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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

Council on General Education – Spring 2024 Meetings

The Office of General Education has announced the Council on General Education’s Spring 2024 meetings.

Meetings will be held via Zoom from 11:30am – 1:00pm on the following dates:

  • February 2, 2024
  • February 23, 2024 (proposal meeting)
  • March 8, 2024
  • April 5, 2024 (proposal meeting)
  • April 26, 2024 (in-person; location TBD)

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.

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Office of General Education

The Council on General Education approves changes to Common Curriculum Critical Reasoning fulfillment requirements

On Friday, December 1st, the Council on General Education approved a change in the Common Curriculum Critical Reasoning fulfillment requirement effective Spring 2024.

Since the establishment of the Common Curriculum in Fall 2020, the Critical Reasoning Foundation component required undergraduate students to (1) achieve a C- or better and (2) not drop or withdraw from a CR course. Effective Spring 2024, students can now drop or withdraw from a CR-tagged course.

This change was warranted due to the recently announced changes to the Critical Reasoning rubric and the efforts to develop courses outside of the Writing and Reasoning Program (WRTR). Beginning in Spring 2024, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs (CCPA) and Journalism (JOUR) will offer CR-tagged courses.

The Office of General Education will coordinate updates to impacted course descriptions, syllabi language, and websites with academic departments before winter break. This recent approval will be reflected in the Undergraduate Catalog for the 2024 – 2025 academic year.

Student progress through the Common Curriculum Foundation components will be monitored and enforced via the University-wide Requirements for Academic Progress articulated in the Undergraduate Catalog. 

The fulfillment requirements of a C- letter grade and the inability to drop and withdraw remain in effect for the Academic Writing Foundation component.

Please direct questions to the Office of General Education at theccmail@smu.edu.

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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 Student Academic Engagement & Success

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on October 20, 2023

The Council on General Education met on October 20, 2023. The meeting minutes for September 29, 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 October 20, 2023, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the September 29, 2023, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. CoGE Secretary Election
  4. Course Proposal Update
    1. Courses tabled from Spring 2023
      1. WL 3311 (Food/ Identify in the SW) – TAS
    2. Courses approved still pending assessment meeting.
      1. ASIM 1300 (Introduction to Digital/Hybrid Media) – TAS
    3. Courses approved pending assessment meeting: CC tags added.
      1. RELI 3331 (Renewal: Roman Catholicism) – PREI
      2. ARHS 3355 (Exhibiting Cultures Curating and Interpreting the Arts of the Global South) – CA
      3. UHP 3301 (STEM Communications) –PREX-W
    4. Courses tabled pending revisions.
      1. ASCE 1310 (Ceramic Technology) – TAS
      2. ENGL 1363 (The Myth of the West) – PREX-HD
      3. APSM 3360 (Nutrition and Population Health) – PREX-CIE
  5. Course Proposal Form Feedback Discussion
  6. Common Curriculum Assessment Results
    1. CC Components Assessed
    2. Presentation at December 1st CoGE Meeting
  7. CoGE Working Groups (Spring/Summer)
    1. External Test Credit Review (AP, IB, CLEP)
    2. Re-Evaluation of Transfer Credit on Texas Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS)
  8. General Education Office Updates
    1. November 2/3 Engage Dallas Place-based Community Engagement Symposium
      1. November 2nd 4:30-7:00pm at SMU Indoor Performance Center
      2. November 3rd 9:00-1:00pm at Dallas College- West Dallas Campus

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

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on September 29, 2023

The Council on General Education met on September 29, 2023. The meeting minutes for September 01, 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 September 29, 2023, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the September 1, 2023, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Critical Reasoning Update
    1. Meadows, Lyle, and Dedman
    2. Phase Update
      1. Phase 4
      2. Phase 5
    3. December 1 Proposal Deadline
  4. CoGE Secretary Election
    1. Duties and Responsibilities
      1. Assists with counting and recording votes.
      2. Reviews CoGE minutes for accuracy and details.
  5. Course/Experience Proposals Administrative Review Process
  6. Course Proposal
    1. JOUR 1313 (Writing and Critical Reasoning) – CR
    2. CCPA 1313 (Writing and Critical Reasoning) – CR
    3. ASIM 1300 (Introduction to Digital/Hybrid Media) – TAS
    4. ASCE 1310 (Ceramic Technology) – TAS
    5. RELI 3331 (Renewal: Roman Catholicism) – PREI
    6. ARHS 3355 (Exhibiting Cultures Curating and Interpreting the Arts of the Global South) – CA
    7. WL 3388 (Future Worlds: French Science Fiction from the Enlightenment to the present) – LAI
    8. ENGL 1363 (The Myth of the West) – LAI/PREX-HD
    9. APSM 3360 (Nutrition and Population Health) – PREX-CIE
    10. UHP 3301 (STEM Communications) – PREX-OC/PREX-W
    11. BLI 1210 (Business Communications) – PREX/OC
  7. General Education Office Updates (Dustin)
    1. ARHS 3315 (Classical Sculpture) – CA
      1. During rollover course was approved for both CA and HC. They want this to count for CA. Gen Ed submitted catalog update effective Jan 2024.
    2. Student Outreach Schedule
      1. Workshops
      2. Zoom Hours
      3. Pop-Up Tabling
    3. Admin Imaging Update
    4. Breadth Swap Petition (students matriculated Fall 2023 or later)
    5. November 2/3 Engage Dallas Place-based Community Engagement Symposium RSVP by October 20, 2023
      1. November 2nd 4:30-7:00pm at SMU Indoor Performance Center
      2. November 3rd 9:00-1:00pm at Dallas College- West Dallas Campus
    6. Recently removed CC tags from courses
      1. Process Reminder
        1. ARHS 3338-W
        2. ECO 1311-SBS
        3. ENGL 2315-CA
        4. FILM 1304-CA
        5. HIST 1321-OC
        6. HIST 3309-W
        7. SOCI 3312-W
        8. WL 3383-OC

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 01, 2023

The Council on General Education met on September 01, 2023. The meeting minutes for April 21, 2023 were approved at this meeting. Below is the agenda, and the meeting minutes have now been posted on the General Education website.

  1. Welcome & Introductions
  2. Approval of Agenda for the September 1, 2023, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Approval of Minutes for the April 21, 2023, Council on General Education meeting.
  4. Critical Reasoning Revision Background
  5. Critical Reasoning Rubric Review
  6. Critical Reasoning Spring Course Pilots
  7. New Course Proposal Forms
  8. Council on General Education Meeting Schedule
  9. 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

Council on General Education approved updates to the Common Curriculum Critical Reasoning rubric

On Friday, September 1st, operating within its scope of authority, the Council on General Education approved an update to the Common Curriculum Critical Reasoning rubric.

Critical Reasoning was assessed for the first time in Summer 2021 by the Office of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness. Following that round of assessment, raters recommended reviewing and revising the rubric, which they found difficult to apply in many cases. A faculty-led committee was charged to review and revise the rubric over the summer.

Further review of the rubric found that although the learning outcome for Critical Reasoning is appropriate to the components (Students will demonstrate university-level critical reasoning proficiencies through written expression), the supporting skills emphasize writing and are nearly identical to the supporting skills for Academic Writing requirement, which has a different learning outcome (Students will develop competency, clarity, coherence, and organization in their writing). Plus, writing is assessed separately under the Academic Writing, Writing, and within the academic evaluation process.

The current design of the Critical Reasoning rubric has functioned as a barrier to the development of courses outside of the Writing and Reasoning Program (WRTR), mainly because of the primary focus on academic writing in the current iteration of the rubric. Therefore, efforts to revise the Critical Reasoning rubric have been joined with this effort to expand offerings in Critical Reasoning beyond WRTR 1313, WRTR 2304, and WRTR 2306.

Common Curriculum course proposal forms and the online rubrics were updated with the newly-approved rubric.

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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on April 21, 2023

The Council on General Education met on April 21, 2023. The meeting minutes for March 31, 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 April 21, 2023 Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the March 31, 2023 Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Previously Reviewed Proposals
    1. ITAL 2302-Breadth/CA
    2. WL 3311-Breadth/TAS, PREX/HD, PREX/GPS
    3. RUSS 3341-PREX/CIE, PREX/HD
    4. ADV 2343-PREX/GPS, PREX/HD
    5. ANTH 3314-PREX/HD
  4. New Proposal
    1. ADV 4399-PREX/OC
    2. ADV 3303-PREX/QA
    3. FILM 3352-Breadth/HC
    4. HIST 3365- Breadth/HC
    5. HIST 4388-Breadth/HC
    6. PLSC 4340-Breadth/SBS
    7. ENGL 2315-Breadth/LAI
    8. MATH 1340-FND/QR
  5. Activity Proposal
    1. Board Fellows Program- PREX/CE
  6. Office of General Education Updates

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