Focus, General Education at UHM
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Contemporary Ethical Issues Focus

Proposal Forms Hallmarks Teacher Resources Requirement Assessment

Who should complete the proposal form? Faculty members who want to request a Focus designation for their section and who do not have an active approval for the course.

Focus-approval status of UHM faculty members

Faculty members with current, active approvals do not need to submit a proposal form; however, they need to notify the department secretary that they will teach the course with the Focus designation.

 

SUMMER 2008 FOCUS PROPOSAL FORMS

-for UHM faculty members-

Focus Designation Proposal Form for Individual Instructors  

    

     
 

-for Department Chairpersons only-
 

Focus Designation Proposal Form for a "COURSE"  

    


Course description examples: Examples of approved official course descriptions of course-based designations

 

Focus Designation Proposal Form for a "STAFF" Section  

      

For a SPRING 2008 Focus form, click here.

Hallmarks of Contemporary Ethical Issues Classes

The faculty on the Contemporary Ethical Issues Focus Board use these Hallmarks when evaluating proposals for the "E" designation.
 

E1. Contemporary ethical issues will be presented and studied in a manner that is fully integrated into the main course content.
 
E2. The disciplinary approach(es) used in the class will give students tools for the development of responsible deliberation and ethical judgment.
 
E3. Students will achieve basic competency in analyzing and deliberating upon contemporary ethical issues to help them make ethically determined judgments.
 
E4. The equivalent of one semester credit-hour or 30% of a 3-credit course will be devoted to contemporary ethical issues.
 
E5. A minimum of 8 hours of class time will be spent in discussing contemporary ethical issues.
 
E6. The course will be numbered at the 300- or 400-level.
 

Explanatory Notes

  •       The goal of E courses, at least in part, must be to equip students with some degree of proficiency in ethical deliberation. These courses should not be purely descriptive, merely characterizing, for example, the moral beliefs of person or peoples. Nor is it intended that the pedagogy be value-free, using approaches that maintain an “arms-length” relationship with current ethical issues.

  • ·     Course materials must be pertinent to the ethical issues under review. While well-selected philosophical and literary texts would serve, so would case studies, judicial opinions, statutes, codes of ethics (and commentaries), film, works of art, performances, as well as a broad range of other readings.

  • ·     Different academic approaches and methodologies can be used to give students tools for the development of responsible ethical judgments. Approaches might include small group discussions, formal debate, round-table discussions, Socratic questioning, etc.

  • ·      E course may be associated with particular disciplines, professions, and larger enterprises: the ethics of human and animal research, medical ethics, bioethics, biotechnology, business ethics, engineering ethics, ethics in government, and journalistic ethics, for example.  Still others might look at ethical issues that emerge at cultural interfaces, such as war, evangelism, colonialism and multi-cultural societies, etc. Contemporary ethical issues must be fully integrated into the main course content and must be tied to activities that develop students’ proficiency in forming sound ethical judgments.

Teacher Resources

Resources available:

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Requirements for Students

NON-TRANSFER STUDENTS

Students are required to complete 1 Contemporary Ethical Issues ("E" or "ETH") class.

TRANSFER STUDENTS

Transfer students may have reduced requirements, based on the number of accepted transfer credits.

Number of accepted credit hours Contemporary Ethical Issues Oral Communication
0-54 1 1
55-88 1 E or 1 O
89+ 0 0

Assessment

Student survey form, survey results, outcomes statements.

 

Updated December 28, 2007


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