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Proposed SCSU General Education Program
Background
The SCSU General Education program was last revised in 1997 as part of the conversion from quarters to
semesters. In 2004-2005, the Strategic Planning Committee for General Education concluded in a
position paper that since the SCSU General Education curriculum was essentially developed over 25
years ago it needed to be reviewed (3/21/2005 GE Position Paper) . The Committee recommended
revision in four areas—developing a mission for General Education at SCSU, developing assessable
student learning goals, integrating curricular areas relevant for the 21st century, and facilitating transfer.
On April 12, 2005, the Faculty Senate voted to accept the Strategic Planning draft document on General
Education and to begin conversations to look at general education at SCSU.
In 2006-2007, the General Education Committee began a review of the General Education program that
encompassed the development of a mission for General Education and possible Goal Areas for General
Education that would be relevant to students graduating in the 21st century. This review included
consulting general education resources from the Association of American Colleges and Universities and
the Higher Learning Commission (See GE Resources). The review process emphasized sharing
information with faculty on the SCSU General Education website and inviting faculty to participate in
creating a general education mission and goal areas at meetings during convocation and faculty forum
days. Based upon their review of the current literature on general education and faculty feedback, the
committee drafted 15 Goal Areas for possible inclusion in a general education program at SCSU. On
January 24, 2006, the SCSU Faculty Senate approved the new General Education program mission.
During Spring 2006, faculty who taught general education courses were encouraged to volunteer to
draft proposed student learning outcomes for the proposed goals areas. Well over 50 faculty
participated in the initial drafting of student learning outcomes for 15 Goals Areas.
During 2007-2008 the General Education Committee focused on two tasks 1) careful revision of the goal
areas and student learning outcomes for clarity (e.g., eliminating disciplinary jargon) to facilitate
transparency for all constituencies, consistency of organization and word, and assessability of student
learning outcomes; and 2) design of the overall structure of the program. Consideration of the
structure of the program included the combining, reconfiguration, or elimination of proposed Goal
Areas.
Additional Factors/Environmental Constraints
The Committee has considered additional factors in drafting this proposed General Education Program.
These factors include 1) transferability within MnSCU, 2) compatibility with Degree Audit Reporting
System (DARS), and 3) the Legislative mandate that all academic progress be completed within a 120
credit limit with limited exceptions.
1. Transferability. Current academic data indicates that an increasing number of our students
transfer credits from other MnSCU institutions to SCSU. Transferability of courses within
MnSCU is increasingly important to students’ decisions about which higher education institution
to attend. While recognizing the importance of transferability, the General Education
Committee believes General Education at SCSU has distinctive qualities for student learning we
wish to maintain. For example SCSU students take general education courses from an
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exceptionally diverse range of disciplines, must complete an upper-level writing requirement
within their major, and benefit from an array of international studies programs.
2. Compatibility with DARS. DARS is the on-line degree audit system used throughout MnSCU to
track student progress in their degrees. The current SCSU General Education is not compatible
with DARS. The proposed General Education Program would be compatible with DARS.
3. Legislative Mandate. The Minnesota legislature has mandated that it is possible for students to
complete all academic programs within MnSCU within 120 credits, with a limited number of
exceptions. The structure of the proposed General Education Program is designed to make it
possible for students to complete their programs with 120 credits, with limited exceptions.
On December 4, 2008, a Memorandum from the Office of the Chancellor informed the SCSU
administration that we are out of complience with the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MTC) and stated
that SCSU has until September 1, 2010 to “correct inconsistencies with Policy and Procedure and to
require general education that include the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum”. Fortunately the proposed
program would address this problem. In order to meet the deadline the approval process must move in
a timely fashion.
Major Differences
The proposed General Education Program differs from the current General Education Program. The
current program has a set of five criteria that characterize commonalities of a liberally educated person,
three of which must be satisfied by general education courses for inclusion in the program. In the
proposed program, these criteria are combined in a unified General Education Mission Statement and
course criteria are included under 13 Goal Areas and are defined by learning outcomes. The Goal Areas
are written to facilitate transparency to both external and internal constituencies by presenting Student
Learning Outcomes for each goal area.
Proposed SCSU General Education Program
SCSU General Education Mission (FA approved 1/24/06): The General Education Program at SCSU is
committed to the idea of liberal education that provides knowledge, skills and experiences and promotes
critical thinking and ethical values for a lifetime of integrative learning in a diverse and changing society.
In achieving this mission, the General Education Program at SCSU promotes a breadth of student
knowledge and appreciative understanding of different modes of inquiry that are important to their
personal development and the creation of an informed public.
Proposed SCSU Gen Ed Goals
Goal Area 1: Communicate Orally & in Writing
May Be Satisfied By:
1 approved course or experience
for written communication and 1
approved course or experience
for oral communication
1 approved course or experience
2 approved courses (one of
which must be a designated lab
course) or 1 approved course
(which must be a designated lab
Goal Area 2: Critical Reasoning
Goal Area 3: Natural & Physical Sciences
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Goal Area 4: Mathematical Thinking & Quantitative Reasoning
Goal Area 5: History and the Social & Behavioral Sciences
Goal Area 6: Humanities & (Fine Arts)
Goal Area 7: Racial & Ethnic Diversity in the U.S.
Goal Area 8: Global Perspectives
Goal Area 9: Ethical and Civic Engagement
Goal Area 10: Environmental Issues
Goal Area 11: Information Literacy & Technology
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course) and 1 approved
experience.
1 approved course or experience
2 approved courses or
experiences
2 approved courses or
experiences
1 approved course or experience
1 approved course or experience
1 approved course or experience
1 approved course or experience
1 approved course or experience
Draft Goal Statements and Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) can be found on the SCSU General
Education website at http://www.stcloudstate.edu/generaleducation/docpolicies/
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All students must complete a minimum of 40 credits of General Education coursework.
All courses in the program must go through the regular curriculum approval process for
designation as a General Education Course and must be included in the General Education
Assessment Plan.
Only courses completed at the 100 level and above will count as completing a General Education
goal area. This includes courses transferred from other institutions.
General Education courses may be double counted with courses required for a major or minor.
Courses in the major may be counted for General Education, if they have a General Education
designation.
Some goals may be satisfied by experiences other than an individual course (e.g., internship,
study abroad, completion of major, or sequence of courses). Experiences that would satisfy a
Goal Area must be approved through the curriculum process as a special curriculum proposal.
A course or other experience may satisfy up to 2 goal areas.
A course must complete 60/70/75% (still to be decided) of the SLOs for a Goal area in order for a
source or experience to complete a goal area.
SCSU is committed to student learning in multiple areas of human diversity. The SCSU General
Education program implements this commitment with the requirement that a student complete
three approved courses or experiences.
o Goal Area 7: Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the U.S.;
o Goal Area 8: Global perspectives; and
o One additional General Education course that has a Diversity flag.
Only one course can be from Goal Area 7.
There is no limit on the number of courses a department may offer for General Education; no
courses may be excluded from the program because of their prefix.
Per legislative mandate, a transferring MnSCU student who has completed a MTC goal area at
another MnSCU institution will have completed the equivalent goal area of General Education at
SCSU.
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Additional University Requirements
The Committee intends to ask the Faculty Association for guidance to consider existing and potential
University Requirements. The current requirements are Upper Division Writing Requirement, the
Respect and Responsibility Workshop, and PESS 122 (Fitness for Living). As part of the process of
identifying the characteristics of the liberally educated person, the General Education Committee
found that several goal areas were more appropriately completed by students late in their college
career. Additional requirements that might be considered are Integrative Learning and
Collaboration.
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