GenEd is about making connections--connections between academic knowledge and current controversies, connections across different areas of study, and connections between the classroom and the dynamic city of
Philadelphia.
The focus shifted from the acquisition of a central body of knowledge to the acquisition of abilities, permitting students to make connections and to problem solve across traditional disciplinary boundaries.
Competencies:
In short, the program of General Education empowers students to:
• Think critically
• Understand historical and contemporary issues in context
• Understand and apply knowledge in and across disciplines
• Communicate effectively orally and in writing
• Exercise scientific and quantitative reasoning
• Function as an engaged citizen in diverse and globalized world
• Identify, access, evaluate and use sources of information
• Develop lifelong curiosity
Requirements: 11 courses in 9 different areas; 29-30 credit hours.
FOUNDATION COURSES # Availability courses by area*
Analytical Reading &
Writing
Mosaic Humanities
Seminar I & II
Quantitative Literacy
1 course, 4 credits
2 courses, 3 credits each
1 course, 4 credits
2
2
7
BREADTH COURSES
Arts
Human Behavior
Race & Diversity
Science & Technology
1 course, 3 or 4 credits 18
1 course, 3 credits
1 course, 3 credits
2 courses, 3 credits each
11
15
17
U.S. Society
World Society
1 course, 3 credits
1 course, 3 credits
18
20

*GenEd courses are identified with the numbers "08XX." GenEd Honors courses are listed as "09XX."
Transfer Students/Waivers: In some circumstances--when they enter with qualifying AP scores or transfer credit, or due to their choice of a major or program--students will not be required to take certain GenEd courses.
Successful completion of an approved study abroad program provides a waiver from the World Society area of GenEd.
Philadelphia Experience: Philadelphia Experience is a theme that runs through the entire GenEd program, allowing students to blend real encounters in the city and region with their progress through the different
GenEd areas. An art course takes them to museums, dance performances and historic buildings. An education course places them in local schools and community centers. A science course includes visits to green roofs and community gardens.
Assessment- The four D’s: Declare, Design, Document and Do-Over
Three central tenets reside at the heart of the programmatic assessment of GenEd:
• Faculty are integral to the assessment process
• Student learning is best measured by examining work created in response to a classroom assignment. (ie direct and indirect evidence
- course assignments and exercises)
• Locally derived questions or instruments are most useful in evaluating student work. (ie indirect measures- NSSE), pre- and post- surveys of students’ PEX experiences, and supplemental student perception surveys also provide insight into the program’s effectiveness.)
Developed internal multiyear plan that focuses attention on two competencies a year using locally- and collaboratively-developed rubrics to evaluate student accomplishments.
The Temple Gen Ed process:
GenEd hosted “Investigating GenEd,” a discussion series open to the university community in November 2008. Faculty who attended this sevenpart series reviewed draft definitions for seven of the eight program competencies (excluding “lifelong curiosity”) and invited commentary. GenEd incorporated the suggestions and feedback of the more than 100 individuals who participated in this process, and distributed the revised definitions to

the faculty. Again, GenEd solicited feedback and integrated responses to finalize the working definitions.
Any faculty may propose a general education course. A GenEd Executive
Committee (GEEC), reviews course proposals, with an interest not just in the material the course covers, but in what students will be doing with that material.