After the Student Government’s proposal to change the Liberal Education Program course requirements was turned down last year, the Student Senate continues to search for ways to improve the courses. Student Senate Faculty Liaison, Corey Butler, presented an update on the LEP to the Feb. 11 Student Government meeting.

According to the meeting minutes, Butler outlined the lack of consistency in the LEP 100 course (or First Year Seminar) and explained that there will be an attempt to make the course sections more uniform.

The LEP 400 course (or Contemporary Issues Seminar) is still under assessment and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC), and SMSU all want something different from that course.

“The LEP 100 class serves a good purpose because it acclimates students to SMSU through activities” A senior taking Contemporary Issues Seminar said. “The LEP 400 doesn’t serve a clear purpose like the LEP 100 does. You need think critically in order to think creatively and you need to think creatively in order to think critically, it’s hard to separate the two.”

The LEP courses were first implemented in 2010. The First Year Seminar class was designed to fulfill the Critical Thinking goal of the MnTC while orienting students to SMSU and the Liberal Education Program. The Contemporary Issues Seminar satisfies the SMSU Student Learning Outcome of Creative Thinking and serves as a capstone to a student’s Liberal Education.

The Student Government insists that the First Year Seminar courses are inconsistent. Tony Greenfield, Liberal Education Committee (LEC) co-chair, explains that the inconsistency complaint is a result of differing perceptions of what the First Year Seminar course is about.

“Some of the problems with people saying there are inconsistencies is because you’ve got a dozen different faculty members from different disciplines presenting the critical thinking concept from their discipline,” Greenfield said.

Greenfield also says the turnover of instructors teaching LEP courses could have caused inconsistencies.

Student evaluations of the First Year Seminar course are becoming more positive. According to the latest Student Senate minutes, student surveys of the course have reasonable levels of satisfaction.

Results from a 2012 survey course show that only 38 percent of students agreed that the course made a positive contribution to their education.

First Year Seminar instructor, Sheila Tabaka, says LEP 100 is important because it helps students become acclimated with college classes. The course helps students get to know faculty and feel welcome in future classes.

“LEP 100 is just trying to get people to think. It’s amazing how many light bulbs go on throughout the semester,” Tabaka said.

The Contemporary Issues Seminar comes with its own set of criticism. The course does not satisfy any of the MnTC goals, but aligns with the SMSU learning outcome of creative thinking. Last year, the Student Senate compiled ideas to improve the LEP 400 course, including a plan to eliminate it altogether and merge it with the senior capstone courses.

“LEP 400 is a valuable class, but it might not be to all disciplines,” 2014-2015 Student Senate Faculty Liaison Doug Simon said. “We need to give students real life experiences, whether it’s through an internship or taking the LEP 400 class.”

First-time Contemporary Issues Seminar Professor, Nadine Schmidt, enjoys teaching her course and encourages her students to think in creative ways. Schmidt believes the senior capstone class should cover vocational skills and that the ability to think critically and creatively will benefit students in the long run.

“In the LEP 400 classes, students are exercising their brains in a highly practical way whether they realize it or not,” Schmidt said.

Assessment of the Contemporary Issues Seminar course poses the biggest challenge. The Higher Learning Commission recommended in its accreditation review last year that SMSU should continue to assess its courses and the LEP as a whole. The LEC and the Committee of Institutional Assessment (CIA) currently uses a rubric to assess the Critical Thinking goal of LEP 100, but there is no rubric to assess the Creative Thinking Learning Outcome.

“I don’t think the faculty truly agree on what creative thinking is, much less how to measure it,” Butler said.

The Outcomes of the SMSU Liberal Education Program states that students should gain the ability to cultivate multiple modes of inquiry, increase curiosity, enjoy a challenge, and cultivate a willingness to learn from mistakes from the LEP 400 course.

“I can’t imagine how any LEP 400 instructor could realistically work all these components into a single course, let alone assess students’ progress on them,” Butler said.

An LEP instructors group meets regularly to discuss the LEP and how to add consistency to the LEP courses. Greenfield hopes to form a similar group for students to share their opinions of the LEP.

“I think the current hybrid model of MnTC combined with LEP is too cumbersome and confusing,” Butler said. “We need a simpler curriculum that is easier for students to understand and for faculty to assess.”