The Daily Bulletin Archive

At its May 11, 2012, meeting, the College Senate unanimously voted to approve all sections of the proposed Intellectual Foundations program except the section on Global Engagement, which was sent back to committee. At its December 14, 2012, meeting, the Senate voted unanimously to approve the Global Engagement requirements section.

The College Senate recommends that the president accept and implement the final version of the Intellectual Foundations program approved on May 11, 2012, and December 12, 2012, as follows:

Intellectual Foundations Program
Approved at the May 11, 2012, College Senate Meeting
With Global Engagement Going Back to Committee for Action in Fall 2012

Basic Written and Oral Communication
CWP 101 (3) – must earn a minimum grade of C
CWP 102 (3) – must earn a minimum grade of C
6 credits

Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning
Select one course from this area
*Can satisfy major/minor requirements
3 credits

Cognate Foundations
Select one course in each of the following areas:
Arts (3), Humanities (3), Natural Science (3), Social Science (3)
*Courses must be outside the major prefix
12 credits

Foundations of Civilizations
Select one course in each of the following areas:
American History (3)
Western Civilization (3)
Non-Western Civilization (3)
*Can satisfy major/minor requirements
9 credits

Diversity
Select one course from this area
*Can satisfy major/minor or other IF requirements
3 credits

Global Engagement
Select one option – see attached
*Can satisfy major/minor requirements
**High school credit will be accepted. Students with one year of HS experience will take placement exam to verify appropriate placement.
0–6 credits

Intellectual Skills and Competencies
Writing Across the Curriculum (Infused)
Critical Thinking (Infused)
Information Management (Infused)
0 credits

Total Maximum Number of Credits 33–39

IF Global Engagement Requirement
Approved by College Senate December 14, 2012
Student Learning Outcome: Students will demonstrate cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and competencies that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts.

Option 1: Study of a Foreign Language
Students can meet the Global Engagement requirement by taking and passing a college language course at the 102 level. Students with one year of prior language study in high school will take a placement exam to ensure course registration at the appropriate level. Students who demonstrate successful completion of two years of foreign language study (the same language) at the high school level will satisfy the Global Engagement requirement.

Option 2: Proficiency Exam
Students can satisfy the Global Engagement requirement by passing an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) administered by an approved ACTFL organization at the novice-high level.

Option 3: Cultural Immersion through Study Abroad
Students can satisfy the Global Engagement requirement by participating in a semester-long study-abroad experience in a country where English is not the primary language. Students must achieve at least milestone 2 on the final assessment evaluated by the AAC&U Intercultural Knowledge and Competence Value Rubric to satisfy the requirement.

Faculty-led study-abroad programs will include assessment of the Global Engagement student learning outcomes within the context of the course. The assessment must be evaluated using the AAC&U Intercultural Knowledge and Competence Value Rubric. The student learning outcomes must be listed in the syllabus.

Students who engage in study-abroad programs that are not faculty led will be required to submit a portfolio with artifacts, including a 10-page reflective essay (guidelines and prompts provided), demonstrating achievement of at least milestone 2 on the AAC&U Intercultural Knowledge and Competence Rubric.

Option 4: Global at Home and Abroad

1. An approved Global Engagement Buffalo State service-learning course dedicated to serving populations and/or communities where English is not the primary language. The course must include a final assessment of student learning outcomes evaluated by the AAC&U Intercultural Knowledge and Competence Value Rubric. Students must pass the course and achieve a minimum of milestone 2 on the final assessment.
2. A local, regional, or international service experience with an organization dedicated to serving people in cultures where English is not the primary language of communication. Recognized experiences in this category can be part of an organized Buffalo State class or taken as an independent study/special project. Students are expected to provide documented evidence of a minimum of 100 hours of fieldwork (contact), preservice seminars/workshops focused on comprehending the cultural nuances of the population, and postcompletion debriefings. In all cases, experiences in this option must include assignments that promote intercultural competence (see suggested assignments). The final assessment of the student learning outcomes will include a 10-page reflective essay (see sample prompts) evaluated by the AAC&U Intercultural Knowledge and Competence Value Rubric. Students must pass the course and achieve a minimum of milestone 2 on the final assessment.

Implementation Guidelines: A student with one year of prior foreign language study from high school and who has met placement criteria where needed can satisfy the Global Engagement requirement by choosing from options 1–4. A student with no prior foreign study from high school can satisfy the Global Engagement requirement through Option 2 or a combination of Options 1, 3, and 4 for a total of 6 credits.

Option 4 Rationale
Individualized “Global at Home and Abroad” experiences are foregrounded in questions of identity, interconnections, responsibility, and the realities of American diversity. Experiences in the “Global at Home” category are informed by the college’s mission to be locally engaged and the realities of the ever-increasing diversity found in Western New York. Inherent in new conceptualization of self within society includes “an understanding of how other countries and societies interpret U.S. values, an understanding of how the United States interprets the values of other countries and societies, an understanding of how individual choices affect or influence other societies and countries, and an understanding of how individual consumption impacts the world’s ecological system, cultural values, cultural evolution, and economy” (Hovland, 2009).

Further, in 2006, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) commissioned a study to determine employer perception of graduates’ preparedness for work. More than 70 percent of respondents suggested that recent graduates were not adequately prepared for global issues, including the challenges and opportunities associated with global at home communities (College Learning for a New Century: A Report from the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and American Promise, 2007). The data reconfirm the need for focused attention on the connections between education and the dynamically shifting work and civic environments.

The “Global at Home and Abroad” category addresses the concerns raised by AAC&U by promoting educational experiences that are comprehensive and multilayered. The focus on connecting a learner’s educational experiences to community needs at grassroots levels creates a common ground that combines enhanced interconnectedness of education and community with the demonstrated need for augmented work skills in global contexts, whether international or local.

References
Association of American Colleges and Universities (2007). College learning for the global century: A report from the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise. Washington, DC. Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Hovland, K. (2009). Global learning: What is it? Who is responsible for it? Peer Review, 11 (4). Retrieved July 17, 2012, from www.aacu.org/peerreview/pr-fa09/hovland.cfm.

I hereby approve the Intellectual Foundations program recommended to me by the College Senate. I charge the provost with the responsibly of implementing this revised program for new students entering Buffalo State in fall 2014. Additionally I charge the provost with putting procedures in place so that those currently enrolled at Buffalo State and expecting to graduate in December 2014 or later have the opportunity to switch to the new program if it is advantageous to them.