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Office of General Education

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

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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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on December 6, 2024

The Council on General Education met on December 6, 2024. The meeting minutes for November 8, 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 December 6, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the November 8, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Course Proposals (revisions)
    1. ANTH 3352-TAS
    2. ANTH 3343-TAS
    3. BIOL 1303-ES
  4. Literary Analysis and Interpretation (non-English) Rubric Update (Dayna)
  5. Course and Experience Proposal Review Process Discussion
    1. Sub-Committees
    2. Voting Proposals
  6. Spring Meeting Schedule
    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)
  7. General Education Office Updates (Dustin)
    1. Fall 2024 Tag Removals
      1. SOCI 3370-W
      2. WL 3341/HRTS 3341-HC
      3. ENGL 1380-CA
      4. FILM 3304-OC
      5. FILM 2362-HC
    2. CIE Course Proposals (Selected 5)

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

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Office of General Education

Common Curriculum Course Search updated on January 14, 2025

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

The January 14, 2025, update reflects the following tag additions and removals:

Added:

AMAE 3387 – Creativity & Aesthetics: Creation (CAC) ANTH 3343 – Human Diversity (HD) ANTH 3343 – Technological Advances and Society (TAS)
ANTH 3385 – Oral Communication (OC) ANTH 3385 – Social & Behavioral Sciences (SBS) ARHS 1322– Creativity & Aesthetics: Analysis (CAA)
ARHS 3305 – Human Diversity (HD) ARHS 3352 – Technological Advances and Society (TAS) ARHS 3382 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE)
ARHS 3382 – Historical Contexts (HC) BUSE 2311 – Technological Advances and Society (TAS) ENGL 1380- Literary Analysis & Interpretation (LAI)
HIST 1328 – Historical Contexts (HC) HIST 1328 – Human Diversity (HD) HIST 3337 – Philosophical, Religious & Ethical Inquiry (PREI)
HRTS 3341 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE) MNO 3375 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE) MSA 3391 – Creativity & Aesthetics: Creation (CAC)
RELI 3337- Philosophical, Religious & Ethical Inquiry (PREI) SOCI 3322 – Community Engagement (CE) SOCI 3322 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE)
SOCI 3322 – Human Diversity (HD) SOCI 3322 – Social & Behavioral Sciences (SBS) UNIV 2301 – Technological Advances and Society (TAS)
UNIV 2301 – Writing (W) WL 3308 – Global Perspectives (GPS) WL 3312 –Literary Analysis & Interpretation (LAI)
WL 3312 – Writing (W) WL 3341 – Civic & Individual Ethics (CIE)  

Removed:

ENGL 1380 – Creativity & Aesthetics: Analysis (CAA) FILM 2362 – Historical Contexts (HC) FILM 3304 – Oral Communication (OC)
HRTS 3341 – Historical Contexts (HC) MSA 3391 – Creativity & Aesthetics: Analysis (CAA) SOCI 3370 – Writing (W)
WL 3341 – 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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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on November 8, 2024

The Council on General Education met on November 8, 2024. The meeting minutes for October 18, 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 Agenda for November 8, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the October 18, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Course & Experience Proposals
    1. Revised Proposals
      1. AMAE 3387- (Principles of Creative Entrepreneurship)- CA
    2. New Proposals
      1. SOCI 3322 (Nonprofits at Work in the Community) – PREX-CE
      2. WL 3341/HRTS 3341 (Failure of Humanity in Rwanda) – LAI; PREX-CIE (course currently tagged for HC)
      3. RELI 3337 (Christianity and American Public Life) – PREI
      4. ARHS 1322 (Architecture of the Ancient Americas) – CA
      5. ARHS 3352 (Art and Science, Scientific Revolution to the Information Age) – TAS
      6. ANTH 3385 (Sustainable Living) – SBS; PREX-OC
      7. ANTH 3343 (Economic Anthropology) – TAS; PREX-HD
      8. WL 3312 (Introduction to Chinese Cinema)-LAI; PREX-W
      9. WL 3308 (Introduction to General Linguistics)- PREX-GPS
      10. MNO 3375 (Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethical Leadership) – PREX-CIE
  4. Educational Programs Committee: Council Update
  5. General Education Office Updates
    1. CIE Course Proposal Call
    2. Completed CC Coherent Rationale Audit Report
    3. Writing Board Updates
      1. CTE Affiliate Workshops
      2. First Gen Course Materials and Book Fund
        1. They Say, I Say, and The Little Seagull
      3. Writing Resource Webpage

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 October 18, 2024

The Council on General Education met on October 18, 2024. The meeting minutes for September 27, 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 Agenda for October 18, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the September 27, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Common Curriculum SLO Assessment Report
  4. Course Proposals
    1. Revised Proposals
      1. ARHS 3305 (Arts of the American Southwest) – PREX-HD
      2. UNIV 2301 (formerly 1301) (Information Systems and Society) – TAS; PREX-W
    2. New Proposals
      1. ENGL 1380 (Introduction to Literature: Monsters and Magic) – LAI
      2. AMAE 3387 (Principles of Creative Entrepreneurship) – CA
  5. General Education Office Updates
    1. SMU-in-Four PREX-CIE Course Proposals
    2. Coherent Rationale Audit Progress

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 September 27, 2024

The Council on General Education met on September 27, 2024. The meeting minutes for September 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 Agenda for September 27, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the September 6, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Coherent Rationale Discussion
    1. 1000- and 2000-level Pre-requisites
  4. Course & Activity Proposals
    1. Revised Proposals
      1. BUSE 2311 (Perspectives on American Business Through the Lens of the Automobile Industry) – TAS
      2. UNIV 1270 (Personal Finance and Branding) – PREX-QA
    2. New Proposals
      1. Activity Proposals
        1. Dennis Simon Civil Rights Pilgrimage – PREX-HD
      2. Course Proposals
        1. UNIV 1301 (Information Systems and Society) – PREX-W
        2. HIST 1328 (Votes for Women) – HC; PREX-HD; PREX-W
        3. ARHS 3305 (Arts of the American Southwest) – PREX-HD (course currently tagged for CA, CIE, OC, W)
        4. ARHS 3382 (Culture Shock: Museums as Sites of Protest) – HC; PREX-CIE
        5. SOCI 3322 (Nonprofits at Work in the Community) – SBS; PREX-CIE; PREX-HD
  5. General Education Office Updates
    1. SMU-in-Four Year Three Progress Presentation (October 17th  at 3 pm)

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 to re-launch Common Reading in revised format

As the Spring 2024 semester comes to an end, the Office of General Education is working to re-launch the Common Reading program for SMU undergraduate students in Fall 2024 in a revised format.

This version of the Common Reading will target first-year students, allowing them the opportunity to earn their Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE) Common Curriculum (CC) Proficiency. Due to budget and logistical constraints, it will only be a targeted group within the first-year cohort rather than all first-year students.

The Office of General Education has created a campus-wide survey to get feedback from students, staff, and faculty members on the following:

  • Book selection and its alignment with the CIE rubric
  • Time commitment and requirements for students intending to receive the CIE credit
  • Time commitment for faculty/staff facilitators

This survey will assist the General Education team in these early planning stages as they work to create a meaningful program for students that also supports their academic endeavors. The Office of General Education encourages undergraduate students, and faculty/staff that work primarily with undergraduate students, to complete this survey.

More information will be provided regarding the Common Reading program as it continues to be developed throughout the spring and summer months.

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Office of General Education

2022 – 2023 SMU Common Curriculum assessment results shared with campus community

As part of its commitment to excellence in undergraduate education and in fulfillment of its responsibilities to its accreditor the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), SMU assesses student learning in the Common Curriculum each year. To allow sufficient time to collect, review and analyze results, and in the spirit of continuous improvement, SMU assesses approximately one-third of the Common Curriculum’s components each year (using a three-year cycle). In 2022-2023, student work was assessed in the following components: Exploring Sciences (ES) Breadth, Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Breadth, Technological Advances and Society (TAS) Breadth, Global Perspectives (GPS) Proficiency and Human Diversity (HD) Proficiency.

Work is taken from courses in fall, spring and intersession terms for review and falls into two broad categories: rated (e.g., papers, essays, oral presentations, art projects) and objective (quizzes and tests with a single, discrete answer). Student work is evaluated by trained teams of faculty volunteers, supported and coordinated by the Office of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness. The “juried assessment” strategy we use involves having each example of student work scored or rated by two to three trained faculty evaluators using the rubric associated with each Common Curriculum Component. Results are presented to each department delivering courses in the assessed component, and each department uses the results to identify and document potential improvements in their courses. Course changes can include improvements to assignments, improvements to the delivery of particular content in the course, or improvements to the course overall. Starting this year, we are also sharing the results with all SMU stakeholders and they are available for viewing here using your SMU login credentials.

It is important to note that we are using this first cycle of assessment to establish a baseline (determining where student performance actually fell in each component) that can be used to determine the appropriate targets for future improvement. Targets listed in this year’s report were inherited from the University Curriculum and were not based on student learning or performance in the Common Curriculum nor set using the current learning outcomes. These targets will be replaced in the second cycle of assessment with targets established at one-half of a standard deviation from the mean of student performance, as demonstrated in the first cycle of assessment, as this is an accepted method of establishing targets for improvement. Going forward, in addition to reporting on the results of the Common Curriculum assessment, we will give a progress report on efforts to seek improvement in the delivery of the Common Curriculum and student educational attainment in the Common Curriculum.

It is also important to note that work was done in this first cycle of assessment on “tuning” or reviewing, refining, and improving the rubrics that we use to assess learning in the Common Curriculum. The revisions reflected in the assessment report are those proposed by the faculty raters who participated in the assessment process over the summer of 2023. These revisions, once proposed, are reviewed and approved by the Council on General Education (CoGE), which may elect to propose additional revisions and changes. The revised rubrics that result from this process go into effect after review and approval by CoGE, and the final version of the rubric will be communicated to the SMU community by CoGE through the Office of Student Academic Engagement and Success.