Curricular Review Task Force (CRTF)
Report # 9 (October 1, 2001)

The Curriculum Review Task Force held its first meeting for the academic
year on August 23, 2001. We reviewed the work done last May to tie up loose
ends and to plan the work for the year. During the intensive work sessions
in the last week of May, the eight faculty members of the Task Force
(including the Chair) had made detailed presentations to our group on eight
topics related to the Curriculum Review (Please see my last report for
details). It was decided that these members would write a summary of their
presentations, including their cited references, and circulate them to the
other members of the Task Force. After reviewing these summaries, and
remembering the strategic curricular initiatives collectively decided on by
our faculty and staff during the Purser-Gans Conference, each Task Force
member was asked to come up with five Educational Goals which would guide
our future work.

Meanwhile, it had been decided in consultation with the Faculty Senate that
the Fall Faculty/Staff Conference would focus on the Curricular Review. The
Task Force had decided last May that the first two curricular initiatives to
be considered are (1) Reinvestment in Pedagogy and (2) Communication Across
the Curriculum. These two topics became the key themes for the Faculty/Staff
Conference. The Task Force met with the Conference Planning Group on August
20 and it was agreed that the small group discussions will be led by seven
Task Force members. The Faculty Conference held on August 23 was very
productive in providing valuable input for the work of the Task Force. In a
general sense the Conference gave a vote of confidence for the work and
approach of the CRTF. We have taken detailed notes of the discussions in the
small groups and the plenary session.

On September 12th and 19th, the Task Force held intensive work sessions in
the Boone House from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. Each member, as agreed earlier,
brought a list of five Educational Goals and after a lengthy discussion we
have arrived at six educational goals and a list of operational ends for
each of them. These goals focus on the competencies to be developed by our
students and the learning outcomes of our academic program. After these are
finalized, we will arrange an open meeting to discuss them with our faculty.

On September 24, the Task Force met with the Assessment Committee and Dr.
Susan Holm, Chair of the MFL department. The Assessment Committee discussed
with us its plans and the list of eight Assessment Review Questions prepared
by the Committee. Dr. Holm discussed the role of foreign language learning
in the liberal arts education, the recent changes in MFL
majors/minors/concentration and her department=s plans for further changes.
The details of these discussions will be available in our minutes which will
be posted in the public folders later this week. To access this folder,
please go to Public Folders, All Public Folders, Documents, College,
Curricular Review Task Force. We are planning to meet with other departments
in the near future. Thanks.

Raj Ambrose, Chair
Curriculum Review Task Force.