UNO General Education Committee
2010-2011
2010-2011 UNO General Education Committee
Deborah Smith-Howell, facilitator
College representatives selected by each college by a college determined process.
Jody Neathery-Castro, Arts & Sciences (Robert Shuster & David Peterson,
alternates)
Kath Henebry, Business Administration
Melissa Berke , Communication, Fine Arts & Media
David Conway, Education (Becky Schnabel, alternate)
Deepak Khazanchi, Information Science and Technology
Scott Tarry, Public Affairs & Community Service, (Julie Masters, alternate)
UNO General Education Committee Charge
(adopted in each college by faculty vote, Spring 2010)
The General Education Steering Committee consists of one representative from
each college who is designated by the college. The process by which a college
selects and interacts with its representative is determined b each college.
The committee is charged with following responsibilities:



Establishing the definition, criteria and learning outcomes for each
university general education area.
o Criteria will be informed by the campus prioritization of general
education learning outcomes.
o The student learning outcomes will be explicitly stated and available
in the general education section of the undergraduate catalog.
Reviewing syllabi and approving courses that can be used to satisfy the
requirements of a particular general education area.
o Approved courses must receive unanimous consent of the committee
membership.
Facilitating on-going review, assessment, and modification of the university
general education curriculum.
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UNO General Education Committee
2010-2011
Background
2009-2010
UNO’s strategic plan envisions a student centered institution of academic
excellence. In support of this goal, a campus wide discussion about general
education learning outcomes was begun in 2007. In Spring 2009, general education
was selected as one of three new action projects identified as part of our continuous
quality improvement initiative As UNO is an AQIP institution, action projects are
key components of UNO’s institutional accreditation. Deborah Smith-Howell,
Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean for Graduate Studies
facilitated the 2009-2010 General Education AQIP Steering Committee. The
members of the committee were:
David Boocker, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Dana Richter-Egger, Director, Math and Science Learning Center
Joseph Brown, Psychology
Shelton Hendricks, Psychology/Faculty Senate
David Conway, Associate Dean, College of Education
Deepak Khazanchi, Associate Dean, College of Information Science and
Technology
Scott Tarry, Aviation Institute
Julie Masters, Gerontology
Lisa Sandlin, Writers Workshop
Kath Henebry, College of Business Administration
Definition: A general education curriculum is a set of designated courses that
represent an “important core of learning, shared by all students no matter their
areas of concentration” (Leakes & Miller, General Education: A Self-Study Guide
for Review & Assessment, AAC &U, 2005, p. 2) designed to meet specific goals of an
institution. Note: While colleges and majors may have specific requirements for
students outside the specific major, such requirements are NOT necessarily
university general education requirements.
Background: UNO’s current “general education” or “core curriculum” (2009-2010,
Undergraduate Catalog, p. 69) was developed in 1988 and fully implemented in
1990. However, no mechanism was established for the on-going review,
coordination, or assessment of the curriculum, nor were specific learning objectives
developed at that time.
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UNO General Education Committee
2010-2011
Goals for UNO General Education:

UNO’s general education curriculum should “ensure that each graduate of
UNO possesses certain academic skills, experiences the breadth of a liberal
education and develops an appreciation for the cultural diversity that exists
in the nation and the world” (2009-2010, Undergraduate Catalog, p. 69).

UNO’s general education program curriculum should be student-centered:
o There should be clear articulation of the curriculum and options for
students.
o Students, faculty, and advisors should know how students can meet
the university general education requirements.

UNO’s general education program should be aligned with the student
learning outcomes desired of all UNO graduates as developed by the faculty.

There should be identified methods for assessing the effectiveness of the
general education curriculum in meeting the goals articulated by the faculty.
Need for change:

The current general education curriculum is incoherent to internal
audiences—students, faculty, and staff—as well as to external audiences,
such as accreditation agencies.

Students are often confused by and dissatisfied with the current general
education curriculum.
o Students’ dissatisfaction with academic advising is in part linked to
the inconsistency across colleges with what is called “general
education”. In the 2007-2008 Baccalaureate Outcomes survey, 24.2%
were neutral regarding the “advising I received in my first two years at
UNO” and 25.9% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
o Significant differences on “general education requirements” across
colleges and even across departments/majors within a college can
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UNO General Education Committee
2010-2011
create confusion for students and advisors (both faculty and
professional staff).
As the 2009 Academic Advising Task Force discovered, while
there are university-wide general education requirements, how
students in each major are required to meet the distribution
requirements in the social sciences, fine arts & humanities, and
natural sciences varies tremendously.
o For example, history courses fulfill humanities requirements for
the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, and
Information Science & Technology and the School of
Communication. Those same courses count as social science
requirements for the Colleges of Education, and Public Affairs
and Community Service and the Departments of Music, Theatre,
Art & Art History, and Writers Workshop. A recent development
in the College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media will allow
for history courses to count as either humanities or social
science.
o

As students change majors many face additional coursework identified as
“general education.”
o Students may have already met the so-called “general education”
requirements of their previous major.
o Changing majors is the “norm” rather than the exception at UNO.
o Over 50% of graduates who entered UNO as incoming first year
students moved to a major in a different college at least once.
o Over 40% of graduates who came as transfer students moved to
a major in a different college at least once.
o These percentages do not include change of majors within
colleges, which in some instances actually change the so-called
“general education” requirements.

Lack of coherence and consistency in general education negatively affects
academic advising:
o There is a lack of understanding and knowledge of the myriad
requirements and variations by colleges and departments.
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UNO General Education Committee
2010-2011
o Students often perceive that advisors are either incompetent or not
student-friendly; that students are given the “run-around.”
o Without articulated goals and a known curriculum, advisors cannot
help students understand WHY they are taking specific coursework.

Without learning objectives or a known curriculum, the university cannot
articulate or assess its general education curriculum
o Students do not understand why or for what purpose they are taking
“general education” courses other than “they say so.”
o There is an expectation from the North Central Association /Higher
Learning Commission that general education will be explicit and
assessable.
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UNO General Education Committee
2010-2011
UNO’s six academic colleges adopted the following in May 2010:
1. University General Education Requirements
a. Definition of University General Education –
i. University general education is applicable to all colleges.
ii. Individual colleges, schools, departments or units may have
additional specific requirements for students. However, these
requirements will not be considered as university general
education requirements.
iii. The courses in university general education distribution
requirements will not have any prerequisites beyond the
fundamental academic skills requirements ( e.g. English 1150 or
Algebra 1310)
b. The university general education requirements structure will remain
the same as laid out in the current catalog (p. 69). The total credit
hours required for university general education will be reduced from
the current range of 45-51 to 41-47. This reduction is due to a
clarification relating to the inconsistent interpretation of the total
distribution requirements (see below) and to be accurate and
consistent with what students must do to meet the requirements. The
proposed requirements include:
 15 credit hours of Fundamental Academic Skills (unchanged)
 26 credit hours of Distribution Requirements in the following
areas. (Note: Previously the individual minimum for each area
added up to a total of 24 credit hours. However, total stated
distribution requirements in the catalog were 30 credit hours.
This reduction is an attempt to clarify any inconsistent
interpretation).
 Natural & Physical Sciences (8 hours from at least two
different disciplines with at least one laboratory course);
 Humanities & Fine Arts ( 9 hours from at least two
different disciplines); and
 Social & Behavioral Sciences (9 hours from at least two
different disciplines).
 6 credit hours of Cultural Diversity (may be taken in the
distribution requirements). (unchanged)
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UNO General Education Committee
2010-2011

NOTE: Students may “test out” of the English and Algebra
requirements. (unchanged)
2. General Education Steering Committee
The General Education Steering Committee consists of one representative from
each college who is designated by the college. The process by which a college
selects and interacts with its representative is left to each college.
The committee is charged with following responsibilities:



Establishing the definition, criteria and learning outcomes for each
university general education area.
o Criteria will be informed by the campus prioritization of general
education learning outcomes.
o The student learning outcomes will be explicitly stated and available
in the general education section of the undergraduate catalog.
Reviewing syllabi and approving courses that can be used to satisfy the
requirements of a particular general education area.
o Approved courses must receive unanimous consent of the committee
membership.
Facilitating on-going review, assessment, and modification of the university
general education curriculum.
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