The Council on General Education approved updates to the Common Curriculum (CC) Civic and Individual Ethic (CIE) Rubric on September 6 recommended updates were proposed by a cross-functional faculty working group convened by the Office of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness over the summer. While the student learning outcome remains the same, the supporting skills were modified to more clearly emphasize ethical topics, questions, concepts, and dilemmas within civic or individual contexts.
With the approval of the updated rubric, SMU in Four would like to announce a call for new or the redesign of existing courses to convey the Civic and Individual Ethic graduation requirement. The call for course proposals seeks to increase the number of CIE-tagged courses, and, thereby, the number of seats available to undergraduate students – aiding in time to degree. Proposals are due by November 15 at 5:00pm via the online submission platform.
Three types of CIE course proposals are being sought. Full-time faculty are encouraged to apply:
- Develop an Online, Asynchronous Course for Fall 2025. Partnering with the Office of Information Technology Online Production Services Team, one faculty proposer will receive one month of extra salary up to $10,000 in extra compensation to develop an online, asynchronous course. The typical online development process takes approximately 9 months. Online courses will be developed for delivery to students on Canvas. The new CIE-tagged course will be expected to be offered each academic year by the proposer’s academic department and may also be offered in the summer for extra compensation. The faculty who develop the course will have the right of first refusal to teach each time the course is offered outside of the regular fall-spring schedule.
- Develop a New, In–Person Synchronous Course for Fall 2025. Two faculty proposers will receive $7,5000 in extra compensation to propose and develop a new course that would meet the approval of the CoGE.
- Redesign of an Existing, In-Person Synchronous for Fall 2025. Two faculty proposers will receive $5,000 in extra compensation to redesign an existing course that meets CoGE approval. Course redesigns will favor proposals that satisfy required major or minor requirements in academic programs with high enrollments.
After the November 15 deadline, proposals will be reviewed by the Provost’s Office. A limited number of courses will be selected for development. The courses proposed should appeal to a wide range of undergraduate students. Courses that are cross-listed or fulfill additional Common Curriculum requirements are among those that have wider appeal. In-person courses will be expected to have a minimum capacity of 35 seats and the online asynchronous course should have a minimum capacity of 25 seats.
Given the expectation that these courses will be offered annually as part of the regular fall-spring teaching load, a statement of commitment from the department chair and dean will be necessary to finalize the selection process. Selected courses will be routed for approval to department chairs and dean’s offices before candidates are notified of their proposal’s acceptance. Following the development of a new course, the course will be proposed to the Council on General Education for final review and approval.
To support the enhancement of the Civic and Individual Ethic curriculum, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility is pleased to announce its support by providing funding to aid course development. The selected faculty cohort will offer faculty members a robust network and various development opportunities, including intentional sessions focused on ethical issues and instructional strategies. Participants will benefit from immersive retreats designed to foster collaborative learning, deepen their engagement with ethical topics, and find course development resources. Through this initiative, the Maguire Ethics Center aims to enrich the academic experience and contribute to the growth of high-quality, impactful CIE offerings at SMU.
If you have any questions regarding submitting your proposal, please contact Dr. Molly Ellis (facultysuccess@smu.edu).