Hello.

Thank you for attending this event and specifically for attending this focus group. The purpose of this focus group is to help us understand your experiences with the GE, or General Education, curriculum here at CSUSM and to provide us with insight into how we might improve the GE experience here at CSUSM. If we have time, we’ll also ask you a few questions about the library web site.

My name is Kim Knowles-Yanez and I am a professor in the Liberal Studies Program. I will be guiding you through a series of questions about GE. Please speak openly and use examples where you can. I’ll try to give each of you a chance to talk for each question. Sitting next to me is Gabriela Sonntag, who is the Coordinator of the Information Literacy Program here. Both of us will be taking notes on what you say.

Please be assured that what you say here is confidential and your name will not be included in any written documentation we may produce after this focus group. So that I will be able to call on you during this session, please go around the table and tell me your first name.

Names:

Now let’s begin our series of questions about GE. Remember that specific examples will be very useful for us:

  1. What GE classes have you taken here at CSUSM? Please jot them down on piece of paper, and then give me the list at the end of the session. No need to write your name on the paper.

2. Let’s talk about the role GE courses played in enhancing your education here at

CSUSM. How has GE enhanced your education? Give examples where possible.

Now let me ask you about a few more specific points.

    1. Would you say that GE courses prepared you for work in your major?
    2. Would you say that GE courses enhanced your basic skills such as:

  • Writing

  • Critical thinking

  • Research skills

  • Which particular activities or elements of General Education enhanced

    • your research skills?

     

  • Computer skills

    • c. Did GE encourage you to appreciate an interdisciplinary ways of looking at

    things?

     

    d. Would you say that GE broadened your experience here by encouraging you to learn about disciplines other than your major?

    2. All the GE courses here at CSUSM are intended to have certain features

    or characteristics in common which together result in the San Marcos

    experience. In your opinion were these features explicit in the courses you

    took? Give examples as you can.

      1. Were all the GE courses interdisciplinary in nature?
      2. To what extent were you introduced to issues of race, class and gender?
      3.  Did all your GE courses make explicit use of technology?
      4. Of the library?
      5. Did all your GE courses better help you understand global issues?
      6. How much writing did you do in the GE courses?

      7. Did you see some qualitative difference in upper division GE & courses

        in your major?

    3. If you had to pick one, what would be the best element / feature of the

    GE program here at CSUSM? Give examples.

    4. If there is anything you would want to see changed about the GE program

    what would it be?

    Now let’s talk a few more minutes about the library web site.

    5. Have you accessed the library web site during your time here?

    6. - How would you prefer to access the library web site?

    7. - What other tasks do you wish you could do on the library web site?

    8. What types of information do you wish was available on the library web site?

    9. - How would you change the look of the web site?