Strategy: Ensure that the campus maintains and develops high caliber courses, curricula, and academic programs.
Point People: Patricia Turner – Undergraduate; (Jeffrey Gibeling – Graduate)
Narrative Summary of Fifth Year Implementation Efforts – Undergraduate:
The undergraduate curriculum is under the purview of the colleges, the Committee on Courses of Instruction and the Undergraduate Council of the Academic Senate. The revised Undergraduate Program Review first implemented in 2006-07 utilizes campus-wide data to inform the review and to allow the process to align more closely with the campus Educational Objectives. Initial responses from programs reviewed thus far suggest that the availability of the data is a valuable addition to the process, allowing programs to focus on areas of accomplishment as well as areas to improve.
A joint senate and administrative task force group on the campus General Education requirement continued its work which, by the close of the year, resulted in the senate approval of a revised General Education program. Highlights to the new requirement include a stronger writing requirement, the establishment of areas of literacy including quantitative and scientific reasoning, visual and oral literacy, and an overall increase in the number of units that comprise the GE program. Next steps involve establishing a joint senate/administrative task force to facilitate the new requirement’s implementation by Fall 2010.
Narrative Summary of Fifth Year Implementation Efforts – Graduate:
Advances and Ongoing Programs Consistent With Strategy -- Undergraduate:
- Senate Committee on Courses of Instruction approved 270 new undergraduate courses during 2007-08 compared to 131 new courses in the previous year (more than a 100% increase). An additional 392 undergraduate courses were modified in some way to improve the delivery of instruction.
- The Freshman Seminar Program held nearly constant in its offering of small 1 and 2 unit courses during 2007-08. 241 courses (4% increase) were offered compared to 233 in the previous year. These courses have a capped enrollment of 20 students.
- The Undergraduate Instructional Improvement Program sponsored 19 projects focused on one or more areas that included (1) strengthening students’ writing and oral communication skills, (2) internationalizing the curriculum, (3) enhancing the quality of faculty-student interactions in large enrollment classes, (4) increasing experiential and discovery learning in large enrollment classes, (5) incorporating value-added and outcome based evaluations of courses, (6) increase understanding of social-cultural diversity, and (7) incorporation of instructional technology.
- The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences established a new undergraduate major in Environmental Sciences and Management (ESM). This interdisciplinary major integrates physical and chemical science, biology, and social sciences to prepare individuals to address broad environmental problems with an understanding of the economic, political and legal constraints affecting environmental management.
- The College of Letters and Science (Division of Social Sciences) established a new undergraduate major in Middle East/South Asia Studies (ME/SA) to be offered in the coming year. This major will serve as a nexus for interdisciplinary engagements that focus on transnational, transregional and translinguistic comparative analyses across the areas of historical, cultural, economic and geopolitical significance.
- The University Writing Program completed its senate approval process with courses tier to the minor available and effective Fall 2008.
- Under the oversight of Professor Christopher Thaiss, University Writing Program, a new initiative Systematic Improvement of Undergraduate Education in Research Universities is being funded by a grant from the Teagle Foundation. UC Davis is one of 10 research universities to receive the grant.
- The Mathematics and Science Teaching Programs (MAST), the UC Davis branch to a system-wide initiative is a collaborative effort of the undergraduate colleges and the school of education to increase the numbers, quality, and diversity of math and science teachers. Now having completed its second full year it has demonstrated a 170% increase in participation. A total of 157 students participated in seminars that included field experience in elementary, middle, or high school classrooms compared to 57 students in the previous year. The first two MAST courses have now received senate approval.
- Through web resources and workshops sponsored by the TRC, preparation and dissemination of course and student assessment materials continue to be developed for new faculty members, freshman seminar instructors, instructors for large enrollment classes, etc.