The Integrative Core Curriculum Program Review Committee is looking for feedback from the college community on a draft report of the ICC, which was released Jan. 15.
The committee is looking for comments on the report’s factual accuracy and clarity. The report includes data from surveys and focus groups that gives an overview of how the ICC is perceived on campus and what its current weaknesses are. In the feedback collected, 48 percent of students disagreed or strongly disagreed that the ICC is accomplishing its goals, but only 14 percent polled wanted the program to be eliminated.
The committee is not looking for feedback about the ICC itself. The draft report contains an analysis of the current state of the ICC and includes a detailed description of the program and its administration, curriculum and budget, as well as data regarding how the ICC is performing. Near the end of Fall 2018, the college community was given the opportunity to share its thoughts on the ICC through surveys and focus groups, and this feedback was factored into the report.
The committee has been organizing the review of the ICC to present a revised draft complete with suggestions from the committee to the campus community and the provost’s office, said Susan Witherup, co-chair of the review committee.
The report addressed several facets of the ICC that may be open to change. However, the program review committee is unable to comment on which particular issues require attention until the next edition of the report is released, said Christina Moylan, co-chair of the review committee.
The draft report is currently in a commenting period in which members of the college community have the opportunity to give feedback on the accuracy and quality of the report. The deadline for commenting feedback is Feb. 1, and the complete report, with outside evaluation and recommendations, will be made available March 18. The program review committee is also offering open meetings Feb. 6–7 between the campus community and the external evaluators, Amy Jessen-Marshall, vice president of the Office of Integrative Liberal Learning and the Global Commons in the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and David Hubert, associate provost for learning advancement at Salt Lake Community College.
Witherup said Jessen-Marshall and Hubert were selected because of their experience in reviewing general education programs at other colleges in the past, as well as their direct experience with practices used in the ICC, such as assessment, reflective writing and thinking, and e-portfolios. Witherup said that Jessen-Marshall and Hubert are contracted with the college to serve as external reviewers but that she could not disclose the value of their contracts because she felt it would be inappropriate to release that information.
To the right, The Ithacan has highlighted the most pertinent findings presented in the report.
