March

Faculty Senate update

Undergraduate learning outcomes and a diversity recruitment update were discussion topics at the March 15 meeting.

By Cory Phare

March 30, 2017

The MSU Denver Faculty Senate had a busy meeting on March 15, according to Matt Makley, Faculty Senate president and associate professor of history.

One of the largest topics of conversation was whether to approve nine undergraduate learning outcomes, or ULOs. Sample evaluative criteria for the outcomes include critical thinking, creative thinking and quantitative reasoning. The ULOs were developed by a task force of faculty and administrators. The measure passed with well over 50 percent approval.

According to Makley, some of the goals were to more closely align credit to the state of Colorado’s transfer competency criteria and to signal value to University stakeholders. “Essentially, the measure says, ‘This is what we want everyone to be able to do when they graduate from MSU Denver,’ regardless of what major they have,” he said.

Faculty also received an update from the Diversity Committee’s multiyear project to develop postdoctoral fellowships to strategically attract faculty from underrepresented populations. The initiative, involving Francisco Barbosa (assistant professor of history), Wilton Flemon (professor of chemistry) and Vicki Golich (provost and vice president for academic and student affairs), is effectively succeeding, Makley said. Two faculty members, in the departments of Marketing and Sociology, will start in the fall 2017 semester.

Additionally, the faculty spent time clarifying language in the academic catalog for general studies requirements for double majors.

The next Faculty Senate meeting is scheduled for April 5.