Category: Office of General Education

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Office of General Education

The Office of General Education issues Warnings, Probation, and Suspension Notifications for the Fall 2025 Semester

 

The Office of General Education (OGE) has completed their Fall 2025 review and notification process for students who have not met University-wide requirements, as outlined in the undergraduate catalog.  

This semester OGE sent out 5 suspension notifications, 38 probation notifications and 42 alerts to student who had not satisfied their University-Wide Common Curriculum Foundations requirements within the specified units based on their catalog earned as SMU credit. Of the students initially flagged for suspension, 4 students successfully appealed their suspension and received extended probation. One student was able to petition prior credit to fulfill Quantitative Reasoning. Notifications were sent to students, academic advisors, and Records Offices via DocuSign. These documents have also been imaged to the student’s record. 

General Education Alerts
Students who received a General Education Alert have not yet met the credit-hour threshold for probation but are at risk of probation. These students are strongly encouraged to complete their outstanding Foundations requirement(s) in the next semester to avoid placement on General Education Probation. 

Academic Probation Criteria
In accordance with SMU’s General Education policy, students are required to complete their Academic Writing (WRTR 1312 or equivalent), Critical Reasoning (WRTR 1313 or equivalent), and/or Quantitative Reasoning requirement before obtaining: 

  • 60 credit hours at SMU for students entering SMU directly from high school or with fewer than 24 transfer credit hours. 
  • 30 credit hours at SMU for transfer students or those entering with 24 or more transfer credit hours. 

Suspension Criteria
Students who received a probation notification and do not satisfy the missing Foundation requirement(s) by December 2025 will be subject to General Education Suspension.  

Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their academic advisor or degree counselor to develop a plan for timely completion. General Education Alerts were first issued during the Fall 2024 semester by the Office of General Education. This policy can be found online in the SMU catalog as far back as 2017-2018 academic year.  

If you have any questions regarding General Education Probation or the specific requirements, please contact Brittaney Wilson, brittaneyw@smu.edu  

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Office of General Education

Common Curriculum Course Search updated on May 27, 2025

Office of General Education logo

The Office of General Education has updated the Common Curriculum course search with added breadth and graduation requirement tags.

The May 27, 2025, update reflects the following tag additions and removals:

Added:

ARHS 1380 – Creativity & Aesthetics: Analysis (CAA) ARHS 3310 – Oral Communication (OC) ASAG 1310 – Creativity & Aesthetics: Creation (CAC)
BIOL 1303 – Exploring Science (ES) BIOL 4133 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE) BL 3335 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE)
CEE 4380 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE) ECO 4330 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE) ENGL 2303 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE)
FILM 2363 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE) FILM 3352 – Historical Contexts (HC) HRTS 3320 – Oral Communication (OC)
JOUR 3314 – Community Engagement (CE) JOUR 3380 – Global Perspectives (GPS) PHIL 3385 – Philosophical, Religious & Ethical Inquiry (PREI)
PSYC 2351 – Social & Behavioral Sciences (SBS) PSYC 3372 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE) SPAN 2421 – Global Perspectives (GPS)
SPAN 2421 – Literary Analysis & Interpretation (LAI) UNIV 1270 – Quantitative Applications (QA) UNIV 2303 – Technological Advances and Society (TAS)
WL 3308 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE)

Removed:

CS 5351 – Oral Communication (OC) DSIN 5303 – Community Engagement (CE) EDU 5348 – Human Diversity (HD)
FILM 2362 – Historical Contexts (HC) FILM 3304 – Oral Communication (OC) PSYC 4380 – Historical Contexts (HC)

Any questions or concerns about the Common Curriculum course search can be directed to the Office of General Education.

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Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Success & Retention University Testing Center

Undergraduate Education and Academic Success units closed Wednesday, May 21 for staff retreat

The Undergraduate Education and Academic Success area within the Division of Student Academic Engagement and Success will close on Wednesday, May 21, for a staff retreat.

We encourage our constituents to use our websites or office self-service portals during this time for answers to common questions and requests.

Units include:

We will reopen during standard operating hours on Thursday, May 22.

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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on April 4, 2025

Three faculty members standing by a building

The Council on General Education met on April 4, 2025. The meeting minutes for March 14, 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 April 4, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for March 14, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Course & Experience Proposals
    1. ARHS 1380 (African American Art) – CAA
    2. ARHS 3310 / HRTS 3320 (War, Looting, and Collecting of Ancient Art) – PREX-OC
    3. UNIV 3306 (Community Partnerships) – PREX-CE
    4. Stampede Guides (Stampede Guides) – PREX-OC
    5. ENGL 2303 (Ethical Leadership and the Language of Influence) – PREX-CIE
    6. FILM 2363 (Media Production Ethics and Representation) – PREX-CIE
    7. Student Senate (Student Senate) – PREX-CIE
    8. The Common Curriculum Reading – PREX-CIE
    9. BIOL 4133 / BIOL 4133 H (Bioethics Seminar) – PREX-CIE
    10. CEE 4380 (Civil and Environmental Engineering Design I) – PREX-CIE
    11. ECON 4330 (Economics of Human Rights) – PREX-CIE
    12. PSYC 3372 (Ethics in Psychology) – PREX-CIE
    13. MNO 30XX (AI and Business Insights) – PREX-QA
    14. SPAN 2421 (Intermediate Spanish I for Heritage Speakers) – LAI and PREX-GPS
    15. UNIV 2303 (From IM to AI: How People Learn with Technology) – TAS
  4. CC Human Diversity Graduation Requirement Task Force Update
  5. TCCNS Working Group Volunteers

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

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Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

The Office of General Education completes the first year of the Common Curriculum Reading and looks toward 2025-2026

In the 2024-2025 academic year, the Office of General Education launched the Common Curriculum Reading (CCR). The CCR is a pre-approved activity done in the co-curricular that allows students to obtain their Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE) Proficiency and Experience (P&E), a Common Curriculum (CC) requirement.

Students who join the CCR are required to attend seven reading group meetings, during which they discuss assigned readings with SMU staff/faculty facilitators and complete two assessments. This year, students read Meredith Broussard’s Artificial Unintelligence, in which she discusses the ethics of AI and the growing belief that it can solve societal issues.

77 students completed the program in the 2024-2025 academic year and received their CIE P&E. Students provided positive feedback about the program, stating they appreciated the following:

  • That it was a program offered at no cost to students
  • The flexibility of meeting bi-weekly as opposed to weekly
  • Building friendships with peers they wouldn’t have met otherwise

The Office of General Education will continue the CCR in the 2025-2026 academic year. The book selection is Chris Anderson’s Infectious Generosity, which encourages society to engage in their community and discusses the ethics behind being selfless.

The CCR has also built partnerships with the following:

Students can sign-up for the program via Qualtrics. The Office of General Education is also seeking SAES staff or faculty facilitators for the upcoming Fall 2025 semester.

Facilitators who complete their commitment will be offered two days of extra comp time, which they will be responsible for coordinating with their direct supervisor. Prospective facilitators can learn more about the commitment and sign-up via Qualtrics.

The Office of General Education is excited to expand and continue the CCR as we move into the 2025-2025 academic year.

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Office of General Education

The Call for Proposals deadline has been extended for the Place-based Community Engagement Symposium

Once again, we are excited to extend you and your colleagues 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 6th, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm (SMU Campus)

RSVP Today!
***New for 2025*** Call for Proposals  |  Deadline Extended!

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 new proposal submission deadline is May 11, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Acceptance decisions will be sent by May 16, 2025.

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Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Reminder: 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 6th, 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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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 Office of General Education Offices & Programs Peer Academic Leaders SMU in Four Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Academic Success Programs Student Success & Retention Tutoring University Advising Center University Foundations University Testing Center Writing Center

SMU Launches MeSpace: A Sensory-Friendly Workspace for All

Alexa Taylor, Director of DASS, smiling and sitting in the MeSpace study unit

Alexa Taylor, Director of Disability Accommodations and Success Strategies (DASS), invites you to experience MeSpace, an adaptable study space thoughtfully designed to support focus, sensory needs, and overall student well-being:

“In response to growing demands for inclusive and flexible campus environments, SMU, through a collaboration with the DASS office, Hughes-Trigg Student Center, and SMU Libraries, is testing out MeSpace, a plug-and-play, sensory-friendly study space – just in time for Autism Acceptance Month.

Designed for both Neurodiverse and Neurotypical students, MeSpace offers a space to enhance focus, reduce distractions, and manage sensory exposure, creating an ideal environment for studying and collaboration.

We invite SMU students, faculty, staff and guests to experience this innovative, sensory-friendly space at two convenient locations on campus:

  • Hamon Arts Library, First Floor
  • Hughes-Trigg Student Center, First and Second Floor

The exhibit will be open for 6 weeks, now through the end of the spring term, providing an opportunity to experience the future of sensory-friendly strategies on campus.

On April 16, we will be hosting a Pop-Up Demo from 1-2 p.m., and immediately following the Pop-Up, we encourage all interested stakeholders to attend a roundtable discussion in the H-T Chamber from 2-3 p.m. We welcome your feedback to help us explore future collaborations with MeSpace.”

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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on March 14, 2025

Conference room

The Council on General Education met on March 14, 2025. The meeting minutes for February 28, 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 March 14, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for February 28, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. CC HD graduation requirement Task Force
    1. Overview
      1. 3 Meetings
      2. Volunteers
  4. TCCNS Working Group
    1. Volunteers
  5. General Education Office Updates (Dustin)
    1. Faculty Website Feedback Request
    2. SMU in Four CIE Course Development Update
    3. Shared Responsibility of CE Fulfillment Discussions
    4. Catalog Updates
    5. Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium

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

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Academic Center for Excellence Academic Skill Development Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies First-Generation Initiative Office of General Education Peer Academic Leaders Student Academic Success Programs Student Success & Retention Tutoring University Testing Center Writing Center

Leveraging Neurodivergence: A conversation with Dr. Quill Kukla

Dr. Quill Kukla smiling, seated on a large disco ball in front of colored streamers.

Earlier this month as part of SMU’s Maguire Lecture in Ethics series, Dr. Quill Kukla, a professor of philosophy and disability studies at Georgetown University, spoke on “Healthism, Neurodiversity, and Respectability Politics.” Max Ashby, the Disability Accommodations and Success Strategies (DASS) Graduate Assistant, had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Kukla about their lecture’s specific relevance to SMU students and faculty. In Max’s words, “We discussed how Dr. Kukla’s own Autism diagnosis connects them to this topic, the support of parents/guardians and the University, the strengths of neurodivergent students, and tangible advice.”

To parents/guardians: When neurotype – the unique way a person’s brain works – is viewed as a health issue, you may see your neurodivergent children through a lens of vulnerability and dependence. As much as possible, keep your vision for your child’s future aligned with their strengths and interests, even if that conflicts with your initial plans.

To faculty: Start with three questions: What can everyone bring to the table and contribute? How can I facilitate a space of equal access instead of only accommodation? On whom were my classroom policies such as late work, deadlines, participation and presentations normed (e.g., only neurotypical, able-bodied students)?

To students: Your neurotype offers unique strengths in addition to limitations. For strengths – hyperfocusing on special interests encourages deep, sustained exploration of a topic leading to original insights and expertise. Your difference in information processing and predisposition for pattern recognition can lead to creative problem-solving and breakthroughs in research and creative fields. For limitations – advocate for yourself and understand your needs without viewing them through a lens of illness or deficiency. Your need for support is not a reflection of “brokenness” but rather a natural part of human diversity.