions giving participants the opportunity to respond to the new program presented here, as well as suggest other ways that our campus can effectively achieve the desired learning outcomes of a liberal education.

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Continue reading "New Draft Recommendations from the Liberal Education Task Force 2-20-08" »

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What is Liberal Education?

Liberal education is a philosophy of education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge and transferable skills, and a strong sense of values, ethics, and civic engagement. These broad goals have been enduring even as the courses and requirements that comprise a liberal education have changed over the years. Characterized by challenging encounters with important and relevant issues today and throughout history, a liberal education prepares graduates both for socially valued work and for civic leadership in their society. It usually includes a general education curriculum that provides broad exposure to multiple disciplines and ways of knowing, along with more in-depth study in at least one field or area of concentration.

Continue reading "What is Liberal Education - from the AACU Website" »

Posted by William Payne at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Four Models of General Education

Adapted from

Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Our Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More

By Derek Bok

2006 Princeton University Press

Chapter 10 Acquiring Broader Interests

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Posted by William Payne at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Links to Other Liberal Education Programs

LE Task Force Partial Reading List 2007

Student Focus Group Summary 2002

Student Survey Results 2001-2004 (cumulative)

Student Survey Comments Summary 2001-2004

Alumnae Survey Results 2007

Alumnae Survey Comments 2007

Posted by William Payne at 03:55 PM | Permalink

The Liberal Education Task Force was constituted in late fall 2006 and given the following charge: to look at recommendations drafted by the Liberal Education Policy Subcommittee of EPC; to review, in-depth, the information gathered by that subcommittee and any other data the task force wished to collect, and, finally to “propose a future direction and mission for the liberal education program at UMD.”

Continue reading "Liberal Education Task Force Year End Summary May 2007" »

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Continue reading "Draft of Liberal Education Mission Statement" »

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