President's Charge

Subject: General Education Committee

The General Education Committee Membership:

All faculty are eligible to serve on the General Education Committee. Individuals with an interest in General Education are especially encouraged to apply for membership. The General Education Committee shall be comprised of the following membership.

Academic Colleges (3 members each-Each academic department in the University may have no more than 1 member serving on the committee at any time)

• Basic and Applied Sciences (3)

• Behavioral and Health Sciences (3)

• Business (3)

• Education (3)

• Liberal Arts (3)

• Mass Communication (3)

Student Government representatives (2) (1 year term. May be re-appointed to a second, 1 year term)

The Director of General Education will be an ex-officio member of the Committee.
A representative of the VPAA's Office will be an ex-officio member of the Committee.
The University's Institutional Effectiveness Officer will be an ex-officio member of the Committee.
A Dean, recommended by the Dean's Council, will be an ex-officio member of the Committee.
A Department Chair, recommended by the Chair's Council, will be an ex-officio member of the committee.

Initially, the Committee will select its own Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Secretary from among the voting members of the Committee. After initial appointment, the Committee will annually select a Vice Chairperson and a Secretary. The Vice Chairperson will automatically become Chairperson for the next year.

Initial terms of appointment will be as follows:

1 person from each College to a 2 year term
1 person from each College to a 3 year term
1 person from each College to a 4 year term
Student representatives to a one year term

In the second year of the Committee's existence, no appointments other than the student representative will be made.

Beginning with appointments to the third year of the Committee's existence and each year thereafter, all
Committee appointments will be for a 3 year term, except for the student representative.

Individuals (other than the student representative) may not be re-appointed to the Committee until they have been off the Committee for at least 1 year after their last term expired.

All ex-officio members will be appointed to 1 year renewable terms. There will be no limit on the number of times an ex-officio member's term may be renewed.

The Director of General Education may request the Faculty Senate and MTSU President replace any voting member of the Committee who, in the opinion of the Director of General Education, is regularly absent without cause from General Education Committee meetings.

The General Education Charge:

The General Education Committee will meet regularly throughout the academic year and when necessary in the summer to carry out its responsibilities. Working with the Director of General Education, the Committee shall review the University's General Education mission statement and its goals; all General Education courses, syllabi, learning outcomes, and data related to the achievement of the outcomes; the faculty evaluation process for faculty assigned to teach General Education courses; and the relationships among all of these program components. This review process will allow the Committee and the Director of General Education to provide University-wide leadership for the ongoing evaluation and improvement of the General Education Program.

As a part of the evaluation and improvement effort, the Committee, at the request of the Director of General Education, may initiate as necessary the process for changes in the General Education program. Proposals for change may come from the Committee, the Director, special task forces and commissions, and other groups or members of the university community. Any proposal for change must first be carefully examined and then be approved by a simple majority vote of the entire voting membership of the Committee. If approved by a majority vote, a proposal for change must then be submitted for discussion to all interested university constituencies. All interested groups and individuals shall be given sufficient time to discuss fully each proposal and to provide comments to the General Education Committee. Approval from each of these groups, however, is not required.* Once all interested groups have been given the opportunity to comment on a proposal for change, the proposal will again be placed before the General Education Committee. If the proposal is then approved by a two-thirds majority of the entire voting membership, the General Education Committee will present it as a recommendation to the Director of General Education. If approved by the Director, the recommendation will be sent to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, or his/her designate, for final approval. Changes approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, particularly those which will impact faculty staffing, shall be implemented at a time he or she so designates.

*New General Education courses and other changes in the General Education Program do not require approval of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. Among other duties, the General Education Committee functions as the General Education Curriculum Committee. Any course removed from the General Education Program that did not have prior approval by the University Curriculum Committee must be submitted to and approved by the University Curriculum Committee to remain in the university curriculum.