Tag: general education

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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on October 17, 2025

The Council on General Education met on October 17, 2025. The meeting minutes for September 26, 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 October 17, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for September 26, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Rubric Updates (Dayna)
    1. Academic Writing (AW)
    2. Historical Contexts (HC)
    3. Philosophical, Religious, and Ethical Inquiry (PREI)
  4. Ethics Tool Project (Dustin)
    1. Course Outreach List
  5. Simple Syllabi SACSCOC Outreach (Dustin)
    1. Summary Table
    2. Course Outreach List
  6. Office Updates (Dustin)
    1. Place-Based Community-Based Symposium
      1. Registration deadline-10/24
    2. Transfer Summit- Save the Date 2/13/2025
    3. CC Assessment Calendar Cycle
      1. Tags being reviewed 2025-2026
        1. Exploring Science (ES)
        2. Global Perspectives (GPS)
        3. Human Diversity (HD)
        4. Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS)
        5. Technological Advances and Society (TAS)
      2. Rater Sign-up
    4. Tag Removal Course
      1. PLSC 3347-PREX-HD
        1. Effective Spring 2026
    5. Transfer Credit Evaluation Process Update
      1. GT forms
  7. Executive Vice President and Provost Rachel Mersey
    1. 1:15 pm – 1:30 pm

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 26, 2025

SMU display

The Council on General Education met on September, 26, 2025. The meeting minutes for September 5, 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 September 26, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for September 5, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Course & Experience Proposals
    1. Revised Proposals
      1. HIST 1333 (Ethical and Political Thought in Ancient China)-HC, PREX-CIE, PREX-GPS
    2. New Proposals
      1. FILM 3335 (Film Exhibition and Distribution) – TAS
      2. UNIV 2302 (Mixed Media Technology Applications)-TAS
      3. HIST 2316 (Flight Culture in Global History)-TAS
      4. ANTH 4325 (Introduction to Comparative Osteology)-PREX-QA
      5. UHP 3301 (Cities in Mind: Dublin)- LAI & PREX-W
      6. UHP 3304 (Great Books)- LAI & PREX-W
      7. FILM 1301 (Art of Film & Media)- LAI
      8. ARHS 3313 (Pompeii: Art and Life in a Roman City)- CA
      9. UNIV 3307 (Change Makers: Exploring Social Justice in Civic Leadership)- PREX-GPS
      10. HIST 2316 (Flight Culture in Global History)- PREX-GPS
      11. UNIV 3307 (Change Makers: Exploring Social Justice in Civic Leadership)- PREX-CE & PREX-CIE
      12. UNIV 1103 (Building Bridges: The Ethics of Service)- PREX-CE
      13. Alternative Breaks- PREX-CIE (Activity)
      14. Fraternity & Sorority Life Greek Council Leadership-PREX-CE (Activity)
  1. Office Updates
    1. Writing Board: Triauna Carey (Chair)
    2. SAES Blog Newsletter (blog.smu.edu/saes)
    3. Common Curriculum Assessment Design Assistant

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

Office of General Education and Maguire Ethics Center utilized AI to identify and solicit ethics-related course proposals

The Office of General Education, in partnership with the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility, is embracing innovation to help students complete their Common Curriculum (CC) requirements more efficiently, by using artificial intelligence to analyze 6,807 active SMU courses and identify those that may align with the Philosophical, Religious, and Ethical Inquiry (PREI) or Civic and Individual Ethics (CIE) requirements.

Using the National Ethics Project’s Ethics Course ID Tool, we uploaded SMU’s course catalog data, which included titles and descriptions.

As described on their website, “The Ethics Course ID Tool is a valuable resource for colleges and universities seeking to identify ethics-related courses. With just a simple upload of course catalogs, users receive scored outputs that indicate the likelihood of a course being ethics-related. Developed through a combination of expert knowledge and advanced natural language processing techniques, the ECIT has been rigorously validated through empirical studies involving experts in ethics education. By utilizing the ECIT, institutions interested in enhancing ethics education can facilitate integration of ethics across the curriculum.”

This AI tool generated applicability scores, helping us pinpoint 80 SMU courses that naturally fit these areas but don’t yet carry a CC designation.

Our Course Outreach list indicates which course instructors and departments we have reached out to. Academic departments can find detailed instructions on our Course & Experience Proposal webpage. Please refer to the Council on General Education website for any upcoming proposal deadlines.

Together, we can make it easier for students to meet general education requirements while recognizing the excellent learning experiences already taking place in SMU courses.

For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on September 5, 2025

The Council on General Education met on September 5, 2025. The meeting minutes for April 25, 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 September 5, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for April 25, 2025, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Welcome and Introductions
  4. CC Human Diversity Requirement Task Force Update
  5. Graduating Students Community Engagement Update
  6. Simple Syllabi and SACSCOC Audit
  7. Course and Experience Outreach Campaign
  8. General Education Updates
    1. Place-based Symposium 11/5-11/6
    2. Common Curriculum Reading
      1. Fall Book-Infectious Generosity
    3. Archived University Curriculum (UC)
    4. Course Removals
    5. Course Proposals-Summer
    6. Writing Board Update
    7. CoGE 2025-2026 Meeting Dates
    8. New CoGE Member Training Scheduling

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

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Office of General Education

The Office of General Education archives the University Curriculum website and petitions

The Office of General Education will archive the University Curriculum (UC) website and petitions on July 18, 2025.

The UC applies to students who entered (matriculation into) SMU between Fall 2012 through Spring 2020.

Currently, only 17 undergraduate students are active on this curriculum, with only 8 students enrolled for fall 2025.

A copy of the archived site will be available online. University Curriculum-related petitions in DocuSign may be accessed by emailing theuc@smu.edu. Please refer to the students’ catalog, the archived website, and the Office of General Education for any other assistance.

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Office of General Education

Council on General Education 2025-2026 meeting schedule and proposal deadlines posted

The Office of General Education has announced the Council on General Education’s 2025- 2026 meeting dates. Meetings will be held from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm on the following dates:

Fall 2025

  • September 5, 2025 (in-person; Blanton 110/112)
  • September 26, 2025 (proposal meeting)
    • Submit course proposals by 9/5 
  • October 17, 2025
  • November 7, 2025 (proposal meeting)
    • Submit course proposals by 10/17
  • December 5, 2025

Spring 2026

  • January 30, 2026
  • February 20, 2026 (proposal meeting)
    • Submit course proposals by 1/30
  • March 13, 2026
  • April 10, 2026 (proposal meeting)
    • Submit course proposals by 3/20
  • May 1, 2026 (in-person; Blanton 110/112)

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

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Office of General Education SMU in Four Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Success & Retention University Advising Center

Forging Ahead: Summer Forge Launches Third Year of Student Success

  

Summer Forge has officially launched its third summer of support with a cohort of 30 undergraduate students. Designed to accelerate students’ paths to on-time graduation, Summer Forge offers financial, academic, and social resources to help participants thrive.   

This summer, invited students received funding for up to 11 semester credit hours across May, Summer I, and/or Summer II terms. To enhance accessibility, room and board were provided for non-local students. Collectively, the Summer 2025 cohort is attempting over 180 credit hours, with most students enrolling in an average of 6 hours that fulfill major, minor, or Common Curriculum requirements.   

Summer Forge is a collaboration between the Office of Student Success and Retention, SMU in Four, Student Financial Services, Student Advising, and Academic Skill Development that reflects the university’s commitment to improving retention and graduation rates. Program Co-Directors Brittaney Wilson, General Education and Academic Appeals Coordinator, and Lisa Miller, Director of the Office of Student Success and Retention, identified eligible students based on key academic criteria and their intent to enroll at SMU in Fall 2025.  

To foster community among participants, Summer Forge hosted a June Social at Another Round, where students connected over mini golf, pickleball, and more.  

Special thanks to Becca Umobong from Academic Skill Development for leading a powerful Academic Skills Workshop to help students build a foundation for summer academic success. In addition to the workshop, students are receiving one-on-one academic counseling sessions provided by Sarah Cartwright, Gracy Herrera, Chris Meyers, Makenzie Moriarty, and Rebecca Umobong. Students are also encouraged to visit the  Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center (A-LEC) for tutoring across a wide range of course topics.  

A heartfelt thank you goes to the advisors who recommended students and supported outreach efforts—your partnership is invaluable to this program’s success. 

For questions or more information, please email summerforge@smu.edu 

  

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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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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.