Presented to the Mānoa Faculty Senate by the General Education Committee (GEC) for a vote of the full senate on November 14, 2018, a motion to support integration of the General Education Office (GEO) into a reconfigured portfolio for the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE). Approved by the Mānoa Faculty Senate on November 14, 2018 with 32 votes in favor of support; 8 votes against; and 2 abstentions.
MOTION TO SUPPORT INTEGRATION OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION OFFICE INTO A
RECONFIGURED PORTFOLIO FOR THE OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
WHEREAS, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) commissioned an External Review Team to provide recommendations to further strengthen the general education of students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM)1; and
WHEREAS, the External Review Team noted faculty must own curriculum but concomitantly noted the existing governance structure of general education is highly segmented making its administration inefficient and frustrating to faculty2; and
WHEREAS, the External Review Team recommended integration of the General Education Office (GEO) into a reconfigured portfolio within the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) that would now coordinate all aspects of the undergraduate experience at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa3; and
WHEREAS, the GEC commissioned an Internal Review of General Education at the UHM4; and
WHEREAS, the Internal Review noted that the GEO was previously housed in the OUE from 2006 to 2010 until moved to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for issues unrelated to undergraduate education curricula (i.e., “stabilize funding, clarify reporting lines, and enhance efficiency and effectiveness of the General Education Office, which works closely with the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and has dual reporting responsibility to that office and the Mānoa Faculty Senate”)5, 6; and
WHEREAS, General Education Committee (GEC) agreed with the recommendation of the External Review Team Report to integrate the GEO into a reconfigured portfolio for the OUE; therefore
BE IT MOVED, that the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Faculty Senate supports the integration of the GEO into a reconfigured portfolio for the OUE for the purposes of ensuring the long-term integrated and coordinated administration of general education with the administration of full four-year undergraduate degree programs at UHM, and
BE IF FURTHER MOVED, that the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Faculty Senate supports that the Director of the GEO will report to the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education, and
BE IT FURTHER MOVED, that the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Faculty Senate supports that staff salaries and operational budget of the GEO, irrespective of reporting lines, remain fully funded to meet its stated responsibilities.
Supporting Documents:
1Filer, K., Moreno, J., Rhodes, T., and S. Shananhan. University of Hawaii at Manoa General Education External Review Team Report. Spring, 2018. The full report will be released upon completion of the review process responses by GEC and OVCAA.
2Filer, K., Moreno, J., Rhodes, T., and S. Shananhan. University of Hawaii at Manoa General Education External Review Team Report. Spring, 2018. Page 10, 1st paragraph, lines 1 through 3. “The faculty own the curriculum. But the existing governance structure of general education at UHM is highly segmented making its administration inefficient and frustrating to faculty.”
3Filer, K., Moreno, J., Rhodes, T., and S. Shananhan. University of Hawaii at Manoa General Education External Review Team Report. Spring, 2018. Page 10, 2nd paragraph, lines 1 through 3. “First, we recommend an integration of the General Education Office into a reconfigured portfolio for the Undergraduate Education Office which would now coordinate all aspects of the undergraduate academic experience.”
4Agcaoili, Aurelio, Ambrozich, K., Halbert, D., Harris- McCoy, D., Nassir, M., Ni Dhonacha, S., Shim, K., and W. Vincent. Findings from the Internal Review of General Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. AY 2017 – 2018. The full report will be released upon completion of the review process responses by GEC and OVCAA.
5Agcaoili, Aurelio, Ambrozich, K., Halbert, D., Harris- McCoy, D., Nassir, M., Ni Dhonacha, S., Shim, K., and W. Vincent. Findings from the Internal Review of General Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. AY 2017 – 2018. Page 14, 3rd paragraph, lines 1 through 4. “In 2006, the GEO/MWP was moved from LLL to the Office of Undergraduate Education and placed under the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education. In August 2010, the GEO/MWP’s budget was consolidated and transferred to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) as a means of stabilizing funding, clarifying reporting lines, and enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of the GEO.”
6Memorandum by Martin Rayner, Chair, Manoa Faculty Senate Executive Committee, “Consolidation and Transfer of General Education Office/Manoa Writing Program Budget and Positions,” July 26, 2010.