General University Requirements at PolyU: The underlying principles and process of development

Paper presented at the

General Education and University Curriculum Reform: An International Conference in Hong Kong

Prof. Walter W. Yuen

VP (Academic Development), PolyU

12 June 2012

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Overview

Some thoughts on the 4-year undergraduate degree curriculum

PolyU goals and the General University Requirements (GUR)

Challenges

Lessons learned

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Some thoughts on the 4-yr UG curriculum

“ We are too quick to urge a sharper focus on writing or speaking skills and eager to engage the debate of “how many” science courses or “how much” Philosophy or whittling down the history requirement. We are quite reluctant to engage one another on the more basic issue of the underlying purpose of a college education at this moment in history … [cont’d]

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… What is the goal of undergraduate education in a globalized world? What body of knowledge, what set of skills and which sensitivities should all of our students cultivate to achieve the purpose of undergraduate education? Only after we have answered those basic questions are we in a position to begin discussing the number and sequence of courses and experiences that are most likely to help students realize our hopes for them.”

[Stephen A. Privett, S.J., President, University of San Francisco]

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The higher purpose

Not simply preparing students for a well-paid career in their chosen major/discipline

But also

“… to shape its students’ souls … a place for the training of character, for the nurturing of those intellectual and moral habits that together [formed] the basis for living the best life one can ” [Anthony T. Kronman]

“to help a fairer, more just society” [Steven Schwatz]

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PolyU’s educational goals

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PolyU graduates

Effective communicator

Lifelong learner

Ethical leader

Competent professional

Critical thinker

Innovative problem solver

GUR at PolyU

General University Requirements (GUR)

The Core (GE) curriculum for every PolyU student

A major vehicle to achieve PolyU’s mission and educational goals

Unique features:

Freshman Seminar

Leadership and Intra-personal Development

Service Learning

Extensive Reading/Writing Requirement

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The GUR curriculum

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3

Total = 30 credits

Contribution of GUR to PolyU goals

GUR Competent

professional Critical thinker

Effective communicator

Innovative problem solver

Lifelong learner

Ethical leader

Freshman seminar

LCR

Leadership & IPD

Service learning

Broadening (CAR)

Healthy Lifestyle

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Challenges (in the development and evolution of the GUR)

Shared vision and understanding

Staff buy-in and commitment

Experience and expertise in designing and delivering the new GUR components

Infra-structure and support

Students’ understanding and perception of GUR

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Challenges (in the development and evolution of the GUR)

Shared vision and understanding

No one (at any level) will speak openly against the vision of GE (politically correct !)

Senior Management’s Vision is most important (they must truly share the vision)

Understanding (and agreement) on the implementation strategy from Senior Management is also important (it has resource implication!)

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Challenges (in the development and evolution of the GUR)

Example of a Shared (or not-shared) vision and understanding

Some at PolyU (Other HK universities ?) claimed that the 3-yr curriculum has already achieved many of the expected learning outcome (whole person development, effective communicator, problem solving, etc.)

Non academic-credit co-curricular activities were used and claimed to achieve learning outcome

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Challenges (in the development and evolution of the GUR)

Example of a Shared (or not-shared) vision and understanding

Senate approved a 36-credit GUR requirement in 2007 !!!

15 credits for Broad Discipline underpinning foundation subjects

8 credits of language requirements (both Chinese and English, no additional requirements since same level of requirements already existed for most programmes in 3-yr curriculum)

12 credits of Cluster Area Requirement

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Challenges (in the development and evolution of the GUR)

Beyond idealism, the pragmatic vision for GUR at PolyU

If we believe in achieving specific learning outcomes of GUR, institutional support (in the form of academic credit, and therefore, resources) must be there to support it

Language requirements

Leadership and Intra-personal development

Service Learning

Cluster Area Requirements

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Contribution of GUR to PolyU goals

GUR Competent

professional Critical thinker

Effective communicator

Innovative problem solver

Lifelong learner

Ethical leader

Freshman seminar

LCR

Leadership & IPD

Service learning

Broadening (CAR)

Healthy Lifestyle

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Challenges (in the development and evolution of the GUR)

Staff buy-in and commitment (How to get support?)

GUR will not dilute the existing 3-yr disciplinary component of the university education (easier for HK because of the additional year)

Willingness to engage staffs in rational discussion/debate on the value of GUR for students

Identify key academic staffs who can support the development of courses

Leadership (expertise in APSS)

Service Learning (strong community service culture)

Languages (strong language centers)

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Challenges (in the development and evolution of the GUR)

Experience and expertise in designing and delivering the new GUR components

Appointed enthusiastic advocates as Special Assistant to VP(AD) to champion the initiative (e.g. Leadership, Service Learning, QA) A special university Task Force with representatives from academic departments and support units (SAO, EDC) set up to steer development and implementation Clear subject development guidelines developed by the Task Force Re-direct some of the 334 planning resources for course piloting

All freshman seminars piloted once Leadership course piloted twice CAR (3 in 2010/11, 10 in 2011/12), SL (1 in 2010/11, 10 in 2011/12) and LCR courses were piloted

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Strategies for implementation: Freshman Seminars

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Initial subject proposals

Highly unsatisfactory

Wide variations across Broad Disciplines in the curricular and pedagogical designs in terms of:

Credit value (1 to 3 credit)

Objectives and intended learning outcomes

Content and academic vigour

Format (mass lectures only to PBL tutorials)

Student study effort

Assessment

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Strategy to improve implementation

Coordinated by VP(AD) Office

Common subject development framework

Funding support for pilot implementation

10 pilot projects supported

Two rounds of visits to pilot project teams to identify issues/problems, and explore solutions

Systematic evaluation of pilot experiences

Sharing of experiences and best practices

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A common subject development framework

Mandatory 3-credit subject

Common learning objectives:

Introduce and enthuse students about their major

Cultivate creativity, problem-solving and global outlook

Develop understanding of entrepreneurship

Engage students in desired forms of learning at university (self direction, autonomous and deep learning)

Desired features and components:

Inspirational lectures

Innovative curricular activities to foster creativity, problem solving, global outlook and entrepreneurship

Significant workshop/seminar activities in small groups

Freshman projects

Assessment according to a letter-grade system

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A Sample FS pilot subject: COMP200 Freshman Seminar for computing students

In collaboration with Faculty of Engineering (FENG)

Seminars (10%)

3 by COMP and LSGI staff on curriculum and programme

1 renowned speaker seminar by IEEE Computer Society President

Technical project (40%)

Either Computing project delivered by COMP staffs, or FENG projects supervised by FENG staffs

Entrepreneurship project (40%)

Delivered by FENG staffs

Computing spirit

Amazing Race (extra credit, pinned to Computing project)

Interview-a-professor (10%)

Read@PolyU (extra credit)

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The Computing Technical Project

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“ We want to provide the students with a fun but educational experience. We opened the project to FENG students, and encouraged our students to form groups with them. ”

• iPhone Apps in 7 weeks

• Student-oriented teaching methodology with extensive lab sessions.

• “App Store” peer review (30%) for the final project

• Capstone activity: The Amazing Race PolyU

programming engineering

healthy lifestyle mathematics

Start with a Clue... Decode with your app...

Go where it leads... (explore the campus)

Perform your tasks!

The “Amazing Race PolyU”

Interview a Professor

“ We want the students to get to know the faculty as “people”. 1. Get a role model 2. Know whom to ask if you have questions (instead of spreading rumors and believing in hearsay) ”

• Students form groups to interview professors.

• 8 COMP colleagues “volunteered” as guinea pigs

• Task: Create a “centerfold spread” and a presentation on the professor.

• Scope: Anything except what we can find on their CVs!

Interview-a-Professor

Left to their own devices, students can get really creative...

• What was the hardest moment in your life?

• What do you believe in?

• Do you aspire to become department head one day?

• What kind of boys/girls do you find attractive?

• How did you meet your wife? How did you propose to her?

A lot of work, but students liked it!

• I really like Scrach so much!!!! It's quite funny and easy to use. Also, it's more beautiful. Our group enjoy so much when we were doing this project. Besides, Amazing Race is so great! I enjoy so much with my group as we work together to solve all the tasks.

• I appreciate the effort that the whole COMP200 teaching team paid, not only to the COMP Amazing Race but also the whole subject.

• I like the challenging tasks about the computing project in the sense that it tests my ability, perseverance and makes me grow.

• I haven't been to many places in POLYU, the race really helps me to explore the campus! :)

• Interview-a-Professor is very meaningful. Year 1 students seldom have a chance to get to know their professors. ... Dr Chang brought me and my group members to attend a recruitment session ... During the recruitment session, many professors fired questions from the floor, very exciting!!! That inspired me a lot...

• I love this subject very much. :)

Learning from experiences

Hosted by VP(AD) Office

To celebrate and share

All 10 pilot project teams participated to :

present experiences

share good practices

explore issues and the way forward

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GUR Courses in the Curriculum, 2012/13

For semester 1 in 2012/13

Freshman seminars (8)

Leadership & Intra-Personal Development (2)

Cluster Areas courses (37)

Service Learning courses (2-3)

Language and Communication courses

English (246)

Chinese (83)

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Challenges (in the development and evolution of the GUR)

Infra-structure and support

Academic Support

Committee of GUR for GUR course approval Subcommittee in 4 CAR areas, Service Learning, LCR, and Leadership

GUR course management and advising support

Office of Undergraduate Studies Office of GUR

Office of Service Learning

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Infra-structure to support GUR implementation

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Office of Undergraduate Studies • Coordinate and oversee the work of

OGUR and OSL • Plan and review GUR and student

advisement

Office of GUR • Plan and administer GUR

courses • Advise students on GUR • Coordinate student

advisement activities at PolyU

Office of Service Learning • Promote SL at PolyU • Coordinate and support

offering of SL courses • Network with community • Research on SL pedagogy

Academic advising at PolyU

Goals:

Create a supportive atmosphere that fosters success

Connect students to the Department and the University

Connect students to support services

Help students understand their academic & personal goals

Help students formulate appropriate study plan

Guide students on choosing majors and minors

Provide up-to-date information on university’s policies, procedures and requirements

Develop students’ decision making skills and sense of self-direction

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A two-tier student advising system

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Department-based advising system

• Every student be assigned a FT academic staff from Dept/Faculty as academic advisor

• Ratio of 1:10 to 1:20

• At least one face-to-face meeting during an academic year

• Appointment of an administrative staff as “Undergraduate Secretary”

University-level advising system

• Advise students on matters related to GUR

• 6-7 FT academic advisors at the OGUR

• Meet all freshman in their first year of study

Challenges (in the development and evolution of the GUR)

Students’ understanding and perception of GUR

Website for 4-yr Curriculum (and GUR) is developed

Exhibition in SL (Apr 2012) to showcasing success stories and raise awareness and interest of students and staff

Sessions in Common Orientation to explain the GUR requirements to first-year students

GUR advisors to visit O-Camp to offer introduction

Mandatory GUR advising session in the first semester for all first-year student

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Lessons learned

A LOT of work to turn a vision into reality !

Senior Management support is key

Need to find academic staffs with common vision to help with the implementation (shape your programme to best utilize the staffs’ expertise and interest)

Must be strategic in using available resources

Keep the faith and pray a lot (I am not kidding !)

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“ Changes may appear to be unnecessarily risky, but universities need to maintain a certain anxiety or uneasiness regarding whether or not their programs are continuing to meet their responsibilities and scholarship. Such anxieties and the honest self- examination they ought to occasion are essential ingredients in a university’s capacity to build and maintain its excellence. ” [Harold T. Shapiro]

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Conclusion

Questions and Answers

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