Ohio Northern University
University General Education Plan
Faculty Guide
This document is intended to serve as an overview of the May 2009 adopted report
entitled “Final Report of the General Education Committee As Amended by
Academic Affairs, March 30, 2009.” A copy of this report can be downloaded from
the Academic Affairs website. Click on the general education link on the right-hand
side. You can then click on the link to the report from within the opening paragraph.
Overview
The purpose of the general education program at Ohio Northern University is
to provide students with a well-rounded education and with opportunities to
develop, as the University’s mission statement puts it, “into self-reliant men and
women open to dealing with the contemporary world, actively involved in their
learning, capable of clear and logical thinking and sensitive to the higher values of
truth, beauty and goodness.”1
The capabilities we believe students should cultivate to achieve the
University’s mission are outlined in the seven University-wide learning outcomes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Effective communication
Critical and creative thinking
Scientific and quantitative literacy
An understanding of diverse cultures and their effects on human
interaction
Integration of concepts across disciplines
Informed and ethical responses to personal, civic, and global needs
Informed responses to aesthetics in art and nature
The Final Plan of the 2009 General Education Committee passed in May 2009 states that the
purpose of the program is to “cultivate undergraduate student abilities as specified by general
education LEARNING OUTCOMES.” (Final Plan 3). As developed by the 2009 General Education
Committee in conjunction with the curriculum committees and faculty of all four undergraduate
colleges at ONU, the seven learning outcomes support the mission of the University (Catalog 2009-10
8; Final Plan 4).
1
Components of the program
The general education program at Ohio Northern has three major
components that must be completed by students to fulfill general education
program requirements:
1.
a series of four university courses taken throughout their
University career and designed to help students achieve learning
outcomes and integrate major with non-major studies and skills;
a set of courses to fulfill degree requirements established by the
undergraduate colleges and designed to provide students with a
well-rounded education; and
a portfolio collection of “artifact” projects or assignments
completed as part of “tagged” courses or activities, and collected by
the University to evaluate its progress in helping students achieve
the above learning outcomes.
2.
3.
Accountability
The General Education program holds students accountable for progress
toward graduation in the following ways:
1.
2.
3.
Minimum grade of “C” in all four required University General
Education Courses
Minimum grades set by each college in all courses fulfilling a degree
requirement
Collection in a portfolio of 20 specified artifacts (student projects)
generated in tagged courses i
Required University General Education Courses
All students are required to take the following courses:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Transition Experience (must be taken first semester of study; offered
by the student’s college; addresses the transition from high school to
college life; demonstrates ties between general education and the
major; must be tagged for “Critical and Creative thinking” at a
minimum).
Writing Seminar (must be taken by all undergraduates during the first
year; must be tagged for “written Communication”; class size of 20
maximum; administered by the English Department)
Extra-disciplinary seminar (taken sophomore/P2 or junior/P3 year;
course must be housed outside the student’s college or division; class
size of 18 maximum; must include active learning strategy; must be
tagged for “Critical and Creative Thinking”)
Capstone (mandatory for all students; tagged for “Effective
Communication” and “Critical and Creative Thinking”; produces
“substantial project” determined by college or major to be placed in
the portfolio; “normally two terms in length,” although exceptions
may be granted by the University general education Committee; may
be interdisciplinary; may satisfy degree or program requirements).
Principles of Course Design
1.
Courses offered to fulfill degree and program requirements can be tagged for
General Education outcomes and produce artifacts for student portfolios.
2.
Courses offered for degree requirements can also be designed to fit the
requirements for Extra –Disciplinary Seminar.
3.
To be tagged for an outcome, courses should devote a significant portion of
course time and focus to the outcome and produce an artifact designed to
demonstrate that outcome
4.
No course offered for general education may fulfill more than three learning
outcomes
5.
Courses may generate one artifact per credit hour. Courses may generate no
more than two artifacts per outcome. CAVEAT: In many cases, generating two
artifacts per outcome will not benefit students or faculty. It is also true that no one
course can generate all the artifacts required for a single learning outcome, and all
outcomes except Critical and Creative and Effective Communication thinking
require only 2 artifacts.
Artifact Design
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Artifacts should help students make progress in the outcome they are
designed to meet;
Artifacts should match most of the rows (criteria) in the rubrics
developed by faculty for that outcome and the tag for the course;
Artifacts generated in co-curricular or extra-curricular activity should
comprise graded coursework or their individual, identifiable
contribution to graded group activity.
Artifacts should be in a format that is appropriate for archiving
Exemptions from these principles can be made with the approval of
the University General Education Committee
Portfolio Planning
Faculty should take the following into consideration when helping students plan to
complete their General Education Portfolio:
Students will have to collect 20 artifacts total to complete their general
education requirements;
There are two artifacts required for each outcome EXCEPT for Critical and
Creative Thinking and Effective Communication, which require four.



Effective Communication must include two artifacts each from: 1) Effective
Communication—Writing, and 2) Effective Communication—Non-writing forms
Two of the artifacts are “free”—students may choose to take any tagged course(s) as
long as they can generate two artifacts from them.
50% of the artifacts must be generated outside the student’s college
(professional colleges) or department’s major (A & S).
Table 1 on the next page links general education learning outcomes, academic courses and
activities approved for the general education program, and artifact production. A student shall
have completed the general education program when the student has submitted for inclusion in
his or her portfolio at least 20 artifacts that meet the specified requirements of each learning
outcome.
General Education Tag Submission Process
To assist with the general education tag approval process, a course submission form is provided
on the Academic Affairs website. Click on the general education link on the right-hand menu,
and then click on the word “online form” in the text. You can quickly enter the necessary dropdown info and then at the bottom click on “Produce MS Word form” and save a copy to your PC.
At your leisure, you can then add the paragraph descriptions and other information using MS
Word. Email it to Julie Hurtig (j-hurtig@onu.edu) when you are finished.
What courses have been tagged?
Please click on the “A-Z” index on the onu.edu website and select “G” for “General Education
for Faculty and Students”. Near the bottom of this webpage, there is a pdf file that lists all
tagged courses at ONU and a link to perform a “Schedule Catalog/Search” on the registrar’s
website.
Table 1
Relationship of Artifacts to General Education Courses and Activities
General Education Course Framework
ExtraDisciplinary
Seminar
Courses and
Other Work
Senior
Capstone
As tagged
As tagged
Artifact
Required
2
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
2
2 - Critical, Creative
Thinking
Artifact
Required
Artifact
Required
As tagged
Artifact
Required
4
3 - Scientific Literacy
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
2
4 - Diversity, Human
Interaction
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
2
5 - Integration of
Disciplines
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
2
6 - Informed, Ethical
Responses
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
2
7 - Aesthetics
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
As tagged
2
As tagged
As tagged
General Education
Outcome
Transitions
Experience
Writing
Seminar
1 - Communication
(Writing)
As tagged
Artifact
Required
1 - Communication
(Non-writing forms)
From Learning
Outcomes 1-7
Minimum
Number of
Artifacts
2
TOTAL
20