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Office of General Education SMU in Four

LAI seats held for select undergraduate students to assist with CC student progress this fall

Thanks to the Department of World Languages & Literature and the Department of English, the Office of General Education was able to hold seats in Literary Analysis and Interpretation (LAI)-tagged courses for fall 2023.

317 students who have not satisfied this general education requirement were admitted in fall 2020, spring 2021, and fall 2022. Due to concerns for student progress through the Common Curriculum (CC) by these admit cohorts in particular, this one-time initiative hopes to assist more students in accessing LAI-tagged courses to complete the requirement.

The email below will be sent to students later today, March 27.

Questions or concerns can be directed to the Office of General Education via email at theccmail@smu.edu.

To: LAI Students (n = 317)

From: General Education

Title: Hey Mustang, we’ve held a seat this Fall for you to complete your CC Literary Analysis and Interpretation requirement

March 27, 2023

Dear Mustang –

The Office of General Education wants to inform you that we saved you a seat this Fall in a Literary Analysis and Interpretation (LAI)-tagged course.

As of March 21, your Degree Progress Report (DPR) indicated you had not satisfied your LAI requirement. As you approach graduation, sometimes registering for the necessary courses is more challenging, so we wanted to help you fulfill this Common Curriculum (CC) requirement.

We have held a limited number of seats for LAI-tagged courses this Fall for you. The catch? They are only available during continuing student enrollment, and after this time, the held seats will be released. The following courses have held seats for you:

World Languages Department
WL 2330 – Spanish Civilization
WL 3326 – Introduction to French Cinema
WL 2333 – Italian American Cinema
WL 3371 – Latam Through Film
WL 3381 – GrecoRoman World in Lit & Film
WL 3383 – Latin American Women Writers

 

English Department
ENGL  1320 – Cultures of Medieval Chivalry

ENGL  1330 – The World of Shakespeare

ENGL  2311 – Poetry

ENGL  2312 – Fiction

ENGL  2313 – Drama

ENGL  2318 – Intro To Digital Literature

ENGL  3320 – Topics in Medieval Literature

ENGL  3347 – Topics in Am Lit in Age of Rev

ENGL  3355 – Transatlantic Encounters III

ENGL  3362 – African-American Literature

ENGL  3363 – Chicana/Chicano Literature

Can’t fit in an LAI course this Fall? Consider SMU Intersessions or plan to complete it in the spring.

Special thanks to the Department of World Languages & Literature and the Department of English for working with us to hold seats.

We know enrollment can be stressful, and registering for classes you need to graduate may add to this. We hope these saved seats can help you fulfill your general education requirements.

Sincerely,

Dustin K. Grabsch,  PhD
Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education & Academic Success

 

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Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

201 Common Curriculum student records updated due to AP credit

On February 15, the Office of General Education (OGE) shared details of the new automation, which awards Advanced Placement (AP) credit for specific Common Curriculum graduation requirements. 

With the assistance of the Registrar’s Office, OGE audited student records to determine eligible CC students (AP scores of 4 or 5) who would satisfy Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE) and/or Quantitative Applications (QA).

OGE updated 201 student records as a result of the audit. Specifically, 74 students satisfied the CIE graduation requirement and 192 satisfied the QA requirement. Students were notified on March 8, 2023, concerning these DPR updates. Copies of the student communications are below.

Future SMU students will automatically receive this credit, as it is now established in their Catalog.

To: QA updated students with AP credit (n = 192)

From: Office of General Education (gened@smu.edu)

Title: Congratulations! Your Quantitative Applications graduation requirement has been satisfied with AP credit

March 8, 2023

Dear Student –

The Office of General Education wants to inform you that your Quantitative Applications (QA) Proficiency & Experience graduation requirement has been satisfied with your Advanced Placement (AP) credit.

Following an administrative review of your external test credit, you were identified as a student with an AP score of 4 or 5 that could satisfy the Quantitative Applications requirement. Therefore, your QA requirement is now satisfied due to the new automation for AP credit.

Should you have an issue with your DPR, please get in touch with your academic advisor, who may submit a DPR Issue request on your behalf.

We hope this is welcomed news since you are one step closer to completing your graduation requirements!

Sincerely,

Dustin K. Grabsch, PhD
Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education & Academic Success

To: CIE updated students with AP credit (n = 74)

From: Office of General Education (gened@smu.edu)

Title: Congratulations! Your Civics & Individual Ethics graduation requirement has been satisfied with AP credit

March 8, 2023

Dear Student –

The Office of General Education wants to inform you that your Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE) Proficiency & Experience graduation requirement has been satisfied with your Advanced Placement (AP) credit.

Following an administrative review of your external test credit, you were identified as a student with an AP score of 4 or 5 that could satisfy the Civics & Individual Ethics) requirement. Therefore, your CIE requirement is now satisfied due to the new automation for AP credit.

Should you have an issue with your Degree Progress Report (DPR), please get in touch with your academic advisor, who may submit a DPR Issue request on your behalf.

We hope you welcome this news since you are one step closer to completing your graduation requirements!

Sincerely,

Dustin K. Grabsch, PhD
Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education & Academic Success

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University Testing Center

Bring life, and nature, into the University Testing Center this SMU Giving Day

Opened for less than one academic year, the University Testing Center seeks to bring life and nature into the center this SMU Giving Day.

Our mission is to provide a secure and professional testing center, as well as one that is inviting, comfortable, and supports the emotional well-being of our students and community clients. In our first few months, we’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from visitors about our facility in the Clements Hall basement.

Adding live foliage at our entrance would create a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere in the testing labs.

Example of low-light wall-mounted plants. Similar products could be placed above entrance lockers to create a relaxing testing environment.

Test anxiety is real. It’s a top psychological issue on college campuses far and wide and right here at home on the SMU campus. Nature and plants are proven by social psychologists to reduce stress and calm people. 

At the UTC, we support academic and mental health needs for the most favorable outcomes possible. Can you help us reach our $4,000 goal of bringing more life into the center? Learn more and join us on March 7 for SMU Giving Day.

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Office of General Education

Engage Dallas interns help community partners address community-identified needs in West and South Dallas

As a key office of SMU Engage Dallas initiative, the Office of General Education encourages you to support interns who help community partners address community-identified needs in West and South Dallas.

SMU Giving Day is the University’s one-day giving challenge. This fundraising initiative seeks to drive support for every area of the University and yield as many donations as possible within 24 hours.

This year Giving Day will be hosted on March 7, 2023, and one of the projects available for support is the Engage Dallas Internship Program.

Our internship program allows us to select and pair SMU students with one of our Engage Dallas community partners for a summer work experience. Engage Dallas compensates the intern so the community partner (e.g., one of 35 non-profit partners) does not have to.

Listen to Damondre Lynn’s experience in our inaugural intern cohort.

Engage Dallas is excited to launch our second cohort of interns this summer; however, additional funding would allow us to support more SMU students and community partners.

This year’s goal is $4,500 to support two additional interns this summer. Consider supporting this critical service and professional development experience with a gift. 

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SMU in Four

Adding Degree Planner to-do item on the my.SMU Student Dashboard

SMU in Four added a to-do item on the my.SMU student dashboard to improve the adoption of the academic planning tool Degree Planner. SMU in Four aspires to have all Common Curriculum undergraduates, approximately 5,200 students, have a complete degree plan on file.

Below is a message sent to all declared and pre-major Common Curriculum students with incomplete degree plans. The message was sent in Message Center within the my.SMU platform.

The Complete Degree Planner button will take students to their to-do items via a deep link. The to-do item text varies slightly based on a student being a declared or pre-major student.

An example of a declared major’s to-do item is below:

An example of a pre-major student’s to-do item is below:

The SMU in Four team will manually update individual students’ to-do item statuses every Monday. Once complete, the to-do item will disappear from the student dashboard.

The status field will not be automatic or instantaneous, and we expect this might cause some student and advisor concerns. If a to-do item remains after the subsequent Monday night, please reach out for assistance.

For questions related to Degree Planner, please visit smu.edu/degreeplanner or email smuinfour@smu.edu.

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Office of General Education

Student emails sent regarding one-time exception to two Common Curriculum Proficiencies & Experiences for COVID-19 cohorts

The following student email communications were sent to affected students on Monday, February 20, related to a previously announced one-time exception to two Common Curriculum Proficiencies & Experiences for COVID-19 cohorts.

In total, 2,493 and 2,143 Common Curriculum students were sent emails confirming a waived graduation requirement for Community Engagement (CE) and Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE), respectively.

Copies of the email communications are below.

To: CE Waived Students (n = 2,493)

From: Office of General Education (gened@smu.edu) 

Title: Your Common Curriculum Community Engagement graduation requirement has been waived

February 20, 2023

Dear Student –

The Office of General Education wants to inform you that your Community Engagement (CE) Proficiency & Experience graduation requirement has been waived.

Recognizing the COVID global pandemic’s impact on students at SMU, the Council on General Education approved a one-time exception for students admitted between Fall 2020 and Spring 2022 under the Common Curriculum. Students within the identified admit cohorts will not be required to complete the Community Engagement and/or Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE) graduation requirements.

As of February 16, your Degree Progress Report (DPR) indicated you would not complete CE via course or individual activity by the conclusion of Spring 2023. Therefore, CE will now appear waived for graduation on your DPR. Learn more about this one-time exception.

Should you have an issue with your DPR, please contact your academic advisor, who may submit a DPR Issue request on your behalf.

We hope this waived expectation reduces stress, recognizes our understanding that doing college during the height of COVID was difficult – which you persisted in, and strengthens your stride as you approach the finish line of graduation.

Sincerely,

Dustin K. Grabsch,  PhD
Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education & Academic Success

——–

To: CIE Waived Students (n = 2,143)

From: Office of General Education (gened@smu.edu)

Title: Your Common Curriculum Civics & Individual Ethics graduation requirement has been waived

February 20, 2023

Dear Student –

The Office of General Education wants to inform you that your Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE) Proficiency & Experience graduation requirement has been waived.

Recognizing the COVID global pandemic’s impact on students at SMU, the Council on General Education approved a one-time exception for students admitted between Fall 2020 and Spring 2022 under the Common Curriculum. Students within the identified admit cohorts will not be required to complete the Community Engagement (CE) and/or Civics & Individual Ethics graduation requirements.

As of February 16, your Degree Progress Report (DPR) indicated you would not complete CIE via course or individual activity by the conclusion of Spring 2023. Therefore, CIE will now appear waived for graduation on your DPR. Learn more about this one-time exception.

Should you have an issue with your DPR, please contact your academic advisor, who may submit a DPR Issue request on your behalf.

We hope this waived expectation reduces stress, recognizes our understanding that doing college during the height of COVID was difficult – which you persisted in, and strengthens your stride as you approach the finish line of graduation.

Sincerely,

Dustin K. Grabsch,  PhD
Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education & Academic Success

 

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Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

A one-time exception to two Common Curriculum Proficiencies & Experiences for COVID-19 cohorts

The post below was updated on March 3, 2023, to reflect new inclusion criteria for students who started classes in the summer before the Fall of 2022.

The Council on General Education reviewed a report on undergraduate student progress by admit cohort related to each Common Curriculum requirement. The report showed students are progressing well through general education requirements (Foundations and Breadths); however, the Council identified progress concerns within the Proficiency & Experience Graduation requirements.

Recognizing the COVID global pandemic’s impact on students at SMU, the Council of General Education approved a one-time exception for students admitted between Fall 2020 and Spring 2022 under the Common Curriculum. Students starting classes in the summer of 2020 were also included. Students within the identified admit cohorts will not be required to complete the Community Engagement (CE) and Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE) graduation requirements.

Students who meet these requirements via course or individual activity by the conclusion of Spring 2023 will be documented as having satisfied the condition on their Degree Progress Report (DPR). For instance, if a CE individual activity or a CE-tagged course was completed successfully, it will be reflected.

If either CE or CIE is incomplete by the end of Spring 2023, it will appear waived for graduation. A sample DPR below shows the explanatory text for the waived requirement.

These DPR updates will go live in my.SMU on Friday, February 17, 2023. Students will be notified via email on Monday, February 20, 2023.

If faculty and academic advisors discover errors with an affected student’s DPR, please submit a DPR Issues/Requests to the Office of the Registrar.

The Council on General Education does not intend to make additional exceptions to the graduation requirements for future cohorts. It is imperative subsequent student cohorts complete all requirements to qualify for graduation.

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Office of General Education

Automation of AP credit to satisfy specific graduation requirements

Thanks to the Registrar’s Office, the Office of General Education has now automated Advanced Placement (AP) credit (of scores 4 or 5) to satisfy particular Proficiency and Experience graduation requirements. Specifically, AP credit will satisfy the following:

Civics and Individual Ethics (CIE)

  • AP Comparative Government and Politics
  • AP US Government and Politics

Quantitative Applications (QA)

  • AP Chemistry
  • AP Environmental Science
  • AP Macroeconomics
  • AP Microeconomics
  • AP Physics (Mechanics)
  • AP Physics (Electricity and Magnetism)

Therefore, students admitted after fall 2020 need not complete individual petitions to meet applicable graduation requirements. This credit will be reflected on their Degree Progress Report on or before March 20, 2023. Soon after, impacted students will be notified via their SMU email.

Retroactive updates will be made to affected students; future students will receive this credit automatically.

If faculty and academic advisors discover errors with an affected student’s DPR, please submit a DPR Issues/Requests to the Office of the Registrar.

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Office of General Education

Revised Common Curriculum AP, IB, and Transfer Credit Policies for Fall 2023 Catalog

This post was updated on March 17 to reflect modifications to SLR rules for clarity. 

In response to an equity concern raised by the Lyle School of Engineering and supported by the Division of Enrollment Services, the Council on General Education modified Common Curriculum rules to become effective in Fall 2023.

The concern was that current rules privilege high-credit transfer students to the disadvantage of first-year and first-year transfer students. Modifications will be made in the Fall 2023 Catalog to regulations related to (a) Quantitative Reasoning, (b) Second Language, and (c) the ability to fulfill up to three Breath requirements using external credit.

In all cases where petitioning is required, no petition will be necessary if a direct equivalency has been established at SMU through the transfer process. The Council will monitor what percentage of undergraduate students use dual credit to satisfy requirements and what percentage of students satisfy requirements at SMU.

To that end, the following Common Curriculum rules will apply to the Fall 2023 Catalog and forward. These policies will be reflected on the Common Curriculum website on June 1, 2023.

  • All students are required to take one course in fulfillment of the Quantitative Reasoning Foundation; students may use AP, IB, dual, or transfer credit as well as SMU credit toward fulfillment of the requirement.  
    • One three-credit course is required to ensure that students possess these necessary skills. Students scoring a 4 or 5 on the Calculus AB, Calculus BC, or Statistics AP tests and those scoring 5, 6, or 7 on the IB Mathematics higher-level exam will satisfy this requirement.  
    • Students may petition to count qualifying Math or Statistics transfer or dual or concurrent enrollment courses toward this requirement. Math placement testing is also available through SMU’s Mathematics credit examinations.  
  • All students must take WRTR 1312 and WRTR 1313 (maintain current rules) 
    • FYR and FYT students must take WRTR 1312 and WRTR 1313 at SMU (current rules). 
    • TRN students may use transfer credit to satisfy these requirements (current rules). 
  • All students must demonstrate intermediate proficiency in a Second Language either by passing an approved proficiency exam or taking a course equivalent to the second-semester course at SMU.  
    • FYR, FYT, and TRN students may satisfy this requirement by with dual or concurrent credit equivalent to a 3rd (2401) or a higher-level course at SMU.  
    • FYR, FYT, and TRN students may use AP and IB credit to satisfy this requirement (with an appropriate score).
    • TRN students may satisfy the requirement by transferring two consecutive semesters for a minimum of six-credit hours of the same language taken post-high school (regardless of the transfer equivalency).
    • TRN students may satisfy this requirement with post-high school transfer credit equivalent to one of SMU’s second-semester language courses (e.g., 1402).  
  • All FYR and FYT students will be allowed to fulfill up to three Breadth requirements using external credit.  Students may use any combination of AP, IB, dual, or transfer credit courses to fulfill the Breadth requirements. Only approved AP and IB exams with appropriate scores may be used. 
  • TRN students may fulfill up to seven Breadth requirements using external credit. 
  • In all cases where petitioning is required, no petition will be necessary if a direct equivalency has been established at SMU through the transfer process. 

These new rules above replaced the Fall 2022 Catalog and earlier Common Curriculum rules, which are as follows: 

  • All students are required to take one course in fulfillment of the Quantitative Reasoning Foundation; students may use AP, IB, dual or transfer credit as well as SMU credit toward fulfillment of the requirement. 
  • All students must take WRTR 1312 and WRTR 1313.   
    • All first-year and first-year transfer students are required to take both courses at SMU. 
    • TRN students (those with 24 hours of post-high school transfer credit) may satisfy one or both courses using post-high school transfer credit.   
    • AP and IB credit may not be used to satisfy this requirement. 
    • Dual credit may not be used to satisfy this requirement. 
  • All students must demonstrate intermediate proficiency in a Second Language either by passing an approved proficiency exam or taking a course, equivalent to the second semester course at SMU, after high school graduation.   
    • TRN students (those with 24 hours of post-high school transfer credit) may satisfy this requirement with two semesters of transfer credit, or transfer of a course equivalent to 1402 (or a high-level course).   
    • AP and IB credit can be used to satisfy this requirement. 
    • Dual credit cannot be used to satisfy this requirement. 
  • All first-year and first-year transfer students may use up to 3 AP, IB or transfer credit courses toward fulfillment of the Breadth requirements.   
    • These students may not use dual credit to satisfy Breadth requirements. 
  • All TRN students may use AP, IB or transfer credit courses toward fulfillment of the Breadth requirements.  Dual-credit courses that have been accepted and processed for credit by the institution from which the student transfers can be used to satisfy these requirements. 
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Office of General Education

General Education recap and Graduation Requirement exemptions

February 15, 2023

Dear Faculty and Staff –

The Office of General Education would like to inform the campus community of updates and important reminders relating to the Common Curriculum, our solid foundation of a liberal arts education. Today’s reminders and updates fall into five categories: COVID-19 graduation requirement exemption, revised Common Curriculum rules, next steps related to Writing in the Major, AP credit automation, and Common Curriculum course proposal deadlines.

A one-time exception to two Common Curriculum Proficiencies & Experiences for COVID-19 cohorts

The Council on General Education reviewed a report on undergraduate student progress by admit cohort related to each Common Curriculum requirement. The report showed students are progressing well through general education requirements (Foundations and Breadths); however, the Council identified progress concerns within the Proficiency & Experience Graduation requirements.

Students who meet these requirements via course or individual activity by the conclusion of Spring 2023 will be documented as having satisfied the condition on their Degree Progress Report. If either CE or CIE is incomplete by the end of Spring 2023, it will appear waived for graduation. Learn more about this one-time exception.

The Council on General Education does not intend to make additional exceptions to the graduation requirements for future cohorts.

Revised Common Curriculum AP, IB, and Transfer Credit Policies for Fall 2023 Catalog

The concern was that current rules privilege high-credit transfer students to the disadvantage of first year and first-year transfer students. Modifications will be made in the Fall 2023 Catalog to regulations related to (a) Quantitative Reasoning, (b) Second Language, and (c) the ability to fulfill up to three Breadth requirements using external credit. Read more about the specific CC rule changes to the Fall 2023 Catalog.

In all cases where petitioning is required, no petition will be necessary if a direct equivalency has been established at SMU through the transfer process. The Council will monitor what percentage of undergraduate students use dual credit to satisfy requirements and what percentage of students satisfy requirements at SMU.

Reminder and next steps regarding Writing in the Major

Last semester, we shared that the Council on General Education changed how the Common Curriculum’s Writing in the Major (WiM) Proficiency and Experience was tracked on the Degree Progress Report (DPR) and replaced it with program-level Writing in the Major student learning outcome.

Instead of DPR level-tracking, each academic program will be required, via the Office of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness program evaluation process, to write and assess one learning outcome that best represents the conventions of writing in their discipline.  If an academic department already has, as part of its annual program assessment, an undergraduate learning outcome for writing, no additional actions are needed. If your department does not have an undergraduate learning outcome for writing for your current undergraduate major(s), the department will need to develop one and report it as part of annual program assessment, starting in Summer 2023.  Departments may deliver the instructional content to support the Writing in the Major learning outcome in a single course, or the content may be delivered across multiple courses.  Departments may assess writing in their major through course-based assessment, or through end-of-program assessment at the end of the degree.  More information about learning outcomes and assessment for Writing in the Major will be given during faculty training on Planning, the new system we will use to report program assessment results.  This training will take place in March.  More information will be coming soon.

In addition to developing a learning outcome for writing in the major, departments must develop their own, major-specific rubrics that reflect the learning goals for writing in their major or discipline. There is no standard WiM rubric for program-level assessment, but departments are asked to develop their own discipline-based writing outcome. Departments may consider using the former WiM rubric as a starting point when developing these rubrics.

If you need assistance as you work to develop Writing in the Major outcomes for your program, please reach out to Dayna Oscherwitz, Associate Provost for Institutional Planning and Effectiveness.

Automation of AP credit to satisfy specific graduation requirements

Thanks to the Registrar’s Office, the Office of General Education has now automated AP credit (of scores 4 or 5) to satisfy particular Proficiency and Experience graduation requirements. Therefore, students admitted after fall 2020 need not complete individual petitions to meet applicable graduation requirements. Retroactive updates will be made to affected students; future students admitted for Fall 2023 beyond will receive this credit automatically. Read more about which AP credit satisfies particular Proficiencies and Experiences.

Common Curriculum course and activity proposal deadlines

The Council on General Education invites course and approved activity proposals for Common Curriculum general education and graduation requirements. Submissions are accepted twice a semester. The remaining spring 2023 deadline is March 22, 2023 (for review on March 31). Literary Analysis and Interpretation (LAI) and Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE) are particularly interesting. Accepted proposals will be tagged at the course level and go into effect for summer 2023. Don’t hesitate to contact the Office of General Education for questions or proposal development support.

Thank you all for your investment and commitment to this shared responsibility of general education.

Sincerely,

Peter Kupfer

Chair, Council on General Education

 

Dustin Grabsch

Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education & Academic Success