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Office of General Education

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on April 5, 2024

The Council on General Education met on April 5, 2024. The meeting minutes for March 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 Agenda for April 5, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the March 8, 2024, Council on General Education meeting.
  3. External Test Credit Review (AP, IB, CLEP) Working Group (Melina)
    1. Field specialists have been reviewing External Test Credit for AP, IB, and CLEP exams. They reviewed exam syllabi, compared them to SMU’s Common Curriculum rubrics, and assigned/maintained tags where applicable. This is still an ongoing review, and we are currently seeking volunteers to assist in reviewing the remaining exams.
    2. Recommendations and Vote (see below after agenda)
  4. Rubric Review (Dayna)
    1. Global Perspectives-Update
    2. SL- American Sign Language
  5. CC Proposals (Peter)
    1. Course Proposals
      1. MUHI 1313 (Introduction to Critical Music Studies)- Critical Reasoning
      2. ASCE 1310 (Ceramic Technology)- Technological Advances & Society (revised)
      3. BUSE 2311 (Perspectives of Business: Automobile)- Technological Advances & Society
      4. ARHS 3376 (Latin American Art)- Creativity & Aesthetics
      5. ASAG 1310 (Word and Image: 1900-present)- Creativity & Aesthetics
      6. ASAG 1350 (On Beauty)- Creativity & Aesthetics
      7. FM 1300 (Fashion Communication)- Social & Behavioral Sciences
      8. PHIL 3384 (Capitalism and Its Critics)- Philosophical, Religious, & Ethical Inquiry
      9. RELI 3392 (World Films, World Religions)-Philosophical, Religious, & Ethical Inquiry and Global Perspectives
      10. WL 3307 (Perspectives on French Identity)- Global Perspectives and Civics & Individual Ethics
      11. UNIV 1270 (Personal Finance and Branding)- Quantitative Applications
      12. FM 1350 (Fashion & Diversity)- Human Diversity
    2. Activity Proposals
      1. Lavender Leaders- Human Diversity
      2. CORE- Human Diversity
      3. Dr. Dennis Simon Civil Rights Pilgrimage- Civics & Individual Ethics
  6. General Education Office Updates (Dustin)
    1. Catalog Updates Finalized
    2. Peruna Passport Updated
    3. Degree Planner Pre-Approved and Individual Activities in the Co-curricular
    4. Critical Reasoning Fulfillment Requirements Vote Results

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 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 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

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 General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

201 Common Curriculum student records updated due to AP credit

On February 15, the Office of General Education (OGE) shared details of the new automation, which awards Advanced Placement (AP) credit for specific Common Curriculum graduation requirements. 

With the assistance of the Registrar’s Office, OGE audited student records to determine eligible CC students (AP scores of 4 or 5) who would satisfy Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE) and/or Quantitative Applications (QA).

OGE updated 201 student records as a result of the audit. Specifically, 74 students satisfied the CIE graduation requirement and 192 satisfied the QA requirement. Students were notified on March 8, 2023, concerning these DPR updates. Copies of the student communications are below.

Future SMU students will automatically receive this credit, as it is now established in their Catalog.

To: QA updated students with AP credit (n = 192)

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

Title: Congratulations! Your Quantitative Applications graduation requirement has been satisfied with AP credit

March 8, 2023

Dear Student –

The Office of General Education wants to inform you that your Quantitative Applications (QA) Proficiency & Experience graduation requirement has been satisfied with your Advanced Placement (AP) credit.

Following an administrative review of your external test credit, you were identified as a student with an AP score of 4 or 5 that could satisfy the Quantitative Applications requirement. Therefore, your QA requirement is now satisfied due to the new automation for AP credit.

Should you have an issue with your DPR, please get in touch with your academic advisor, who may submit a DPR Issue request on your behalf.

We hope this is welcomed news since you are one step closer to completing your graduation requirements!

Sincerely,

Dustin K. Grabsch, PhD
Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education & Academic Success

To: CIE updated students with AP credit (n = 74)

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

Title: Congratulations! Your Civics & Individual Ethics graduation requirement has been satisfied with AP credit

March 8, 2023

Dear Student –

The Office of General Education wants to inform you that your Civics & Individual Ethics (CIE) Proficiency & Experience graduation requirement has been satisfied with your Advanced Placement (AP) credit.

Following an administrative review of your external test credit, you were identified as a student with an AP score of 4 or 5 that could satisfy the Civics & Individual Ethics) requirement. Therefore, your CIE requirement is now satisfied due to the new automation for AP credit.

Should you have an issue with your Degree Progress Report (DPR), please get in touch with your academic advisor, who may submit a DPR Issue request on your behalf.

We hope you welcome this news since you are one step closer to completing your graduation requirements!

Sincerely,

Dustin K. Grabsch, PhD
Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education & Academic Success

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Office of General Education

Student records updated to satisfy Quantitative Applications with ECO 1311

The Office of General Education, enacting the vote of the Council of General Education, has updated 920 student records who have satisfied the Quantitative Applications Proficiency & Experience via completing ECO 1311 – Principles of Microeconomics.

Effective fall 2022, ECO 1311 now satisfies the Proficiency and Experience requirement. After auditing ECO 1311 syllabi from fall 2020 to fall 2022, no substantial differences in the course design and learning outcomes were found by the Office of General Education. Therefore, student records were bulk updated to satisfy this graduation requirement – rather than requesting petitions be completed by students.

Students received the good news with a celebratory email on Thursday, September 22.

If you have any questions about this update or suggest an audit, please contact the Office of General Education at theccmail@smu.edu or call (214) 768-6168.