Department faculty were then asked to review the section portfolios for each G.E. course taught by the department and to discuss in a department meeting the consistency, quality, and coherence of each course, with special emphasis on consistency among sections. Department chairs or School Coordinators were asked to prepare a summary of the departmental review, addressing each of the questions on the questionnaire and evaluating the consistency among course sections in responding to each of these questions. The General Education Committee reviewed instructor portfolios and departmental/School reviews, paying particular attention to consistency in meeting objectives by different sections of the same course.

II.REVIEW OF NATURAL SCIENCES (CATEGORY B) COURSES

CATEGORY B-1. MATHEMATICS

Upon completing the mathematics component of the general education program, students should have acquired substantive skills in quantitative and abstract reasoning and in the use of mathematics as a computational an analytic tool. Based on the student’s interests, academic goals, and score on a placement examination, five course options are available. It should be noted that the mathematics courses below are cross-listed as both Basic Skills Category (A-3) courses and Natural Sciences Breadth Area (B-1) courses. In the second category, in addition to satisfying the Basic Skills criteria, they are also required to satisfy Breadth Area criterion “1-b”, “To explore the philosophical presuppositions and examine the social and historical context of scientific developments within the natural sciences.”

MATH 110, COLLEGE ALGEBRA: As a course in the basic skills category, MATH 110 has a clear focus: to teach students the skills in college algebra, with topics such as polynomial, rational, exponential and logarithmic functions, simultaneous equations and elementary operations with matrices. The department dictates the text and content of the course across sections, 15 of them in the Fall Quarter, 1996, from which the review portfolios were obtained. Assessment methods are typically homework, graded or not, quizzes and exams, although the number of these assignments varies from instructor to instructor. Questions on the quizzes and exams are almost always problem-solving in nature, thus appearing appropriate for the content and level of the course. Of all the syllabi, none specify course objectives (two give a one-sentence description of the course). Additionally, the Mathematics section criterion “1-b” does not appear to be addressed in the courses. From the materials submitted, the Committee recommends that the course be recertified as a Natural Sciences Breadth Area course (see “Category comments and recommendations below”).

MATH 115, THE IDEAS OF MATHEMATICS: Math 115 deals with discrete mathematics, including topics such as set theory, counting, and probability. A multiple-section course (three sections in the Fall 1996 quarter), MATH 115 has its major topics determined by the department and uses the same text in all sections. The syllabi of the three sections in the Fall 1996 Quarter are very similar, both in terms of the content of the course and the sequencing of the topics. Therefore, consistency is assured. Assessment methods are typically quizzes and examinations, in the problem-solving format. The questions appear to match the topics closely, offering a comprehensive evaluation of students' performance, and seem appropriate for the level of students involved. However, the course does not appear to address the Breadth Area criterion “1-b”. Additionally, none of the course syllabi stated course objectives. From the materials submitted, the Committee recommends that the course be recertified as a Natural Sciences Breadth Area course (see “Category comments and recommendations below”).