Note:  This document is intended for the use of faculty, staff, and students at the University of Central Florida for its participation in:

 

Core Commitments: 

Educating Students for Personal and Social Responsibility

 

See http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~stanlick/CoreComm2007FacDevel.htm

 

UCF participation and programs are sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities through their grant from the Templeton Foundation

 and a UCF College of Arts and Humanities Research Grant

 

Background Information on Core Commitments:

·        See http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/index.cfm (AAC&U’s general information page on “Core Commitments”).

·        See also http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/background.cfm (AAC&U’s statement of background regarding “CC”).

·        The role of colleges and universities in the 5 dimensions of CC:  http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/call_to_action.cfm

·        The Core Commitments brochure from AAC&U:  http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/documents/brochure.pdf

·        UCF’s participation in CC at the signatories page:  http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/signatories.cfm

 

Resources on Core Commitments from AAC&U:

·        Richard H. Hersh and Carol Geary Schneider, "Fostering Personal and Social Responsibility on College and University Campuses" Liberal Education, Summer/Fall 2005

·        Review of existing literature:  Review of Existing Literature (pdf)

UCF Core Commitments and CAH Research Grant Personnel and Participants

 

Faculty and Administrators:

  • Nancy Stanlick, Department of Philosophy, PI (CC and CAH)
  • Alison Morrison-Shetlar, Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Director, Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, Co-PI (CC)
    • Eric Main, FCTL Program Coordinator
  • Alvin Y. Wang, Dean, Burnett Honors College (CC)
    • Kelly Astro, BHC
  • Martha Marinara, Director, UCF QEP for Information Fluency (CC and CAH)
  • John Frederick Schell, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (CC)
  • Patricia MacKown, Assistant Vice President for Campus Life, Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (CC)
  • Steve Fiore, Department of Philosophy and UCF Institute for Simulation and Training (CC)
  • Jeff Wirth, Research Associate, School of Film and Digital Media (CAH, for IPL)

 

Student Assistants

  • Robert Slade, Burnett Honors College and Department of Philosophy student assistant for QEP and CC
  • Benjamin Tucker, Department of Philosophy, undergraduate student assistant for IPL and ethics bowl scenario content
  • Nathan Draluck, Graduate student assistant for IPL and ethics bowl scenario content

 

Faculty Participants in Summer 2007 Faculty Development Conference Core Commitments Track (in association with the Quality Enhancement Plan for Information Fluency)

  • Manoj Chopra, Engineering
  • Dawn Oetjen, COHPA
  • Annabelle Conroy, Political Science
  • Shawn Reichert, Political Science
  • Ronnie Hawkins, Philosophy
  • John Burris, Humanities and Religious Studies

 

UCF’s proposal to AAC&U, Map of UCF Projects, and Related Documents:

      1. Faculty Development in Summer and Winter Conferences (FCTL)
      1. University-wide ethics bowl competitions/participation
      1. College, Department, and Student Ethics Task Force Participation
      1. IPL/StoryBox Research on ethical decision making
      1. Proactive Academic Integrity Seminars
      1. Additional Documentation/Articles

 

Materials for Faculty Participants in the Core Commitments Track, Summer 2007 FCTL Faculty Development Conference

  • Online documents (above)
  • What Every Student Should Know About Cheating and Plagiarism
  • What can you do to help promote Core Commitments at UCF and in your classes/programs?
    1. Participants in the 2007 Summer Faculty Development Conference are “pioneers” at UCF in creating course content to support the Core Commitments project in their disciplines.  You may find the 5 Dimensions of Core Commitments (below) and “Gauging the Dimensions Across Significant Areas of Campus Culture” (http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~stanlick/GaugingDimensions.pdf ) to be useful in designing assignments, assessments, or other activities relevant to the course(s) in which you intend to incorporate Core Commitments Content.

The Five Dimensions of Core Commitments:

      • “AAC&U has identified five key dimensions of personal and social responsibility that form the core of this initiative:
        • Striving for excellence: developing a strong work ethic and consciously doing one’s very best in all aspects of college;
        • Cultivating personal and academic integrity: recognizing and acting on a sense of honor ranging from honesty in relationships to principled engagement with a formal academic honors code;
        • Contributing to a larger community: recognizing and acting on one’s responsibility to the educational community (classroom, campus life), the local community, and the wider society, both national and global;
        • Taking seriously the perspectives of others: recognizing and acting on the obligation to inform one’s own judgment; engaging diverse and competing perspectives as a resource for learning, for citizenship, and for work;
        • Developing competence in ethical and moral reasoning: developing ethical and moral reasoning in ways that incorporate the other four responsibilities; using such reasoning in learning and in life. 

While these five dimensions do not encompass all aspects of personal and social responsibility, their claim as the initial focus for a widespread re-engagement with these outcomes is compelling.”  (From:  http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/index.cfm )

    1. You are also invited to write short articles for publication in Faculty Focus in summer 2007 about your participation in the Core Commitments track.  Please see Eric Main at the Faculty Center about this.
    2. You are also welcome to participate individually or with groups of your students in any of the relevant UCF Core Commitments Projects listed in the grant proposal (link above) and in the Expanded Project Map (link above).
    3. For any courses or programs in which you intend to incorporate Core Commitments content, I ask that you send me a copy of syllabi in which this content is mentioned or described.  In addition, if you create assignments that you designate as related to Core Commitments, please also send me a copy of these.  If you write an article or book chapter, or give a presentation at a conference in which Core Commitments content is used, please also let me know about this.  I can use this information in my reports to AAC&U about UCF’s projects and for future faculty development conferences.

 

Thanks for participating in the Core Commitments Track!

 

Nancy

stanlick@mail.ucf.edu