I.F. Introduction & Guiding Principles

Intellectual Foundations

Introduction:

Mission
Guiding Principles

Overview:

Governance
Curricular Proposals

Report to the College Senate

of the

Select Committee

on General Education

8 November 2002

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Introduction

General Education at Buffalo State has been in considerable flux since the Trustees of SUNY imposed system-wide general education requirements. The general education program currently in force, General Education 2000 (GE2K), is a fusion of two quite different general education programs. It was assembled to meet a very short, SUNY-imposed timetable. When the College Senate approved GEy2k, it also created the Select Committee on General Education to fashion recommendations for general education in a more deliberative atmosphere.

No underlying curricular rational exists for GEy2k, and the Committee recognized that it would be impossible to retrofit a curricular rationale to the GE2K structure. The Committee therefore began its deliberations by exploring the principles of higher education and general education in particular. It reviewed documents relating to the history of general education at Buffalo State, SUNY, and other colleges and universities. The Committee attempted to summarize a curricular rational for general education at Buffalo State in the Mission Statement and series of Guiding Principles reported below. They are based on the Socratic ideals of civic and intellectual engagement and self-reflection which undergird general education at most North American colleges and universities.¹

The Committee then took up the task of devising a curriculum that embodies the ideals civic, intellectual and creative engagement and self-reflection while acknowledging the realities and history of Buffalo State College. Such a program must be organized around student learning outcomes and have a clear and uncomplicated structure. It should provide students with a common and shared intellectual experience. It should encourage integration and synthesis among disciplines and provide a progressive learning experience promoting intellectual growth. No part of the program should "belong" to a division or department, but instead, the structure, teaching and governance of the program should be the purview of the entire campus community. Under the proposals for curricular structure that emerged, the governing metaphor for general education shifted from core to foundation. Rather than encouraging students to sample the essence or core of many different fields, an intellectual foundations program helps students build foundations for their future intellectual development.

Once the general outlines of such a curriculum became clear, the Committee commenced a campaign to elicit input from the College Community. The Committee conducted a series of focus groups involving faculty and staff, and survey of students; made presentations to the College Senate and, when invited, to department chairs; and most recently a series of community fora. The Committee respectfully considered all reasoned proposals and criticism, usually incorporating them into the Committee's proposals.

The Intellectual Foundations Program represents an incremental revision of the guiding principles, structure, governance and delivery of general education at Buffalo State College. In adopting the Intellectual Foundations Program, the College will be committing to a process of continuous and systematic improvement in general education within an elastic structure.

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The Intellectual Foundations Mission

The Intellectual Foundations Program at Buffalo State College promotes an understanding of the continuity of human history, the depth of inherited knowledge, the validity of diverse modes of inquiry, the value of artistic expression and the richness of our collective experience. The purpose of the Intellectual Foundations Program is to develop the skills and habits of the mind required for a life of intellectual curiosity and civic engagement.

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Guiding Principles

The following characteristic traits of a well-educated person were used as guiding principles in Committee deliberations. The Committee proposes that these principles should continue to guide the implementation of the Intellectual Foundations Program.²

1.

A well-educated person revels in history, for it is the key to who we are today and where we are going tomorrow. S/he understands that our own history is crucially conditioned by that of others.

2.

A well-educated person understands that there are many ways of viewing and understanding the world and recognizes and appreciates both difference and similarity. S/he is literate across a wide range of genres and media and can find, in radically different forms of discourse, crucial and equally valuable insights and meaning. For an educated person, all are special forms of reading, profound ways in which the eyes and the ears, and the other senses become attuned to the infinite wonders and talents that make up the human and the natural world.

3.

A well-educated person knows how to listen and to hear; to watch and observe. S/he can follow an argument, track logical reasoning, detect illogic; hear the emotions that lie behind both the logic and the illogic, and ultimately empathize with the person who is feeling those emotions. S/he recognizes that insights are to be gained from people with a variety of backgrounds and values and uses them in a constant dialogue between knowledge and values.

4.

A well-educated person can communicate effectively. S/he knows how to present information, to ask thoughtful questions and to converse with people of different backgrounds. S/he practices respect and humility, tolerance and self-criticism.

5.

A well-educated person can write clearly, persuasively and movingly. S/he is adept at the craft of using the written word to convey ideas, emotions, and accurate description. S/he approaches writing as a creative process of communication of intellectual and civic engagement as well as self-reflection.

  6.

A well-educated person can solve a wide variety of problems. S/he knows how to look at a complex reality, break it into pieces, analyze and reconstruct it again. S/he understands that challenges present themselves in vastly differing and unexpected forms and contexts and must be addressed using a variety of critical and creative methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative.

7.

Well-educated people jointly engage the world of ideas, of human affairs and of nature by integration and connection. They see connections so as to be able to make sense of the world and act within it in creative ways. They know that they belong to a community whose prosperity and well-being is crucial to their own and help that community flourish by giving of themselves to make the success of others possible. All of the qualities addressed above are in the end about gaining the power, the insight, the generosity, and finally the freedom and the wisdom to connect with one another and the world.

Notes

1.

Nor are they exclusively American or even Western, for they can be found in much the same form in nearly all civilizations. See Martha C. Nussbaum Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997)

2.

Items 2-7 borrow heavily from Cronon, Willliam J. "HIV, Health, and Liberal Education." In: Wm. David Burns, Ed. Learning for Our Common Health: How an Academic Focus on HIV/AIDS Will Improve Education and Health. (Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 1999). Also published in The American Scholar, Volume 67, Number 4 (Autumn 1998), adapted and reprinted in, Volume 85, Number 1 (Winter 1999).

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Overview of the Intellectual Foundations Proposal

.

Governance of the Intellectual Foundations Program

Intellectual Foundations Oversight Committee

This will be the primary governing body of the Intellectual Foundations Program. It will make curricular recommendations to the College Senate Curriculum Committee and will consists of representatives from all three faculties and professional staff.

Intellectual Foundations Center

This will be established to implement and administer the Intellectual Foundations Program.

Transitional Processes

Special governance and implementation procedures will be required to effect the IF Program by Fall, 2005. These include course and faculty development and several ad hoc curricular committees.

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The Intellectual Foundations Curriculum

The Intellectual Foundations curriculum is structured on a simple hierarchy of required course work, beginning with an introductory course in critical thinking across the disciplines (BSC 100). Students will also take course in Cognate Foundations, American History, Basic Communication, Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning, Foreign Language, Diversity and Foundation in Civilization. Finally, all students will be required to employ higher level intellectual skills by integrating knowledge across two different disciplines in a culminating course (BSC 300)

BSC 100 Foundations for Inquiry

This course is a first-year intellectual experience to be shared by Buffalo State students. It will prepare students to be critical and engaged learners throughout the rest of the program. Students will analyze a common set of original texts from across the disciplines and learn to identify and evaluate arguments and to better understand their own beliefs and values. The original texts will be collected by the faculty in the form of an Intellectual Foundations Reader.

Mathematic/Quantitative Reasoning

Learning outcomes required of students are divided into two groups, mathematics learning outcomes to be designated with an "M," and quantitative reasoning learning outcomes to be designated with a "Q." There will be multiple ways of fulfilling both requirements, providing students with more flexibility than GE2K.

Basic Written & Oral Communication

Students fulfill the SUNY learning outcomes in basic written communication by completing ENG 101 and ENG 102. Writing-intensive courses should develop higher level writing skills. The Committee recommends further systematic study of writing at Buffalo State. Students will fulfill the SUNY oral communication learning outcomes by taking specifically designated courses.

Foreign Language

The current foreign language requirement for B.A. and B.S. is retained with incremental steps toward a true proficiency requirement. Buffalo State currently allows pre-collegiate class "seat time" to substitute for proficiency.

Diversity

Students will take one course that includes significant Diversity learning outcomes emphasizing the history, culture, creativity and contemporary experiences of traditionally underrepresented populations in the United States.

Cognate Foundations

Cognate Foundations are course that meet a set of student learning outcomes in one of four areas of knowledge, Arts, Humanities, Natural Science and Social Science. These courses will build on critical thinking skills introduced in BSC 100. Students will take two lower-level courses in each cognate area. Courses will be included in cognate areas according to their ability to meet specific learning outcomes

Foundation in American History

Students will be required to complete one course that conveys a basic narrative of American history in its many dimensions. A significant portion of each course in this category shall address learning outcomes that explicitly reference the diversity of the American people and experience.

Foundation in Civilization

Courses in this category will directly compare and contrast Western and other civilizations by discussing each in the context of the other. Students will have several options for completing the 6 credit hours required.

Competencies: Critical Thinking & Information Management

The SUNY Trustees' Information Management and Critical Thinking learning outcomes have been infused throughout the Intellectual Foundations Program, especially in BSC 100, ENG 101/102 and BSC 300. It is anticipated majors address these learning outcomes at a higher level.

BSC 300 Integrative Courses

An upper-level integrative course will provide the culminating experience in the Intellectual Foundations Program, and will be required of all students graduating from Buffalo State. Each will integrate two or more of the cognate areas. Students will build on previously acquired knowledge by applying higher level critical thinking skills including synthesis, evaluation and creative thinking as they relate to multiple cognate areas.

First Year Program

The Intellectual Foundations Center shall convene a First Year Program Working Committee that will move the College in the direction of a unified First Year Program. This committee shall include faculty and key personnel responsible for orientation, freshman seminars, learning communities, and other aspects of students' first year experience.

Community Service

While included in the College Mission and Strategic Plan and Intellectual Foundations Mission and Guiding Principles, community service requires an academic and administrative structure of its own. Further study is recommended

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The following characteristic traits of a well-educated person were used as guiding principles in Committee deliberations. The Committee proposes that these principles should continue to guide the implementation of the Intellectual Foundations Program.²
1.	*A well-educated person revels in history, for it is the key to who we are today and where we are going tomorrow.* S/he understands that our own history is crucially conditioned by that of others.
2.	*A well-educated person understands that there are many ways of viewing and understanding the world and recognizes and appreciates both difference and similarity.* S/he is literate across a wide range of genres and media and can find, in radically different forms of discourse, crucial and equally valuable insights and meaning. For an educated person, all are special forms of reading, profound ways in which the eyes and the ears, and the other senses become attuned to the infinite wonders and talents that make up the human and the natural world.
3.	*A well-educated person knows how to listen and to hear; to watch and observe.* S/he can follow an argument, track logical reasoning, detect illogic; hear the emotions that lie behind both the logic and the illogic, and ultimately empathize with the person who is feeling those emotions. S/he recognizes that insights are to be gained from people with a variety of backgrounds and values and uses them in a constant dialogue between knowledge and values.
4.	*A well-educated person can communicate effectively*. S/he knows how to present information, to ask thoughtful questions and to converse with people of different backgrounds. S/he practices respect and humility, tolerance and self-criticism.
5.	*A well-educated person can write clearly, persuasively and movingly.* S/he is adept at the craft of using the written word to convey ideas, emotions, and accurate description. S/he approaches writing as a creative process of communication of intellectual and civic engagement as well as self-reflection.
6.	*A well-educated person can solve a wide variety of problems.* S/he knows how to look at a complex reality, break it into pieces, analyze and reconstruct it again. S/he understands that challenges present themselves in vastly differing and unexpected forms and contexts and must be addressed using a variety of critical and creative methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative.
7.	*Well-educated people jointly engage the world of ideas, of human affairs and of nature by integration and connection.* They see connections so as to be able to make sense of the world and act within it in creative ways. They know that they belong to a community whose prosperity and well-being is crucial to their own and help that community flourish by giving of themselves to make the success of others possible. All of the qualities addressed above are in the end about gaining the power, the insight, the generosity, and finally the freedom and the wisdom to connect with one another and the world.
Notes
1.	Nor are they exclusively American or even Western, for they can be found in much the same form in nearly all civilizations. See Martha C. Nussbaum Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997)
2.	Items 2-7 borrow heavily from Cronon, Willliam J. "HIV, Health, and Liberal Education." In: Wm. David Burns, Ed. Learning for Our Common Health: How an Academic Focus on HIV/AIDS Will Improve Education and Health. (Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 1999). Also published in The American Scholar, Volume 67, Number 4 (Autumn 1998), adapted and reprinted in, Volume 85, Number 1 (Winter 1999).

Intellectual Foundations Oversight Committee
	This will be the primary governing body of the Intellectual Foundations Program. It will make curricular recommendations to the College Senate Curriculum Committee and will consists of representatives from all three faculties and professional staff.
Intellectual Foundations Center
	This will be established to implement and administer the Intellectual Foundations Program.
Transitional Processes
	Special governance and implementation procedures will be required to effect the IF Program by Fall, 2005. These include course and faculty development and several ad hoc curricular committees.

The Intellectual Foundations curriculum is structured on a simple hierarchy of required course work, beginning with an introductory course in critical thinking across the disciplines (BSC 100). Students will also take course in Cognate Foundations, American History, Basic Communication, Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning, Foreign Language, Diversity and Foundation in Civilization. Finally, all students will be required to employ higher level intellectual skills by integrating knowledge across two different disciplines in a culminating course (BSC 300)
BSC 100 Foundations for Inquiry
	This course is a first-year intellectual experience to be shared by Buffalo State students. It will prepare students to be critical and engaged learners throughout the rest of the program. Students will analyze a common set of original texts from across the disciplines and learn to identify and evaluate arguments and to better understand their own beliefs and values. The original texts will be collected by the faculty in the form of an Intellectual Foundations Reader.
Mathematic/Quantitative Reasoning
	Learning outcomes required of students are divided into two groups, mathematics learning outcomes to be designated with an "M," and quantitative reasoning learning outcomes to be designated with a "Q." There will be multiple ways of fulfilling both requirements, providing students with more flexibility than GE2K.
Basic Written & Oral Communication
	Students fulfill the SUNY learning outcomes in basic written communication by completing ENG 101 and ENG 102. Writing-intensive courses should develop higher level writing skills. The Committee recommends further systematic study of writing at Buffalo State. Students will fulfill the SUNY oral communication learning outcomes by taking specifically designated courses.
Foreign Language
	The current foreign language requirement for B.A. and B.S. is retained with incremental steps toward a true proficiency requirement. Buffalo State currently allows pre-collegiate class "seat time" to substitute for proficiency.
Diversity
	Students will take one course that includes significant Diversity learning outcomes emphasizing the history, culture, creativity and contemporary experiences of traditionally underrepresented populations in the United States.

Cognate Foundations
	Cognate Foundations are course that meet a set of student learning outcomes in one of four areas of knowledge, Arts, Humanities, Natural Science and Social Science. These courses will build on critical thinking skills introduced in BSC 100. Students will take two lower-level courses in each cognate area. Courses will be included in cognate areas according to their ability to meet specific learning outcomes
Foundation in American History
	Students will be required to complete one course that conveys a basic narrative of American history in its many dimensions. A significant portion of each course in this category shall address learning outcomes that explicitly reference the diversity of the American people and experience.
Foundation in Civilization
	Courses in this category will directly compare and contrast Western and other civilizations by discussing each in the context of the other. Students will have several options for completing the 6 credit hours required.
Competencies: Critical Thinking & Information Management
	The SUNY Trustees' Information Management and Critical Thinking learning outcomes have been infused throughout the Intellectual Foundations Program, especially in BSC 100, ENG 101/102 and BSC 300. It is anticipated majors address these learning outcomes at a higher level.
BSC 300 Integrative Courses
	An upper-level integrative course will provide the culminating experience in the Intellectual Foundations Program, and will be required of all students graduating from Buffalo State. Each will integrate two or more of the cognate areas. Students will build on previously acquired knowledge by applying higher level critical thinking skills including synthesis, evaluation and creative thinking as they relate to multiple cognate areas.
First Year Program
	The Intellectual Foundations Center shall convene a First Year Program Working Committee that will move the College in the direction of a unified First Year Program. This committee shall include faculty and key personnel responsible for orientation, freshman seminars, learning communities, and other aspects of students' first year experience.
Community Service
	While included in the College Mission and Strategic Plan and Intellectual Foundations Mission and Guiding Principles, community service requires an academic and administrative structure of its own. Further study is recommended