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Both the review of our existing General Education program, arising out of the SACS Self-Study, and the development of proposed revisions in General Education, approved by the Senate on April 24, 2003 in Senate Document 7203S as the Integrative Liberal Studies program have been faculty driven. In order to ensure continued faculty ownership and faculty-driven evolution of the ILS program, and to encourage wide faculty participation in ILS, it is important that there be established a Faculty ILS Oversight Committee which works with both the Academic Policies Committee and the Associate Vice Chancellor for University Programs. In addition, to broaden faculty participation and oversight, we believe that four distinct subcommittees be established to advise ILSOC, one for each of the Intensive categories. Both the ILSOC and the Intensive Subcommittees will have both an evaluative and a formative role in the ILS program, collaborating with faculty in generating courses which conform to ILS program charges.

Structure:
The Faculty ILS Oversight committee is composed of:

    * Six voting faculty members.
    * One member of APC, chosen by APC (ex officio, without vote)
    * Associate Provost for University Programs (APUP) or designate (ex officio, without vote)

The voting members of the committee will be the chairs of the six subcommittees and will be elected for one-year, renewable terms by the members of the ILSOC subcommittees from among the members of those subcommittees.

One voting member will be chosen as chair of each subcommittee at the first meeting of the academic year; one voting member of ILSOC will be chosen as chair at the first meeting of the academic year.

Each subcommittee will be responsible for coordinating a particular area of the ILS: Liberal Studies Colloquia; Topical Clusters; Diversity Intensives; Writing Intensives; Quantitative Intensives; and Information Literacy Intensives.

Members of ILS subcommittees are appointed by Faculty Senate, upon nomination from the FWDC. Subcommittees will consist of a minimum of four and a maximum of six members, with the Writing Intensive subcommittee having six appointed members including the Director of the University Writing Center who will serve ex officio, without vote. Members will serve staggered, non-consecutive four-year terms. In choosing subcommittee members the Senate should give consideration to candidates’ experience and/or interest in the particular area of the subcommittee.

RATIONALE and PROCEDURES FOR TRANSITION:
The FWDC believes that having the ILS Oversight Committee elected from among the members of the various subcommittees serves the need of assuring knowledge and competence on ILSOC. With this change it is no longer desirable to have the Oversight committee continue to choose members of the subcommittees; instead, having those persons nominated and appointed by FWDC and the Senate provides needed representativeness and input from the faculty at large. The FWDC is mindful of the desirability that members of the subcommittees be knowledgeable about the intensives they are to oversee; but recognizes also that faculty who do not teach in one of the intensives may also have relevant knowledge and interest.

Current members of the intensive subcommittees will serve their current terms and replacement members, or additional members as may be needed to fill out subcommittee memberships, will be appointed as provided in this document. Election of members of ILSOC from the six subcommittees will begin (as existing members rotate off) in Fall, 2009.

Duties:

1) The ILS Oversight Committee will determine whether courses and clusters proposed by faculty members to fulfill ILS requirements conform to the charge for the relevant component(s), as approved by the Faculty Senate. APC is responsible for changes in component charges and criteria, while the DUP is responsible for staffing, faculty development, and course development related to the ILS program. Once clusters and courses are approved, the ILS Oversight Committee notifies the Registrar and the DUP.

In all component areas, ILSOC has both a formative and an evaluative function. If proposals are not satisfactory, ILSOC and/or the Intensive Subcommittee must explain its decision and provide guidance to faculty on ways to bring the proposed course in line with the charge for that area. Decisions may be appealed to the APC who may uphold the decision, reverse the decision, or send it back for further consideration. The submission and approval process for courses for each ILS component is as follows:

a) ILS Topical Clusters: Faculty members propose a cluster of courses to the committee. One faculty member is indicated as coordinator of the cluster. The proposal must (1) describe the topic of the cluster, (2) indicate the faculty member who will coordinate the cluster, and (3) clearly articulate the ways in which each course is appropriate for the proposed cluster.

The ILS Oversight Committee determines whether the connections among these courses are sufficient to justify designation as a cluster for the ILS program and whether the proposed cluster meets the criteria established for ILS clusters. ILSOC also determines whether cluster courses proposed for ILSN, ILSS, or ILSA designation satisfy their criteria.

Proposals to modify clusters by addition or deletion of courses must also be presented to the ILS Oversight committee with explanation. Course additions must be justified using the same criteria as the creation of new clusters. A complete description of cluster requirements may be found in the ILS Implementation Document which provides the charge for ILS topical clusters.

b) Intensive Courses: Faculty members apply for D, W, Q, or I designation for their courses by providing a sample syllabus of their course with attached explanation to the appropriate subcommittee. A course may carry no more than two intensive designations. The subcommittee will review each application and issue a recommendation to ILSOC. Based on their recommendation, the ILS Oversight Committee determines whether the course fulfills the requirements of the relevant Intensive category.

c) Colloquia: The ILS Colloquia Coordinator is responsible for receiving and reviewing LSIC colloquium proposals and for ensuring that each section meets relevant colloquium requirements. This faculty member will work with the DUP in securing sufficient numbers of sections of Colloquia as well as on faculty and content development. While the LSSC is in development, the DUP will oversee this component of the program.

d) Learning Foundations: Faculty who wish to propose additional courses for fulfilling the Writing, Natural Science Lab or Foreign Language requirements may make a proposal to ILSOC, which will, in consultation with appropriate departments, determine whether the course fulfills the criteria established for these courses.

e) Arts: Faculty members who wish for one of their courses to receive ILSA designation for a studio/workshop course or a topical cluster course must provide a sample syllabus of their course with attached explanation to the Arts and Ideas Program Director (aka ILS Arts Coordinator). This individual evaluates these proposals and provides a list of approved courses to ILSOC, which determines whether this list of courses fulfills ILSA requirements.

f) Humanities Cluster: Faculty development and participation in the Humanities cluster is administered by the Director of the Humanities Program, who will inform and consult with the DUP and ILSOC in the event of significant proposed changes to the program.

2) The ILSOC will receive annual reports from the Arts and Ideas and the Humanities Program Directors which detail any changes in course offerings, core content, and areas of concern. ILSOC will use this information in constructing its annual report to APC.

3) The Chair of the ILS Oversight Committee will report to APC at the end of each semester, providing information about decisions made by the committee during that semester, with rationale if necessary. In this report, the chair may also identify areas of concern with regard to clarity and specificity of component charges, proposals for ILS courses, availability of ILS sections, or any other issues. The Chair of the ILS Oversight Committee will also report to APC at the end of each academic year, to outline broader developments, goals for the following year, issues and concerns.