The Joint Committee on General Education (JCGE) is part of an ongoing, multi-phase process of review and evaluation of the University’s General Education program. The committee’s work builds directly upon earlier efforts, including the General Education Unification Taskforce and the RWM Initiative, which identified areas for consideration and provided initial recommendations.
As outlined in its charge, the JCGE is not acting independently of prior work, but rather as a continuation of institutional review. Its responsibility is to examine those earlier recommendations, incorporate additional input from faculty, students, academic leadership, and governance bodies, and evaluate how those considerations align with current institutional needs.
The committee’s role is exploratory and evaluative in nature. It is charged with developing and refining potential approaches to General Education that take into account multiple factors, including student outcomes, program alignment, transfer considerations, and credit requirements. This includes reviewing available data, analyzing feedback from surveys and town halls, and considering how different models may address identified challenges.
Importantly, the committee does not enact changes to General Education requirements. Its role is to prepare a formal proposal for consideration through established shared governance processes. Any recommendations developed by the committee are submitted to the Academic Senate, which serves as the formal deliberative body. Subsequent review and action occur through the Provost and, where applicable, the Board of Trustees.
In this context, the work of the JCGE should be understood as one stage within a broader governance framework. The committee is tasked with identifying and presenting potential solutions based on prior work and current input, while final decisions are made through the University’s established academic governance structure.
There were three proposals that were brought to the table, however, the committee voted to not extend our charge or the deadline of our committee beyond the charge itself, and due to that majority vote, two of the proposals did not make it to the town halls. However, some of the information was worked into the final proposal, which included many drafts.
The proposal that was presented was intended as a starting point, not a final proposal, to facilitate discussion around General Education and potential adjustments that could be made to fulfill our charge. In conjunction with this effort, surveys were conducted to gain deeper insight from both students and faculty.
Students were asked open-ended questions to better understand their perceptions of their General Education experience, including its strengths and areas in need of improvement. Faculty were invited to provide feedback on the proposal, both positive and critical, as well as to share their perspectives on General Education reform more broadly. We now have a better idea of how to move forward to include many other voices down the line.
The Joint Committee of General Education and Leslie Sukup and Paige Young.