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The University Curriculum Committee (UCC) will study and evaluate the curriculum needs of the University by reviewing program, certificate, and course proposals (including courses proposed to fulfill specific general education and other designations as defined in the Curriculum Policies and Procedures Manual (CPPM) that have been approved by college curriculum committees or programs that report directly to the Office of Academic Affairs (PPM 1-13, Article B -V, section 4, 4.5). A historical record of the disposition of all curriculum proposals will be stored in an appropriate medium.

The UCC will update the CPPM on a continuing basis, and an updated version of the CPPM will be maintained on the Faculty Senate website. Additionally, the Faculty Senate will publish a list of UCC members, along with curriculum submission deadlines for the current year.

GENERAL EDUCATION Section of Curriculum PPM

(updated Fall 2019)

Consideration and approval of course proposals seeking General Education (GE) attributes are the responsibility of UCC. Establishing and reviewing the mission statements and General Education Learning Outcomes (GELOs) related to the General Education Program are the responsibility of GEIAC. GEIAC in fulfilling its assessment mission, will also provide reviews of biennially submitted assessments of all GE courses.

1.3.1 – New Gen Ed Course Proposal

A new or existing course seeking GE status must undergo review by GEIAC to ensure that it appropriately addresses the area learning outcomes (ALOs) and the GELOs. New GE courses are expected to be offered at least annually and are strongly recommended to have more than one faculty member in the relevant department who can teach them.

A new GE course is considered a Gen Ed program change. Effective dates for program changes are defined in PPM 4-2a. Any new GE course will be reviewed by GEIAC before the proposals come to UCC. GEIAC will vote to recommend or not recommend the course for GE status and communicate that conclusion to UCC.

A new course (i.e., not previously taught or not previously taught with GE status), once approved with GE status, will be assessed and reviewed like all other GE courses. See the section below for more detail.

1.3.2 – Assessment of General Education Learning Outcomes

Each year, GEIAC will report to UCC and Faculty Senate on the status of the Gen Ed program by assessing the four General Education Learning Outcomes (or GELOs). The report will be presented by the chair of GEIAC reflecting the work of the committee, the contribution of GE Area Committees, and input from the Director of General Education.

A department or program will be expected to assess each GE course it offers once every two years using the complete evidence of learning rubric for their respective GE area (i.e., ALOs which satisfy GELO 1; see ). When multiple sections of a course are assessed in a term, results should be combined in a single report. Also, the assessment should identify actions (e.g., to improve the teaching and/or assessment of the course) and analysis of how previous actions impacted students’ achievement of content knowledge. These reviews will be reported in the Assessment of Learning report submitted biennially to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE).

Visual Representation of GELO Assessment

Student achievement of GELO 1 (Content Knowledge) will be assessed as part of a formative review of ALOs for each approved GE course offered by a department or program in the Biennial Assessment Reports. GEIAC will review the assessments of Gen Ed classes for evidence of student achievement of ALOs (GELO 1), and use of signature assignments.

The report on students’ achievement of GELOs 2-4 will be based on the regular review and analysis of their performance on Signature Assignments. Students’ performance will be evaluated by faculty, facilitated by OIE and the Director of General Education. The faculty will be trained and then code the signature assignments for Intellectual Tools (GELO 2), Personal and Social Responsibility (GELO 3), and Integrated and Applied Learning (GELO 4).

In collaboration with the Director of General Education, GEIAC will provide feedback to departments or programs to support the goal of helping students to achieve the GELOs. As part of their review, GEIAC may solicit a GE Area Committee’s input to assure that the assessment of student learning outcomes (SLOs) [as defined by a Department or Program] in a course are adequately aligned with those in the area (ALOs). GEIAC will review assessment data and may make additional recommendations (including additional assessments) to address concerns or issues raised in the review. Depending on the concerns, these actions may be requested for completion during the subsequent year or by the next regularly scheduled review.

Departments or programs who fail to assess Gen Ed courses in Biennial Assessment Reports or who disagree with the GEIAC review or recommendations can appeal to UCC (appeals must be accepted by the chair of the University Curriculum Committee). If the appeal is accepted, the GE course(s) will be reviewed by UCC with input from GEIAC. UCC will determine the appropriate action, which may be to either uphold or reverse GEIAC’s review of the course assessment and/or proposed recommendations (adding their own recommendations instead).

A department or program may make no further appeal of GEIAC’s decision after UCC. Failure to comply with the final UCC decision will result in the GE course being placed on probation until the sponsoring department or program presents a plan acceptable to UCC to rectify the problem. The plan, due during the semester subsequent to being placed on probation, details a timeline and method for addressing UCC’s concerns and providing measurable assessment data in those area(s) of concern. This data is collected during one semester of the academic year following placement on probation. Departments or programs that fail to provide and/or execute their action plan successfully during the continuing probationary period will remain on probation indefinitely with a required annual review of assessment action plans involving the Chair, Dean, Provost and University Curriculum Committee until the problem is resolved.

All departments launching curriculum proposals in Curriculog will be responsible for completing the appropriate forms, as well as providing all relevant supporting documentation. This information (i.e., proposal, comments, and approvals) will be available to the campus community via Curriculog