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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

Non-course opportunities for Common Curriculum Proficiency & Experience credit

The Office of General Education is excited to share some co-curricular initiatives and opportunities available to assist students in obtaining their Common Curriculum Proficiencies and Experiences outside the classroom.   

Common Curriculum Reading:  

The Common Curriculum Reading is open to all SMU undergraduate students but will target juniors and seniors who have not completed their Civics & Individual Ethics Proficiency and Experience requirement. Students who opt-in to the program will engage in eight reading group meetings and discussions with peers and program facilitators from areas across campus.  

The book selection for Fall 2024 is “Artificial Unintelligence” by Meredith Broussard. Broussard discusses the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in modern society and the public’s belief that AI can solve all the world’s problems. However, Broussard argues that there are social and ethical issues that AI can’t resolve. Students can sign up through Qualtrics, and staff/faculty can learn more about the program on the Common Curriculum Reading blog post. 

 Unconscious Bias Training Course:  

 The Franklin Covey Unconscious Bias Training Course is based on The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias. This initiative is focused on seniors who have not completed their Human Diversity Proficiency & Experience. The Unconscious Bias online course consists of five asynchronous learning modules. Each learning module requires 3-4 hours of work. However, participants will also have access to impact coaching to help them learn and apply the key concepts. For more information, please complete the Unconscious Bias Interest Form. 

 Engage Dallas:  

 Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons, open to all SMU students, to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. Engage Dallas is one of the easiest ways for undergraduate students to earn their  Community Engagement Proficiency & Experience as well as their Civics & Individual Ethics Proficiency and Experience, both required for graduation. Engage Dallas is a free program that accepts new members at any time. Students can serve the community in small groups or independently, based on their availability. Students can learn more and get started by visiting smu.edu/engagedallas or selecting the Engage Dallas course on their  Canvas dashboard. 

 In addition to the initiatives listed above, the Office of General Education partners with various offices across campus to market pre-approved activities and  organizations that can fulfill individual Proficiencies & Experiences. For more information about pre-approved activities and organizations visit the  Proficiencies & Experiences page to review individual graduation requirements or schedule a meeting with Brittaney Wilson. 

 

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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on February 23, 2024

The Council on General Education met on February 23, 2024. The meeting minutes for February 2, 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 February 23, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the February 2, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Proposals (Peter)
    1. Course Proposals
      1. ARHS 3398 (Introduction to Museum Studies) – Creativity & Aesthetics
      2. BIOL 1310 (Aquatic Biology of the American Southwest)- Exploring Science
      3. PHYS 1320 (Music & Physics) – Quantitative Applications
      4. AMAE 3387 (Principles of Creative Entrepreneurship) – Technological Advances & Society; Oral Communication
      5. ARHS 3326 (How It’s Made: Approaches to the Art Object) – Technological Advances & Society
      6. JOUR 2303 (Media Literacy and Democracy) – Literary Analysis & Interpretation; Civics and Individual Ethics
      7. ANTH 3313 (South America: Culture, Environment, History) – Historical Contexts; Global Perspectives
      8. HIST 3381 (The First World War and Its Impact)- Global Perspectives
      9. RELI 1304 (Intro to Western Religions)- Human Diversity
      10. HRTS 4399 (Human Rights Research) REVISED-Civics and Individual Ethics; Human Diversity; Global Perspectives
    2. Activity Proposals
      1. Honor Council – Civics and Individual Ethics
      2. SMU Outdoor Adventures – Community Engagement; Oral Communication
  4. Student Progress Toward Degree and Throughout (Sheri)
    1. Role of the Schools in satisfying CIE/CE
  5. Proposals (Peter)
    1. Critical Reasoning Fulfillment Requirements
    2. In Development – WIM to W Progress; Modification to Course Content Criteria (4000-level)
  6. General Education Office Updates (Dustin)
    1. CC Overview workshop attendance
    2. CC Course Proposal workshop attendance
    3. Catalog review
    4. Success Fest 2/28/24
    5. Undergraduate Degree Planner deadline 3/1/24

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 1, 2023

The Council on General Education met on December 1, 2023. The meeting minutes for November 10, 2023 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 the December 1, 2023 Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the November 10, 2023 Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Common Curriculum Assessment Results (Yan)
    1. CC Components Assessed
  4. Proposals
    1. Revisions submitted
      1. APSM 3360 (Nutrition and Population Health) – PREX-CE
    2. Courses approved that are still pending a meeting with the assessment office
      1. FILM 3352 (American Film History) – HC
      2. PSYC 3362 (Psychology & the Challenges of Life) – SBS, PREX-HD
      3. WL 3379 (Modern German Culture from the Enlightenment to the Present) -PREX-GPS
      4. GERM 3379 (Modern German Culture from the Enlightenment to the Present) – PREX-GPS
    3. Courses that were tabled pending revisions
      1. FILM 2351 (International Film History) – PREX-GPS
      2. ASCE 1310 (Ceramic Technology) – TAS
      3. HRTS 4399 (Human Rights Research) – PREX-CIE, PREX-HD, PREX-GPS
  5. Critical Reasoning Fulfillment Discussion
  6. General Education Office Updates (Dustin)
    1. CoGE Working Group Timelines
      1. Re-Evaluation of Transfer Credit on Texas Common Course Numbering System
      2. External Test Credit Review (AP, IB, CLEP)
    2. CoGE Spring meeting dates
      1. 2/2/24
      2. 2/23/24-proposals due 2/12
      3. 3/8/24
      4. 4/5/24-proposals due 3/25
      5. 4/26/24 (EOY sendoff)
    3. Members leaving
      1. Luigi Manzetti served only Fall 2023
      2. Scott Douglas served from 2017-2023
    4. New/returning members
      1. Elena Borzova 2024-2027 (replacing Scott)
      2. Karisa Cloward returning from leave

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

Categories
Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on November 10, 2023

The Council on General Education met on November 10, 2023. The meeting minutes for October 20, 2023 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 the November 10, 2023 Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the October 20, 2023 Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Courses tabled- Revisions needed
    1. APSM 3360 (Nutrition and Population Health)- CE and CIE
    2. ASCE 1310 (Ceramic Technology)- TAS
    3. ENGL 1363 (The Myth of the West)-HD
  4. New Course Proposal
    1. GEOL 1311 (Climate Change Science) – ES
    2. PHYS 1337 (Nuclear Physics and Society)- TAS
    3. PSYC 3362 (Psychology & the Challenges of Life) – SBS and HD
    4. PSYC 3363 (Psychology of Conflict Resolution) – SBS and OC
    5. PSYC 4301 (Advanced Quantitative Methods in Psychology)-QA
    6. WL 3379 (Modern German Culture from the Enlightenment to the Present) – GPS
    7. GERM 3379 (Modern German Culture from the Enlightenment to the Present)- GPS
    8. HRTS 4399 (Human Rights Research)- CIE,HD, and GPS
  5. Activity Proposal
    1. SMU Abroad Programs – GPS
  6. General Education Office Updates

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

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Office of General Education

Think big, do good with Engage Dallas, and satisfy two Common Curriculum requirements

The Office of General Education and Engage Dallas requests your assistance amplifying the following community engagement opportunities with students.

On Wednesday, September 13, from the Office of General Education email, the following message was sent to all undergraduate students. Students can satisfy two Common Curriculum requirements via service with this pre-approved opportunity.

——— [ Begin Message ] ———-

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

Subject: Think big, do good with Engage Dallas, and satisfy two Common Curriculum requirements

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.

2-in-2 Campaign

Engage Dallas is a free and easy way for students to earn two of their required proficiencies for graduation, the Community Engagement Proficiency and Experience (CEPE) and Civics & Individual Ethics proficiency (CIE) through sustained engagement with Engage Dallas. Below is a suggested path for completion of your proficiencies:

Monthly Service

To earn service hours and get connected to the Dallas community, connect with your Commons to participate in Engage Dallas monthly service events. All Engage Dallas upcoming events can be found on the Engage Dallas SMU360 page and your Residential Commons SMU360 page.

Solo Service

Engage Dallas offers solo service as a way for students to serve independently with our community partners. There are over 20 solo service opportunities ranging from art class volunteer to kennel companion to reading tutor for kids. All solo service opportunities can be found on the “Find Opportunities” page in the Engage Dallas Canvas Course under “Individual Service.” All students have a Residential Commons affiliation—Commuter students are affiliated with Boaz Commons, and Transfer Students are affiliated with Ware Commons.

#1Day4Dallas

Engage Dallas will host the 3rd annual #1Day4Dallas service event on Saturday, October 21. Breakfast, lunch, and 4 hours of direct service are included—spots are limited, so students are encouraged to register today!

Please direct any questions about Engage Dallas to engagedallas@smu.edu.

Categories
Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Common Curriculum Course Search updated along with WIM to W course-tag conversions

On September 9, 2022, the Council on General Education approved a proposal to change how the Common Curriculum’s Writing in the Major (WIM) Proficiency and Experience is tracked on the Degree Progress Report (DPR) and replace it with program-level Writing in the Major student learning outcome.

This means that the Writing in the Major Proficiency and Experience has been removed from the Degree Progress Report, and courses that conveyed the WIM tag have been removed from the undergraduate catalog.

In concert with the Writing Board, the Office of General Education has evaluated the 69 WIM-tagged courses that previously were approved for the Writing (W) Proficiency and Experience tag on the Common Curriculum before WIM. Academic departments were contacted about their willingness to convert from a WIM to a W tag.

Following an administrative evaluation based on the W criteria, 20 of the 69 courses were identified, approved by the academic department, and changed from WIM to W in the undergraduate catalog.

In addition to the above changes, the Office of General Education updated the Common Curriculum course search with approved courses approved by the Council on General Education to meet graduation or general education requirements. We also processed the removal of tags requested by academic departments.

The July 17, 2023, update reflects the following tag additions and removals.

Added:

ADV 3305- Writing (W) ANTH 3301- Writing (W) ANTH 3370 – Exploring Science (ES)
ARHS 1305- Creativity & Aesthetics (CA) ARHS 3321 – Creativity & Aesthetics (CA) ARHS 3347 – Creativity & Aesthetics (CA)
ARHS 3390- Creativity & Aesthetics (CA) ASCE 3330- Writing (W) CEE 3302- Writing (W)
DANC 3363- Exploring Science (ES) ENGL 1362 – Literary Analysis & Interpretation (LAI) ENGL 2315- Literary Analysis & Interpretation (LAI)
FILM 3305 – Oral Communication (OC); Quantitative Applications (QA) FILM 3353- Historical Contexts (HC) GERM 3311- Writing (W)
JOUR 3313- Community Engagement (CE) JOUR 3313- Writing (W) JOUR 3362- Community Engagement (CE)
JOUR 3362- Writing (W) JOUR 3382- Community Engagement (CE) JOUR 3382- Writing (W)
MATH 1340- Quantitative Reasoning (QR) MATH 3311 – Writing (W) MUHI 1305- Historical Contexts (HC)
MUTH 3350- Writing (W) OREM 2375- Technological Advances and Society (TAS); Civics and Individual Ethics (CIE) PLSC 3330- Writing (W)
PLSC 3334- Writing (W) PLSC 3340- Writing (W) PLSC 3342- Writing (W)
PLSC 3352- Writing (W) PLSC 3358- Writing (W) PLSC 3360- Writing (W)
PSYC 3301- Writing (W) RELI 3386 – Literary Analysis & Interpretation (LAI) RUSS 3341- Civics and Individual Ethics (CIE); Human Diversity (HD)
SOCI 3301- Writing (W) WL 3311- Technological Advances and Society (TAS); Human Diversity (HD) WL 3319- Human Diversity (HD)
WL 3323 – Human Diversity (HD)

Removed:

ADV 3305- Writing in the Major (WIM) ANTH 3301- Writing in the Major (WIM) APSM 4305- Writing in the Major (WIM)
APSM 4315- Writing in the Major (WIM) ARHS 4310- Writing in the Major (WIM) ARHS 4399- Writing in the Major (WIM)
ASAG 3380- Writing in the Major (WIM) ASCE 3330- Writing in the Major (WIM) BIOL 3170 – Writing in the Major (WIM)
BIOL 4110- Writing in the Major (WIM) BIOL 4306- Writing in the Major (WIM) BIOL 4364- Writing in the Major (WIM)
BIOL 4380-Writing in the Major (WIM) CCPA 3328- Writing in the Major (WIM) CCPA 3355- Writing in the Major (WIM)
CCPA 3365- Writing in the Major (WIM) CEE 3302- Writing in the Major (WIM) CHEM 4110- Writing in the Major (WIM)
CHEM 4397- Writing in the Major (WIM) CISB 4397- Writing in the Major (WIM) DANC  4375- Writing in the Major (WIM)
DANC 4373- Writing in the Major (WIM) ECO 4330- Writing in the Major (WIM) ECO 4342- Writing in the Major (WIM)
ECO 4360- Writing in the Major (WIM) ECO 4365- Writing in the Major (WIM) ECO 4376- Writing in the Major (WIM)
EDU 5327- Writing in the Major (WIM) ENGL 2314- Oral Communication (OC) ENGL 2315- Creativity & Aesthetics (CA)
ENGL 3310- Writing in the Major (WIM) FILM 1304- Creativity & Aesthetics (CA) FILM 2301- Writing in the Major (WIM)
FREN 4375- Writing in the Major (WIM) GEOL 3330- Writing in the Major (WIM) GEOL 4320- Writing in the Major (WIM)
GERM 3311- Writing in the Major (WIM) HIST 3309- Writing (W) HIST 4300- Writing in the Major (WIM)
JOUR 3313- Writing in the Major (WIM) JOUR 3362- Writing in the Major (WIM) JOUR 3382- Writing in the Major (WIM)
MATH 3311- Writing in the Major (WIM) ME 4152- Writing in the Major (WIM) MUHI 4302- Writing in the Major (WIM)
MUHI 4345- Writing in the Major (WIM) MUHI 4347- Writing in the Major (WIM) MUTH 3350- Writing in the Major (WIM)
PHYS 4311- Writing in the Major (WIM) PLSC 3327- Writing in the Major (WIM) PLSC 3330- Writing in the Major (WIM)
PLSC 3334- Writing in the Major (WIM) PLSC 3340- Writing in the Major (WIM) PLSC 3342- Writing in the Major (WIM)
PLSC 3352- Writing in the Major (WIM) PLSC 3358- Writing in the Major (WIM) PLSC 3360- Writing in the Major (WIM)
PLSC 4333- Writing in the Major (WIM) PLSC 4344- Writing in the Major (WIM) PLSC 4370- Writing in the Major (WIM)
PLSC 4381- Writing in the Major (WIM) PSYC 3301- Writing in the Major (WIM) SOCI 3301- Writing in the Major (WIM)
SOCI 4313- Writing in the Major (WIM) SOCI 4314- Writing in the Major (WIM) SOCI 4376- Writing in the Major (WIM)
SOCI 4377- Writing in the Major (WIM) SOCI 4384- Writing in the Major (WIM) SPAN 4302- Writing in the Major (WIM)
STAT 3341- Writing in the Major (WIM) STAT 4385- Writing in the Major (WIM) STRA 4370- Writing in the Major (WIM)
THEA 3382- Writing in the Major (WIM) WL 3383- Oral Communication (OC)

Questions or concerns about the course search update can be directed to theccmail@smu.edu.

 

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Office of Engaged Learning Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success University Advising Center

Engage Dallas launches 2-in-2 campaign to encourage more students to complete Common Curriculum graduation requirements

Engage Dallas launched a new 2-in-2 campaign with postcard mailings to all incoming first-year and transfer students this week.

The campaign encourages undergraduate students to complete their Community Engagement and Civics & Individual Ethics Common Curriculum graduation requirements through their Residential Commons during their first two years at SMU.

All incoming students were encouraged to start the Engage Dallas Canvas Course in the Campus Life Online Orientation Modules in Mustang StartUp orientation experience.

Students can sign up today to begin earning service hours through Engage Dallas by registering to participate in the following fall events–

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas.

For questions about Engage Dallas, please email engagedallas@smu.edu or visit their website.

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Student Academic Engagement & Success

Final updates made to 46 COVID-19 cohort students for one-time exceptions for Proficiencies and Experiences

The Office of General Education communicated on Monday, February 20, to the campus community about the one-time exception to two Common Curriculum Proficiencies & Experiences for COVID-19 cohorts.

Based on feedback from School Record Offices, we completed the last of three recommended audits to ensure students who dropped classes, withdrew, or did not pass a class with an applicable tag would receive the waiver(s).

We added the final round of waivers to 46 undergraduate students on the Common Curriculum. We applied 42 Community Engagement waivers and 37 Civics and Individual Ethics waivers.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of General Education at gened@smu.edu.

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Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Updates made to 44 COVID-19 cohort students for one-time exceptions for Proficiencies and Experiences

The Office of General Education communicated on Monday, February 20, to the campus community about the one-time exception to two Common Curriculum Proficiencies & Experiences for COVID-19 cohorts.

Based on feedback from School Record Offices, we completed the first of three recommended audits. The first audit was conducted today, a day after the originally published Withdrawl Deadline. We added waivers to 44 undergraduate students on the Common Curriculum who dropped courses with needed tags following the February 20 announcement. We applied 38 Community Engagement waivers and 37 Civics and Individual Ethics waivers.

The next audit will be conducted on Thursday (after the extended Withdrawl date due to the ice storm), and the final audit will be as soon as possible following the posting of final grades for the Fall 2023 semester to limit impacts on graduation verifications.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of General Education at gened@smu.edu.