should be able to count the course as part of their load, and other incentives to participate might be offered, such as providing a course development stipend (see below). Faculty would be expected to meet regularly to work together to help the students complete their projects. This will help build a campus community of learners and deepen the mentoring that goes on informally already.
Topics for the capstone groups can be drawn from ones proposed by the students themselves, drawn from suggestions made by the ongoing QEP Steering Committee, or drawn from the QEP Director's work with the Advisory Group described below. Once the capstone course is established as a requirement, there will be several sections, and it may be the case that teams of students will tackle the same or similar problems. This could be an advantage, since the course could end with a competition amongst the groups presenting their projects. A team consisting of the outside advisory group, faculty, staff, and advanced students could judge the projects. There could be prizes for the winners or all participants. There could also be a day of student research at the end of the term devoted to showcasing the students' work. Students would benefit from seeing how their peers approached the same or similar problems from different perspectives that perhaps lead to different conclusions. The presentation would be open to the public.
This course sequence and culminating project for the capstone would clearly help students work on many of the “robot-proof” skills advocated by Aoun. Design Thinking fosters skills such as creativity, empathizing, synthesizing, collaborating, and being respectful and ethical. These skills are specific to humans and are not within the capability of technology. No matter what the jobs of the future are, these are skills that will allow KSU students to adapt and thrive in the 21st-Century workforce.
The HUM 101 and 201 classes could meet according to the regular schedule; the capstone course would meet once a week at 4:00-6:00 p.m. to facilitate the group teaching format. While the HUM 101/102 would have the usual cap of 25 students, the capstone course may have only one to two sections with 100 students each. The 100 students would be divided down into twenty teams of five students.
The first two years of the project have/will develop as follows:
Fall 2018: Plan for QEP implementation and assessment developed; courses have been approved by Faculty Senate.
Spring 2019: QEP proposal finalized. SACSCOC Reviewers offer feedback on plan and proposal is revised accordingly. Faculty for HUM 101, 201 pilot courses are identified.
Summer 2019: Professional development provided for HUM 101, 201 pilot course faculty members, who finalize pilot course curriculum.
Fall 2019-Spring 2020: Courses are run as an option within University College, counting as course equivalents of the IGS classes: 1-2 sections per semester. HUM 101 first offered in Fall 2019; both HUM 101 and HUM 201 offered in Spring 2020. Faculty are identified for participation in capstone course (HUM 301)
Summer 2020: Findings from pilot courses are used to revise the program going into the next year; curriculum is developed for HUM 301.
Fall 2020-Spring 2021: First pilot section of capstone class offered in Fall; HUM 101 and 201 courses run as a requirement for all University College students.