A Brief Review of General Education
Models and Programs
Spring 2013
Committee Members: Renata Gangemi, Romulo Magnaye,
Robert Mentore, Paula Straile-Costa, Ashwani Vasishth, and
Samantha Wittenberg

• Our review is cursory at best, given the time constraints
• We limited our review to the level of categories, and did NOT drill down to the course level
• Our work should be the start of a process of exploration, not the end of it

(K. Waltzer, 2000)
• To become broadly educated (beyond the high school level)
• To begin to develop intellectual and moral imagination
• To become acquainted with different ways of knowing
• To increase capacities to think critically and independently
• To prepare for upper-level work in the disciplines
• To develop capacities generally useful to life and freedom, independent learning, and citizenship

• There are two broad courses open to Ramapo
College, in considering its General Education
Curriculum:
1. Build on our existing structure, and strengthen it
2. Erect a new structure entirely

( retrieved from University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse General Education
Committee website: http://www.uwlax.edu/gened/Committee.htm
)
• Whichever course we choose to take, we recommend the following:
1. Intentional (alignment among goals, outcomes, actions, results)
2. Based on institution’s mission and broad goals
3. Outcome based (curriculum, pedagogy, assessment derived from expected outcomes)
4. Receives institutional support in terms of student learning, resource allocation, and faculty reward structure

5. Faculty generated and with faculty endorsement and commitment (regular input from the faculty)
6. Integrated into the major or student’s program of study (across the baccalaureate degree)
7. Focuses on development of life-long learning and developing knowledge, skills and dispositions for participation as a citizen (in a democracy and globally)
8. Emphasis on integration or making connections across courses/disciplines

9. Is viewed as one piece of a liberal education, not the totality of a liberal education
10.Best faculty teach in the program
11. Based on active learning
12. Assessment is integral to the program
(embedded assessment & programmatic assessment)
13. Accountability for student learning

• Core Courses:
– First-Year Seminar
– Critical Reading and Writing II
– Readings in the Humanities
– Social Issues or Perspectives in Business in Society

• Distribution Categories:
– History
– Mathematical Reasoning
– Science with Experiential
– Intercultural North America
– International Issues
– Topics: Arts and Humanities or Social Sciences

• http://www.ramapo.edu/provost/ceresources/
• http://ww2.ramapo.edu/facultystaff/fa/gecco
/reports/Gen-Ed-SLOs-CurriculumMap.doc

(R.R. Newton, 2000)
• Great Books– liberal arts colleges
• Scholarly Discipline–
Research-oriented universities
• Effective Citizen– institutions with clientcentered/public mission orientation

(R.R. Newton, 2000)
Model
Key Insight
Curriculum
Orientation
Faculty
Great Books Scholarly
Discipline
Perennial human questions
Unified historical review of responses in
Western tradition
Looks to past enduring ideas
Broadly educated generalist
Accumulated wisdom and ways of understanding the world
Key concepts and methods to be pieced together by students as a mosaic of disciplines
Understanding intellectual treasures and methods
Disciplinary experts
Effective
Citizen
Service to a selfreforming democracy
Knowledge and skills to prepare students for a modern society
Develops tools and commitment
Specialists educating nonspecialist students

Core & Fluid Models
(K. Waltzer, 2000)
• Fluid-distribution requirement or set of requirements
• Core-pre-designed required course or sequence of courses; emphasis on inter-relatedness of knowledge
MODEL
Fluid Core
Key feature
Curriculum
Distribution or set of requirements
Expose students to many disciplines
Pre-designed sequence of courses
Expose students to a specific tradition or content
Difficult to organize Faculty Easy to organize
Integration
Culture of choice
Dependent upon advising – a weak link
Satisfied for students
Built into the curriculum through design
Not satisfied for students

– Christian affiliation, in south central Michigan
– Vision: Education for Individual and Social Responsibility
– Liberal Arts Core curriculum (8 semesters) provides common learning and shared experiences leading to a Portfolio
Liberal Arts Core Curriculum Requirements
(41-43 credit hours)
Seminar (up to 8 credits,
1 credit per semester)
Writing &
Rhetoric I &
II
Creative
Experience
Mathematics
Self &
Community
Natural
World
Service
Learning
Civilization
Studies
Global
Diversity
Senior
Experience
PORTFOLIO

– Only 1 requirement: first year seminar
• Inquiry-based introduction to
– Critical thinking
– Active learning
– Writing
• Otherwise, an open curriculum
– Leads to gaps in learning after increasing student diversity
– New proposals by Committee on Academic Priorities
• Add 2 more intensive writing courses
• Add 2.5 new courses for quantitative literacy
• Provide more direction through academic advising

Liberal Learning (revised in 2002) – educating students for citizenship in a modern democracy
Goal 1 - Intellectual and Scholarly Growth, FYS, Writing, Second
Language
Goal 2 - Civic Responsibilities – Global, race/ethnicity, gender – fulfilled by courses in gen. ed., the major and/or extended experiences*
*Community Engagement Requirement provides students with the opportunity to think critically and inclusively about their society and develop a hands-on understanding of the effects of class, power, and privilege

Goal 3 - Broad Sectors of Human Inquiry – Breadth
Option A Choose an interdisciplinary minor or second major
Option B Design your own interdisciplinary minor or second major
Option C Breadth Distribution – 3 courses in each
Arts and Humanities
Social Sciences and History
Natural Science and Quantitative
Reasoning

• No majors, no general education curriculum, no courses, no grades
– Students design an academic pathway, rather than enroll in a major (workshops are provided, faculty advise)
– Programs based on a theme or topic (inter- and multidisciplinary) are team-taught by 2 or more faculty members
• Each program is 16 credits and spans 2 or 3 quarters
• Each program may consist of lectures, labs, readings, seminars, field study, studio work, or research projects
• Programs are based on a theme and taught from different perspectives
– evaluative narratives are used to assess student learning

– Religiously affiliated liberal arts college with two campuses located in Annapolis, MD and Santa Fe, NM
– No strict distinction between the sciences and the humanities
– Reading list “serves as the core of the […] curriculum”
• First year is devoted to Greek authors
• Second year “contains books from the Roman, medieval, and
Renaissance periods”
• Third year covers 17 th and 18 th centuries
• Fourth year covers 19 th and 20 th centuries

• There are many models
• Most general education programs do not fall into one model, but rather are hybrids
• The key is constant communication between
Task Force II and the faculty
• 90% of colleges and universities are in some stage of remodeling their general education programs

Amherst College Committee on Academic Priorities (2006). The Committee on
Academic Priorities 2006 (CAP). Retrieved from https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/dean_faculty/general_information/cap
The Evergreen State College. Academics. Retrieved from http://www.evergreen.edu/academics.htm
Hart Research Associates (2009). Trends and emerging practices in general education. Retrieved from http://www.aacu.org/membership/documents/2009MemberSurvey_Part2.pdf
Olivet College. The Olivet Plan. Retrieved from http://www.olivetcollege.edu/about/olivet_plan.php
Olivet College. Academic overview. Retrieved from http://www.olivetcollege.edu/academics/overview.php
Newton, R.R. (2000). Tensions and models in general education planning,
Journal of General Education, 49(3), 165-181.

St. John’s College (2013). Reading list. Retrieved from http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/academic/readlist.shtml
The College of New Jersey. Liberal learning guide. Retrieved from http://firstreg.pages.tcnj.edu/liberal-learning/
University of Wisconsin LaCrosse General Education Committee
(2006). Best practices in general education. Retrieved from http://www.uwlax.edu/gened/Best%20Practices%20in%20General%20Education.
doc
Waltzer, K. (2000). General education models: Pros & cons of general education strategies. Retrieved from http://web.ewu.edu/groups/academicaffairs/strategicplanning/GenEdModelsProCon.pdf
Zagari-Marinzoli, R. Advising FAQ for humanities and social sciences students and faculty. Retrieved from http://hss.pages.tcnj.edu/advisingresources/advising-faq-for-hss-faculty-and-students/