1. How do I propose a new GE course?
(or revise and propose an existing course for GE credit?)

CONSULT with both your Department Chair and the appropriate GE Area Chair in the initial planning stages.  The Department Chair must support your GE course proposal, and the GE Area Chair will provide you with assistance on how to meet the the specific GE Educational Objectives and Criteria.

Please allow plenty of time to develop your course, and follow the appropriate GE deadlines. Deadlines vary for courses proposed during the catalog cycle and courses proposed between catalog cycles. Phone calls, e-mail exchanges and personal meetings may be necessary to resolve questions and concerns.

2. What kinds of courses are we looking for in Area F?

A variety of courses from different departments may satisfy the Area F guidelines. Interdisciplinary courses are encouraged, as well as courses that involve sustainability. Courses may be submitted from any college.

3. Does the instruction in technology need to be hands-on?

Courses need to discuss technology, including its scientific and/or quantitative basis and how it works, but need not involve hands-on instruction of technology. Students do not need to build or do it; however, they should understand how someone would build or do it.

4. What is meant by technology?

The courses in Area F address technologies as an essential and integral component of the course. Approved courses have included a variety of different technologies. In some cases it is a technology that helps increase understanding of a topic, for example using digital data and images to understand the environment. In many cases, the technology itself is the main topic, for example aquaculture or reproductive methods.

Here are links to course proposals of representative courses:

Area F course samples

AG 350	The Global Environment	F
BIO 307	World Aquaculture	F
CRP 338	Digital Cities	F
HIST 358	Cloning	F
ME 321	Solar Energy	F
POLS 333	World Food Systems	F
WS 350	Gender, Race, Science and Technology	F

5. How much discussion of technology is required?

There is no fixed amount of time regarding the discussion of technology. The area committee looks to see that:

a) the technology is an essential part of the course. If you removed the technology, would you still have a course?

b) the underlying scientific and quantitative basis is used to see how the technology works.

ac) the technology is integrated throughout a substantial portion of the course. (It is not discussed in week 2 and then never reappears.)

6. How much discussion of the societal connections to technology is required?

There is no fixed amount of time specified regarding the discussion of the societal connections to technology. Discussion of the societal connections has to be present and the area committee looks to see that discussion of the societal connections is an integral and significant part of the course.

7.What is the prerequisite requirement for Area F courses?

Area F courses must be taught at the upper-division level and, as a minimum, require junior standing and completion of Area B.  If necessary, specific additional prerequisites may also be listed, though in doing so you may limit the audience for your course.  Please note that in your course proposal you will need to explain how your course builds upon the Area B foundation.

8. What is the GE course approval process?

See the GE Review Process for a general overview.

9. What do the GE committees look for in reviewing my course proposal?

The GE Committees are concerned primarily with Section IIA of the Course Proposal Form.  To complete this section, you will need to refer to the General Education Program Standards document approved in 1998.  This document explains the mission of the GE program and lists all the educational objectives and criteria by GE area.

In reviewing your course proposal, the GE Committees will be looking to see whether your course will make a valuable contribution to the GE program. 

• Is your course of high quality, with depth and rigor? 
• Is your course truly a general education course of benefit to students outside the major? 
• Is it accessible to students from many different majors and does it offer real breadth of knowledge? 
• To answer these questions, the GE Committees will be looking to see if your course fulfills the Educational Objectives and Criteria specified for its particular GE Area (e.g., F). 
• Proposals for lower-division courses should be foundational.
• Proposals for upper-division GE courses should be specific about how they build on the knowledge gained from lower-division GE courses in the same GE Area.

10. How do I work with the Course Description Form to write my GE proposal?

You can download the Word version of the Course Description Form, which is in a fill-in format where you tab to the different sections.  The GE Committees are concerned primarily with Section IIA of the Course Proposal Form. However, because this Form does not enable you to spell check or perform other functions, you might find it easier to write your proposal in your own version of Word, and then cut and paste it into the Form.  Doing so will ensure a cleaner and more accurate copy.

11. How is the regular curriculum review related to the GE review?

• The regular curriculum review is by the Department, College, and Senate Curriculum Committees
  
• The GE review is by (GE Area Committee and GE Governance Committee). 
  
• The GE curriculum cycle for the 09-11 catalog has not been finalized.
  Use the experimental course deadlines in between catalog cycles.