Restructure the General Education Requirements

Mills College has historically been a place of innovation, and while it continues to foster it, the college could emphasize this aspect by eliminating the separation between departments and divisions, a separation that hampers creativity and innovation.

The undergraduate general requirements would be a good place to begin. One suggestion is to revamp all of them using the idea of "cross-pollination" (in other words, taking an interdisciplinary approach). Our students would fully taste the benefits of the liberal arts college if their Gen Ed requirement courses were co-taught through a whole semester.

There could be a possibility of special funding for courses co- taught by faculty from more than one division or department; a pilot program might involve only a small number of courses, with proposals judged on the basis of curricular innovation and "cross-pollination" among divisions. There might be outside funding sources for these courses.

While such a program would require a small financial investment, it could be done with relatively little expense, and if it is successful it could become a marketing tool for Mills. We would continue to make our mark as innovators by creating new bridges through various departments. These new courses, to truly reflect the "cross-pollination" concept, would have to be fully integrated into the curriculum of each collaborator.

Evolution of College 005 into a New Student Experience.

College 005 has been a topic of conversation for ages. Even if we view it solely as an assessment tool, it's not very good. Maybe it's time we should ditch it and take the opportunity to more fully engage with first semester students and give them some valuable skills and raising the bar across the board.

For many of the students entering Mills, the whole business of being away from home and transitioning from high school and community colleges into a 4(plus) year institution is a challenge and this effects the rest of the curriculum and student experience.   Students arrive at Mills with extremely varying levels of preparation in areas ranging from financial well being, time management, study skills, evaluation of information, presentation of information, and use of technology.  

Perhaps a collaborative effort that draws on student life, library, and faculty could define a set of transition skills that would include information related skills, technology skills, and study skills along with "life" skills.  We could define an inventory of "baseline skills we expect and which are necessary for success" and then put together a really excellent program that would not be seen as a mere onerous requirement but would be appreciated as providing skills I need today.

The "course" could be taught in sections by a number of instructors allowing for smaller groups to rotate through the experience in a manner that was efficient (with regard to both faculty/staff time and student time) and effective.  Examples of similar offerings by other institutions can be found here:http://fye.sdes.ucf.edu/?p=seminar and http://www.hartwick.edu/campus-life/first-year-experience