UMass Dartmouth General Education Task Force and Steering Committee records
Scope and Contents
The collection is comprised of mostly emails, and administration materials, used by the General Education Task Force to create a new curriculum replacing the outdated one that had previously been in place; back during the universities history as Southern Massachusetts University. There is also documented, class suggestions from all of the colleges, detailing potential classes that they could incorporate into this program. Another important addition to this collection is the contribution that SMU/UMASS students contributed to this program. Back in the 1980’s many of the Task Force heads wanted to incorporate student’s voices into this new program as well, allowing them to have a say in the curriculum.
Dates
- 1982 - 2008
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Unrestricted.
Biographical / Historical
The major curricular development of the 1980’s was the attempt to create a comprehensive general education program to replace the University’s decentralized system of distribution requirements. The effort was coordinated through the office of the dean of faculty, Dr. Donald Douglas. (“Trials and Triumph”, page 129) The General Education Task Force was created with all the heads of the university’s intertwining college; and under the direction of Dr. Douglas they started planning a new curriculum. A curriculum designed for future students, at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. After several years of planning, task force reports, and broad-based involvement of faculty and administrators, a final plan was presented for adoption, but was ultimately withdrawn. The proposed general education program foundered on the issues of curricular space in the professional colleges, especially engineering, and the approved procedures of the Faculty Education. A decade later, under the pressure of the University’s accrediting agency, the Faculty Senate steered through a compromise program which was adopted in 1997. (“Trials and Triumph”, page 130)
Extent
.6 Linear Feet (one and one half manuscript boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection contains documents on meetings, emails, and papers concerning the General Education Task Force Committee and its members.
Processing Information
Processed in November 2012, by Taylor Newton ‘16. Revised with additions by Judy Farrar in May 2019.
Creator
- Title
- UMass Dartmouth General Education Task Force and Steering Committee records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Taylor Newton
- Date
- November 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
- Edition statement
- Second edition
Repository Details
Part of the Claire T. Carney Library Archives and Special Collections, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Repository