Category: Office of General Education

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Office of General Education Peer Academic Leaders Student Academic Engagement & Success

Spring’s Success Fest and Degree Planner completion campaign come to a close

Two students looking at laptop computers

The Office of General Education and the University Advising Center (UAC) have completed their Spring 2025 campaign for Degree Planner completion and Success Fest. Both offices collaborated on Success Fest, an event dedicated to promoting and adopting Degree Planner among undergraduate students.

The Spring 2025 Success Fest occurred on February 26th in Hughes-Trigg Ballroom C. Students were encouraged to complete their Degree Planner before this date to gain entrance into Success Fest, however, students were also able to complete their Degree Planner on the day of the event. In total, 69 students attended the Spring 2025 Success Fest.

Leading up to the event, on February 3rd, 2025, all undergraduate students received a To-Do message on their my.SMU Student Dashboard that prompted them to complete their Degree Planner by the university deadline of March 1st. Email communications also went out to students, encouraging them to seek help from their Peer Academic Leaders (PALs) or academic advisors to assist them in completing their Degree Planner. These efforts included and resulted in:

  • Four Degree Planner Workshops hosted by the PALs
  • Six Degree Planner Workshops hosted by the UAC
  • 32 appointments scheduled with the PALs

By March 1st, there were 2,497 students that completed their Degree Planner.

A new aspect to the initiative this year was a second promotional campaign that was run from March 3rd – 10th to target students who did not complete their Degree Planner by the spring academic calendar deadline. These efforts included and resulted in:

  • A second To-Do message was posted on students’ my.SMU Student Dashboards who had not completed their Degree Planner
  • Two additional Degree Planner Workshops hosted by the UAC
  • 20 additional appointments scheduled with PALs

In total, the utilization initiative resulted in 3,100 total undergraduate students completing their Degree Planner.

Students who completed their plans, were surveyed about their Degree Planner user experience while students who did not complete a plan were asked about potential barriers. These responses will be analyzed to make improvements to future marketing campaigns and vendor improvement requests.

Success Fest and the Degree Planner completion campaign will return in the Fall 2025 semester, but students can still complete their Degree Planner by utilizing OIT’s Degree Planner website or scheduling an appointment with their PAL.

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Office of General Education

Engage Dallas’ Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium Call for Proposals are now open

Greetings,

We are excited to extend an invitation to the 4th Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium hosted by Engage Dallas, in collaboration with Residence Life & Student Housing, the Office of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement, the Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and the Center for Teaching Excellence. This year’s theme is Thriving Together: A Place-Based Approach to Combating Isolation through Connected Communities.

Our theme explores how intentional, place-based community engagement fosters meaningful connections and a sense of belonging. By centering relationships, collaboration, and local contexts, we aim to address social isolation and strengthen the ties between campus, city, organizations, and community. Through shared learning and action, we seek to build more engaging, resilient, and connected communities where everyone can thrive through community engagement.

This two-day event will occur on November 5th, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm (Bishop Arts Theater Center) and November 4th, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm (SMU Campus)

RSVP Today

Call for Proposals 

We welcome session proposals from community leaders, nonprofit professionals, Faculty, and students interested in sharing innovative place-based engagement strategies. Our symposium will consist of the following session types:

  • Breakouts 
    • Breakout sessions provide an opportunity for smaller, in-depth discussions, fostering learning and discussion. Sessions last 50 minutes and feature a 40-minute presentation and a 10-minute question-and-answer period.
  • Champion Talks
    • Champion Talks are quick, impactful, fast-paced stories intended to educate, uplift, and inspire our audience. Sessions last 20 minutes and feature a 10-minute presentation and a 10-minute question-and-answer period.
  • Posters

Poster sessions will feature visual presentations on both research and sharing topics. Student posters are highly encouraged.

Focus Areas

Our focus areas are designed to provide a structured yet flexible framework for presenters to begin thinking of possible presentations and our attendees to map a curated symposium experience. This year, our focus areas are:

  1. Campus-Community Connections: Fostering Meaningful Partnerships 
    1. Focus: Strategies for building sustainable, reciprocal relationships between higher education institutions and local communities to combat isolation.
    2. Example Topics: Service-learning initiatives, community-based participatory research, university-community resource sharing, and cross-sector collaborations.
  2. Improving Connection: Building Belonging on Campus and Beyond
    1. Focus: Creating physical, digital, and social environments that cultivate connection and reduce loneliness.
    2. Example Topics: Engaging pedagogy, student-led engagement initiatives, the role of campus design in fostering belonging, and digital communities for remote/hybrid learners.
  3. Personal and Collective Well-being: Strengthening Social Resilience 
    1. Focus: Approaches to enhancing individual and collective well-being through community engagement.
    2. Example Topics: Mental health initiatives, intergenerational engagement, the impact of storytelling on social connection, and grassroots efforts for social support.
  4. Reflective and Experiential Sessions
    1. Focus: Sharing experiences of loneliness, overcoming organizational and interpersonal isolation, and community building.
    2. Example: Interactive Workshops, activities that model community-building practices, guided reflection circles, embodied connection activities, creative expression for connection, civic reflection discussions.
Proposal Deadline

The proposal submission deadline is April 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Acceptance decisions will be sent by May 5, 2025.

Submit Your Proposal

About the Place-Based Community Engagement (PBCE) Symposium
The PBCE Symposium is a gathering of thought leaders, academics, community leaders, and nonprofit professionals from SMU and the DFW area. This event is designed to explore the transformative potential of community engagement within specific geographic contexts. Our goal is to delve into the strategies and innovations that have the power to catalyze positive change within communities, with emphasis on campus and community collaboration and sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships.

About the SMU Engage Dallas Program 
Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative. This symposium allows us to share, expand and further develop the work of Engage Dallas, as well as invite other SMU faculty and staff to consider new and innovative ways to support community engagement efforts in Dallas.

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Office of General Education

CE/CIE seats held for select undergraduate students to assist with CC student progress this Fall

Students sitting at table with notebooks.

Thanks to the Department of University Foundations, the Office of General Education will be able to hold seats in UNIV 3305 courses for Fall 2025 for students who were identified as not having satisfied both Community Engagement (CE) and Civic and Individual Ethics (CIE) graduation requirements and are expected to graduate on or before May 2026.

Therefore, 163 students will be invited to enroll in UNIV 3305 to satisfy both graduation requirements and Oral Communications in a single course. The email below will be sent to students on or before March 10.

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

—

To: CE/CIE Students (n = 163)   

From: General Education   

Title: We’ve saved you a seat! Complete your CC Community Engagement & Civic and Individual Ethics requirements with UNIV 3305 this fall! 

March 10, 2025  

Dear Mustang –    

As of March 1, your Degree Progress Report (DPR) indicated you had not satisfied your Community Engagement (CE) and Civic and Individual Ethics (CIE) requirements. The Office of General Education wants to inform you that we have saved you a seat this Fall in a UNIV 3305 Personal Responsibility and Community course thanks to the Department of University Foundations. This course is a popular solution to fulfilling these Common Curriculum (CC) requirements.

We have held a limited number of seats in the Fall for you in UNIV 3305. The course conveys three tags: CIE, CE, and Oral Communication. Given the demand for seats in this course, these seats will only be reserved until May 15th. After May 15th, these seats will be released to other interested students.

Can’t fit in a CE and CIE course this Fall? Consider other options such as SMU Intersessions, participating in a pre-approved activity, or enrolling in a CE and CIE-tagged course this spring.

We know enrollment can be stressful, especially when managing graduation requirements. We hope this saved seat can help you as you close out your academic career at SMU.

Sincerely,     

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

 

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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on February 28, 2025

The Council on General Education met on February 28, 2025. The meeting minutes for January 31, 2025, were approved at this meeting. Below is the agenda, and the meeting minutes have now been posted on the General Education website.

  1. Approval of the Agenda for February 28, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for January 31, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Course & Experience Proposals
    1. Revised Proposals
      1. UNIV 1270 (Personal Finance and Branding) – PREX-QA
    2. New Proposals
      1. ASAG 1310 (Word and Image) – CAC
      2. PHIL 3385 (Lifespan Ethics) – PREI
      3. PSYC 2351 (Psychopathology) – SBS
      4. HIST 1333 (Ethical and Political Thought in Ancient China) – HC; PREX-CIE
      5. WL 3308 (Introduction to General Linguistics) – PREX-CIE
      6. JOUR 3380 (Global Media Projects) – PREX-GPS
  4. SMU Transfer Summit Recap
    1. TCCNS Working Group
    2. Student Experience Working Group
    3. Policies Working Group
  5. DOE OCR February 14 Dear Colleague Letter Discussion

Please contact the Office of General Education for questions or proposal development support.

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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on January 31, 2025

The Council on General Education met on January, 31, 2025. The meeting minutes for December 6, 2024, were approved at this meeting. Below is the agenda, and the meeting minutes have now been posted on the General Education website.

  1. Approval of the Agenda for January 31, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for December 6, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. AMAE 3387 Final Vote (Peter)
  4. Review Fall 2024 Critical Reasoning Drop and DFW Data (Peter/Dustin)
  5. Subcommittee Review and Meeting Structure (Peter)
    1. Proposal Deadline
    2. Administrative Review
    3. Friday Subcommittee Meeting Time
    4. Box Organization
    5. Lead Responsibilities
      1. Meeting Scheduling – as necessary
      2. Facilitate Meeting
      3. Communicate Vote Decision
    6. Vote due by Wednesday EOD
  6. SMU in Four CIE Course Proposals (Dustin)
  7. CC Assessment Non-compliance List (Peter)
  8. CC Assessment Feedback and Communication (Peter)
  9. Refreshed CC Faculty Webpage (Dustin)
    1. Request for review and feedback
  10. University Curriculum Decommissioning (Dustin)
    1. Website
    2. Petitions
  11. Spring Meeting Schedule Reminder
    1. January 31, 2025
    2. February 28, 2025 (proposal meeting)
    3. March 14, 2025
    4. April 4, 2025 (proposal meeting)
    5. April 25, 2025 (in-person)

Please contact the Office of General Education for questions or proposal development support.

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Academic Development of Student-Athletes (ADSA) Mentorship Office of General Education Pathways to Industry Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Success & Retention Tutoring University Foundations Writing Center

15 Students Return from Leave, 12 Readmitted for Spring 2025 semester

Group of students

The Return from Leave of Absence (RLOA) initiative, launched by the Office of Student Success on October 23, 2024, aimed to welcome back Mustangs on leave last term and inform them about Spring semester enrollment updates.

Shun Colter, Assistant Director, and Saahil Mathews, Program Coordinator from the Office of Student Success and Retention co-directed this initiative.

The total number of students that originally indicated a return for Spring ‘25 was 38 undergraduate students. Currently, there are 15 students enrolled for the Spring ‘25 semester. 6 students extended their leave of absence to return at a later semester.

A total of 15 former students were readmitted (RADM), with 12 of them enrolling for the Spring ’25 semester.

To start off the campaign, emails were sent in October, introducing Shun Colter, Assistant Director, and providing information about helpful resources at SMU. This information was sent to the students personal and SMU email addresses. Second, postcards were designed and sent to the students’ mailing and home addresses.

The final outreach was conducted in January ’25, reminding students that their home at the Hilltop misses them. The communication also provided information for their School of Record and Academic Advisor/Degree Counselor to address any enrollment questions.

If you have any questions or want to know more details about the RLOA campaign, you can email us at ssr@smu.edu.

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Academic Center for Excellence Academic Development of Student-Athletes (ADSA) Academic Development of Student-Athletes (ADSA) Academic Skill Development Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies First-Generation Initiative Hilltop Scholars Honors and Scholars Mentorship Mustang Scholars National Fellowships National Fellowships Office of Engaged Learning Office of General Education Pathways to Industry President’s Scholars Rotunda Scholars SMU in Four Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Academic Success Programs Student Success & Retention Tutoring University Advising Center University Foundations University Honors Program University Testing Center Writing Center

All SAES offices to close February 11 from 2 – 3:30 pm for division meeting

The Division of Student Academic Engagement and Success will gather for our semesterly division meeting on Tuesday, February 11.

To permit full participation by all division employees, we will temporarily close all offices from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

We will return to normal business operations thereafter. Thank you for your understanding and we apologize for any inconvenience in advance. If you have any questions, please email academicsuccess@smu.edu.

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Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Help Students Explore Pre-Approved Co-Curricular Opportunities to Fulfill Common Curriculum Proficiencies & Experiences

The Office of General Education is excited to share various co-curricular initiatives designed to help undergraduate students complete their Common Curriculum Proficiencies & Experiences outside the classroom. These programs provide unique opportunities for engagement, learning, and skill development. 

All students on the Common Curriculum must complete each of the graduation requirements, known as Proficiencies & Experiences, in addition to the General Education  Foundation and Breadth requirements. However, unlike Foundations and Breadth requirements, you have the option of using either coursework or activities to fulfill Proficiencies & Experiences. 

 Unconscious Bias Training for Human Diversity 

The Franklin Covey Unconscious Bias Training Course, based on The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias, is designed for seniors who have not yet completed their Human Diversity Proficiency & Experience requirement. This online program comprises five asynchronous learning modules, each requiring 3-4 hours of engagement. Interested students can complete the Unconscious Bias Interest Form. 

Engage Dallas for Community Engagement and/or Civic and Individual Ethics 

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative, that enables students to serve communities in South and West Dallas. Engage Dallas is housed within SMU’s Residential Commons, but is open to all students. This initiative provides an accessible way for undergraduates to fulfill their Community Engagement Proficiency & Experience and Civics & Individual Ethics Proficiency and Experience requirements, both of which are necessary for graduation.  

Engage Dallas is a free program that welcomes new participants at any time. Students can choose to serve in small groups or independently, depending on their availability. To learn more and get started, visit smu.edu/engagedallas or access the Engage Dallas course via Canvas.  

Common Curriculum Reading for Civic and Individual Ethics 

Open to all undergraduates, this program targets juniors and seniors needing their Civics & Individual Ethics Proficiency. Participants will join eight reading discussions on Artificial Unintelligence by Meredith Broussard, exploring AI’s ethical and social limits. Spring Sign-ups have closed, but will open for Fall 2025 later this semester.  

Additional Opportunities 

Beyond the initiatives mentioned above, the Office of General Education collaborates with various campus offices to market pre-approved activities and organizations that fulfill specific Proficiencies & Experiences. Students can visit the Proficiencies & Experiences page to review graduation requirements, learn more about pre-approved activities, or schedule a meeting with Brittaney Wilson for personalized guidance. 

 

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Office of General Education Peer Academic Leaders Student Academic Engagement & Success

The Office of General Education is recruiting Peer Academic Leaders for the 2025-2026 academic year

The Office of General Education has begun recruiting Peer Academic Leaders (PALs) for the 2025-2026 academic year. The PALs are a diverse group of undergraduate students with a goal to help students better understand the Common Curriculum, utilize academic resources, connect with their community, and navigate academic challenges.

This is a paid student worker role, averaging 5-9 weekly work hours. Students can also earn their Community Engagement and Oral Communications Proficiency & Experience. Students hired for the position will also receive an $800 housing credit for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Students can apply for the PALs role through the Peer Leader Recruitment Qualtrics form. Staff and faculty can also nominate a student they think would be a good fit for the role.

Once a student applies, they will be contacted to schedule their first-round interview. From there, students will be invited for a final interview with the PALs supervisor, Melina Padron.

The deadline to nominate a Peer Leader will be February 10th. The Peer Leader application will close February 12th. Please contact Melina Padron, the PALs supervisor, at melinap@smu.edu with any questions or concerns.

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Office of General Education Peer Academic Leaders Student Academic Engagement & Success University Advising Center

Peer Academic Leaders and University Advising Center prepare for Success Fest

The Peer Academic Leaders (PALs) and University Advising Center (UAC) have started preparing for the Spring 2025 Success Fest, which will take place on February 26th from 11:30am-1:30pm in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Ballroom C. Success Fest is an event dedicated to the promotion and adoption of Degree Planner.

As stated on the university’s academic calendar, undergraduate students are required to update and complete their Degree Planner before the March 1st deadline.

Students can expect a To-Do message on their my.SMU Student Dashboard that will prompt them to complete their Degree Planner. Undeclared students will be asked to plan through the semester after their major declaration, and declared students will be asked to plan to the semester of their graduation.

Students will also receive a message through the Message Center with more information about the Degree Planner deadline, Success Fest, and upcoming Degree Planner workshops offered by the PALs and UAC.

Students, staff, and faculty can refer to the Office of General Education’s SMU 360 event page for details about the February Degree Planner workshops. Alternatively, staff and faculty can request a PALs Degree Planner workshop on a date and time that is more convenient. 

Students who show proof of a completed Degree Planner can enter Success Fest, however, students can also complete their Degree Planner on the day of the event. RSVPs to Success Fest are encouraged via SMU 360, but walk-ins are welcome.