The Student Government Committee hosted a General Education Reform Town Hall at Tuesday's meeting. Belquise Torres, vice chancellor for inclusive excellence and education, said she feels each Pitt school and branch school is “marching to the beat of its own drum.”
“Over the past year, we have conducted independent research on how colleges and universities compare to the rest of the country in terms of student success, equity, access, and affordability. ,” Professor Torres said. “Given the fact that we're so decentralized, we're slowly trying to bring people together and have conversations.”
According to Torres, 79% percent of public institutions We have a common general education framework across our institutions.
Torres said he expects the new general education task force to prioritize student success.
SGB President Ryan Young said that in this context, student success is defined as students engaging in their own education.
“I think a lot of times people want to find out what's the easiest thing to do, or they're just trying to check a box on a list,” Young said. “There is confusion in this process that limits people from actually engaging with it, finding value from it, being successful, and improving themselves from the courses they are taking.”
Torres said he hopes students graduate from the Generation program with critical thinking skills.
“We want to make sure that by the time you leave here, you've learned how to effectively and properly collect and evaluate information, and you've learned how to understand and apply basic principles, scientific and quantitative reasoning, everything. I want to have it, this is it,” Torres said.
Bradan Issermoyer, board member and member of the general education task force, hopes future general education courses can teach more specific skills.
“I'm interested in transforming requirements and what to produce from our generation in terms of meaningful and tangible skills,” Issermoyer said. “Especially how you can conduct research, use technology effectively, be a leader in the workplace, and communicate with others.”
Academic Affairs Committee Chair Grace Ball said she feels media literacy is one of the skills that needs to be included in the general education requirements.
“It is important to know how to engage critically with the media so that you can have your own voice. These critical thinking skills will help students become good members of the workforce and good citizens in their daily lives. I think it’s a real foundation,” Ball said.
Ball, Issermoyer and Torres all said they feel general education standards need to be consistent across all campuses and schools.
“I think we, as an institution, need to commit to making a more integrated generational curriculum part of our strategy, no matter what school you attend or what your major is,” Torres said. he said. “This precludes the opportunity for transfer students to enroll and not have to add additional hours. [their] degree. “
Ball said one of the goals of the task force is to make classes more meaningful.
“There will be no increase or decrease in terms of curriculum demands,” Ball said. “There's going to be more variety. It's making sure it's there. [is] Increase consistency across generational education, ensure more practical skills are taught, and ensure that the generational education you receive is impactful. ”
allocation:
The Kendo club requested funding for equipment. The board approved amending this request and increasing the cap for club sports to $2,000.
Pitt's fan club requested an on-campus performance event. The Board approved this request, which he revised to $4,874.53.
The Syrian Student Organization requested $3,596.81 to bring speakers to campus. The Board fully approved this request.
Turning Point USA at Pitt requested $3,600 to create a video for the club. The board rejected this request outright.