Senate Resolution 0910-01
University Senate of the University at Albany
Resolution on Establishing a General Education Task Force
Introduced by the Senate Executive Committee at the February 8, 2010 Senate meeting,
where it was discussed, amended, and approved in its current form
Whereas the SUNY Board of Trustees (BOT), at its January 19, 2010, meeting approved
an amendment to Resolution # 98-241 concerning the SUNY General Education
requirements, to be effective Fall 2010; and
Whereas one of the principal intents of the amendment is to facilitate the mobility of
students from one SUNY institution to another; and
Whereas the amended BOT resolution does not limit campuses in establishing their own
local Gen Ed requirements, as long as those local requirements meet the SUNY
minimum; and
Whereas UAlbany’s current Gen Ed requirements meet and exceed the new SUNY
minimum requirement, while current language in the undergraduate bulletin and
agreements with SUNY create ambiguities and/or inconsistencies as to the relationship
between UAlbany requirements and the new SUNY requirements; and
Whereas said ambiguities and/or inconsistencies may raise numerous questions for
incoming students, including potential legal challenges; and
Whereas Interim SUNY Provost Lavallee encourages campuses to review their existing
Gen Ed requirements in light of the changes in SUNY requirements to facilitate student
mobility,
Be it Resolved to create a General Education Task Force composed of
a) Three or four members of UAC,
b) A representative from the Provost’s Office,
c) A representative from the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences,
d) A representative from the Student Association,
e) An additional six or seven full time faculty members with substantial
experience in teaching General Education courses and with a demonstrated
commitment to the evolving aims of General Education, the full membership
selected so as to represent primarily and evenly the faculty involved in
delivering the general education curriculum, and
Be it Resolved to have the Senate Chair and GOV Chair work together, in consultation
with the Provost and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, to propose a slate of
members of the Task Force and the Chair of that Task Force to the SEC, which shall vote
on the proposed slate in an electronic vote; and
Be it Resolved to charge the Task Force to
a) Identify and propose short term interim recommendations to address the needs
of incoming students for Fall 2010;
b) Submit such recommendations to the UAC and the Senate Executive
Committee no later than Friday, March 19, 2010, and that such
recommendations shall then be presented to the Senate for discussion and vote
at the April 12, 2010 senate meeting;
c) Initiate a review of UAlbany’s Gen Ed requirements, with the goal to develop
one or several alternate models for Gen Ed requirements at UAlbany that are
consistent with the SUNY requirements; and
d) Provide a progress report to the Senate at the May 10, 2010 meeting; and
Be it Resolved to provide the Task Force with further instructions and guidance, as
needed, at the May 10, 2010 meeting.
