Pine Technical College
Policy and Procedure
Policy Number: 225 Rev 1 Date: February 27,
2006 Revision Date:
Division/Department: Academic Affairs Author: Mary Jo
Mettler & Rita Youngbauer
Subject: Minnesota Transfer Course Development Process
Authorities:
MnSCU Transfer Oversight Committee
Purpose:
To ensure courses offered in the liberal arts and sciences meet the
criteria for inclusion in the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) where
applicable.
Policy:
Faculty, Academic Affairs and Standards Council, and the CAO will work
together to create and maintain liberal arts and science courses that meet the
MnTC using the evaluation criteria approved by the Transfer Oversight Committee.
Procedure:
________1. The course meets the institution’s definition of general
education.
________ 2. The course is consistent with the Guidelines for the Review and
Design of a Minnesota Transfer Curriculum.
Attachment A: Guidelines for the Review and Design of a Minnesota Transfer
Curriculum
________ 3. The course is designed to have significant focus on one or more of
the ten goals of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum.
Attachment B: The Minnesota Transfer Curriculum: Goals and Student Competencies
________ 4. The course has been subjected to a comparative analysis of MnTC
courses offered by other Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and
neighboring states .
Responsibilities:
All faculty, in consultation with the Curriculum Coordinator, are
responsible for ensuring that all courses in the liberal arts and sciences meet
this definition. Courses are then brought forward to the Academic Affairs and
Standards Council for review and approval. Final approval rests with the Vice
President of Academic Affairs.
Dissemination:
This policy is distributed to all faculty and staff via the campus
intranet.
Reviewed by Leadership Team: 12-12-05
Reviewed by Faculty Shared Governance: 1-17-06
Approved: ___________________________________ Date:
2-24-06
Robert L. Musgrove, Ph.D., President
Revision Reviewed by Leadership Team: 3-19-07
Revision Reviewed by Faculty Shared Governance: 3-28-07
Revisions Approved: ___________________________________
Date: 3-28-07
Robert L. Musgrove, Ph.D., President
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Office of the Chancellor
Academic and Student Affairs--Program Collaboration and Transfer
Guidelines for the Review and Design of a Minnesota Transfer Curriculum
1. Colleges establish their own processes for review of proposed courses.
2. Each course must address the competencies listed in at least one of the 10
areas of the curriculum
A single course can address no more than two areas. (An
exception is if all courses are expected to address critical thinking, then CT
can be a third area.)
A course must address at least 51% of the competencies in an
area.
The competencies must be a significant focus of the course.
3. Students should be able to complete a transfer curriculum with a minimum of
40 semester credits.
4. Some disciplines are excluded by decision of the collaborating institutions.
Because not all courses that might address a competency are general education,
courses will not be included from: business, health/physical education, computer
science (an exception was made for programming for math, but for most
programming courses a high level math is a prerequisite), field experience,
career orientation, or, in general, any occupational courses or programs, first
year world languages.
5. Some courses are excluded because they are required for admittance to college
study in Minnesota. Examples include developmental courses in reading, writing,
and mathematics. Intermediate algebra is considered to be a developmental
course.
6. Natural science laboratory requirements are a minimum of one traditional lab
course and a second with a lab-like experience.
7. Competencies, particularly in theme areas, can be addressed by stand-alone
courses or can be embedded across part of the curriculum.
8. Development of a MN Transfer Curriculum is an evolutionary process. Colleges
are encouraged to continue to develop their courses, pedagogy, assessment, and
organization.
A guiding principle suggested for any course: "If the justification for
inclusion needs to be elaborate, perhaps the course ought not to be in."
Developed by the original Oversight Committee
Revised by the MnSCU MnTC Oversight Committee on 03/01/02 for MnSCU application,
and adopted for U of M application on 11/26/02.
II. THE MINNESOTA TRANSFER CURRICULUM
Goals and Student Competencies
Foreword
The transfer curriculum commits all public colleges and universities in the
state of Minnesota to a broad educational foundation that integrates a body of
knowledge and skills with study of contemporary concerns -- all essential to
meeting individuals’ social, personal, and career challenges in the 1990s and
beyond. The competencies people need to participate successfully in this complex
and changing world are identified. These competencies emphasize our common
membership in the human community; personal responsibility for intellectual,
lifelong learning; and an awareness that we live in a diverse world. They
include diverse ways of knowing -- that is, the factual content, the theories
and methods, and the creative modes of a broad spectrum of disciplines and
interdisciplinary fields -- as well as emphasis on the basic skills of
discovery, integration, application and communication. All competencies will be
achieved at an academic level appropriate to lower-division general education.
There are ten areas of emphasis:
1. Communication
2. Critical Thinking
3. Natural Sciences
4. Mathematics/Logical Reasoning
5. History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
6. The Humanities and Fine Arts
7. Human Diversity
8. Global Perspectives
9. Ethical and Civic Responsibility
10. People and the Environment
Students who complete a transfer curriculum will be expected to use computers,
libraries, and other appropriate technology and information resources.
Institutions should assure integration of these skills in courses throughout the
general education curriculum.
1. Communication
Goal: To develop writers and speakers who use the English language effectively
and who read, write, speak, and listen critically. As a base, all students
should complete introductory communication requirements early in their
collegiate studies. Writing competency is an ongoing process to be reinforced
through writing-intensive courses and writing across the curriculum. Speaking
and listening skills need reinforcement through multiple opportunities for
interpersonal communication, public speaking, and discussion.
Student Competencies:
Students will be able to
a. understand/demonstrate the writing and speaking processes
through invention, organization, drafting, revision, editing and presentation.
b. participate effectively in groups with emphasis on
listening, critical and reflective thinking, and responding.
c. locate, evaluate, and synthesize in a responsible manner
material from diverse sources and points of view.
d. select appropriate communication choices for specific
audiences.
e. construct logical and coherent arguments.
f. use authority, point-of-view, and individual voice and
style in their writing and speaking.
g. employ syntax and usage appropriate to academic
disciplines and the professional world.
2. Critical Thinking
Goal: To develop thinkers who are able to unify factual, creative, rational, and
value-sensitive modes of thought. Critical thinking will be taught and used
throughout the general education curriculum in order to develop students'
awareness of their own thinking and problem-solving procedures. To integrate new
skills into their customary ways of thinking, students must be actively engaged
in practicing thinking skills and applying them to open-ended problems.
Student Competencies:
Students will be able to
a. gather factual information and apply it to a given problem
in a manner that is relevant, clear, comprehensive, and conscious of possible
bias in the information selected.
b. imagine and seek out a variety of possible goals,
assumptions, interpretations, or perspectives which can give alternative
meanings or solutions to given situations or
problems
c. analyze the logical connections among the facts, goals,
and implicit assumptions relevant to a problem or claim; generate and evaluate
implications that follow from them.
d. recognize and articulate the value assumptions which
underlie and affect decisions, interpretations, analyses, and evaluations made
by ourselves and others.
3. Natural Sciences
Goal: To improve students’ understanding of natural science principles and of
the methods of scientific inquiry, i.e, the ways in which scientists investigate
natural science phenomena. As a basis for lifelong learning, students need to
know the vocabulary of science and to realize that while a set of principles has
been developed through the work of previous scientists, ongoing scientific
inquiry and new knowledge will bring changes in some of the ways scientists view
the world. By studying the problems that engage today's scientists, students
learn to appreciate the importance of science in their lives and to understand
the value of a scientific perspective. Students should be encouraged to study
both the biological and physical sciences.
Student Competencies:
Students will be able to
a. demonstrate understanding of scientific theories.
b. formulate and test hypotheses by performing laboratory,
simulation, or field experiments in at least two of the natural science
disciplines. One of these experimental components should develop, in greater
depth, students, laboratory experience in the collection of data, its
statistical and graphical analysis, and an appreciation of its sources of error
and uncertainty.
c. communicate their experimental findings, analyses, and
interpretations both orally and in writing.
d. evaluate societal issues from a natural science
perspective, ask questions about the evidence presented, and make informed
judgments about science-related topics and policies.
4. Mathematical/Logical Reasoning
Goal: To increase students’ knowledge about mathematical and logical modes of
thinking. This will enable students to appreciate the breadth of applications of
mathematics, evaluate arguments, and detect fallacious reasoning. Students will
learn to apply mathematics, logic, and\or statistics to help them make decisions
in their lives and careers. Minnesota's public higher education systems have
agreed that developmental mathematics includes the first three years of a high
school mathematics sequence through intermediate algebra. (Recommendation from
the intersystem Mathematics Articulation Council. Adopted by all Systems in
February 1992.)
Student Competencies:
Students will be able to
a. illustrate historical and contemporary applications of
mathematical/logical systems.
b. clearly express mathematical/logical ideas in writing.
c. explain what constitutes a valid mathematical/logical
argument (proof).
d. apply higher-order problem-solving and/or modeling
strategies.
5. History and the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Goal: To increase students’ knowledge of how historians and social and
behavioral scientists discover, describe, and explain the behaviors and
interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, events, and ideas. Such
knowledge will better equip students to understand themselves and the roles they
play in addressing the issues facing humanity.
Student Competencies:
Students will be able to
a. employ the methods and data that historians and social and
behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.
b. examine social institutions and processes across a range
of historical periods and cultures.
c. use and critique alternative explanatory systems or
theories.
d. develop and communicate alternative explanations or
solutions for contemporary social issues.
6. The Humanities and Fine Arts
Goal: To expand students' knowledge of the human condition and human cultures,
especially in relation to behavior, ideas, and values expressed in works of
human imagination and thought. Through study in disciplines such as literature,
philosophy, and the fine arts, students will engage in critical analysis, form
aesthetic judgments, and develop an appreciation of the arts and humanities as
fundamental to the health and survival of any society. Students should have
experiences in both the arts and humanities.
Student Competencies:
Students will be able to
a. demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in
the arts and humanities.
b. understand those works as expressions of individual and
human values within an historical and social context.
c. respond critically to works in the arts and humanities.
d. engage in the creative process or interpretive
performance.
e. articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities.
7. Human Diversity
Goal: To increase students' understanding of individual and group differences
(e.g. race, gender, class) and their knowledge of the traditions and values of
various groups in the United States. Students should be able to evaluate the
United States' historical and contemporary responses to group differences.
Student Competencies:
Students will be able to
a. understand the development of and the changing meanings of
group identities in the United States, history and culture.
b. demonstrate an awareness of the individual and
institutional dynamics of unequal power relations between groups in contemporary
society.
c. analyze their own attitudes, behaviors, concepts and
beliefs regarding diversity, racism, and bigotry.
d. describe and discuss the experience and contributions
(political, social, economic, etc.) of the many groups that shape American
society and culture, in particular those groups that have suffered
discrimination and exclusion.
e. demonstrate communication skills necessary for living and
working effectively in a society with great population diversity.
8. Global Perspective
Goal: To increase students' understanding of the growing interdependence of
nations and peoples and develop their ability to apply a comparative perspective
to cross-cultural social, economic and political experiences.
Student Competencies:
Students will be able to
a. describe and analyze political, economic, and cultural
elements which influence relations of states and societies in their historical
and contemporary dimensions.
b. demonstrate knowledge of cultural, social, religious and
linguistic differences.
c. analyze specific international problems, illustrating the
cultural, economic, and political differences that affect their solution.
d. understand the role of a world citizen and the
responsibility world citizens share for their common global future.
9. Ethical and Civic Responsibility
Goal: To develop students' capacity to identify, discuss, and reflect upon the
ethical dimensions of political, social, and personal life and to understand the
ways in which they can exercise responsible and productive citizenship. While
there are diverse views of social justice or the common good in a pluralistic
society, students should learn that responsible citizenship requires them to
develop skills to understand their own and others, positions, be part of the
free exchange of ideas, and function as public-minded citizens.
Student Competencies:
Students will be able to
a. examine, articulate, and apply their own ethical views.
b. understand and apply core concepts (e.g. politics, rights
and obligations, justice, liberty) to specific issues.
c. analyze and reflect on the ethical dimensions of legal,
social, and scientific issues.
d. recognize the diversity of political motivations and
interests of others.
e. identify ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities
of citizenship.
10. People and the Environment
Goal: To improve students, understanding of today's complex environmental
challenges. Students will examine the interrelatedness of human society and the
natural environment. Knowledge of both bio-physical principles and
socio-cultural systems is the foundation for integrative and critical thinking
about environmental issues.
Student Competencies:
Students will be able to
a. explain the basic structure and function of various
natural ecosystems and of human adaptive strategies within those systems.
b. discern patterns and interrelationships of bio-physical
and socio-cultural systems.
c. describe the basic institutional arrangements (social,
legal, political, economic, religious) that are evolving to deal with
environmental and natural resource challenges.
d. evaluate critically environmental and natural resource
issues in light of understandings about interrelationships, ecosystems, and
institutions.
e. propose and assess alternative solutions to environmental
problems.
f. articulate and defend the actions they would take on
various environmental issues.