A temporary stop to approving new general education courses was suggested at a meeting of the CAA’s General Education and Learning Goals Committee.

Philosophy professor Jonelle DePetro asked that the CAA implement this moratorium after the vitalization project and learning goals project.

The learning goals project is focused on getting the four learning goals, which are writing and critical thinking; speaking and listening; quantitative reasoning; and responsible citizenship, into as many general education courses and majors as possible.

DePetro said she has seen moratoriums passed in the past.

She said she remembers when the CAA required a provision that when a new general education class was approved, another general education class in that department must be deleted.

“I think we need something like that, at least until the vitalization project or the learning goals project is complete, so we do things strategically,” DePetro said.

DePetro said she understands people might think she is being territorial, but as chair it is her job to protect her department.

“But it’s not just that,” DePetro said. “I mean, it’s all of us.”

History professor Debra Reid said she was teaching when the last rounds of moratoriums on general education courses were passed in 1999 and 2000. They were then passed again in 2004 and 2005 because there was a rule where they had to be done every five years. However, after 2005 they were stopped, except when done in broad efforts.

CAA chair Marita Gronnvoll said the CAA cannot make a decision without a clear proposal being written, stating when the moratorium would start and end and the justifications for it.

Gronnvoll said she wants this to be as open as possible due to possible pushback.

She said she feels uncomfortable trying to make this decision without making it a campus wide discussion.

During the regular CAA meeting, the group talked about a communication sent to Gronnvoll from Eastern President David Glassman about sending two volunteers from the CAA to serve on the Provost search committee.

Gronnvoll said the first meeting would be this month and go into the spring. The CAA decided to send communication studies professor Rebecca Throneburg and Misty Rhodes, chair of the health studies department.

Samuel Nusbaum can be reached at 581-2812 or at scnusbaum@eiu.edu.