Senate Passes General Ed Proposal
The general education proposal passed the Academic Senate on April 22 and will be forwarded to Paul Lang (Academic Affairs) for his consideration. The senate voted on the general education piece with its eight measurable learning outcomes. It also voted separately on new university graduation requirements that students demonstrate competencies in written English and mathematics. These two will join the existing world cultures and lab science requirements. All pieces were approved with minor revisions that need to be incorporated in the final proposal sent to the provost.
“I would consider the passage of this proposal a major step forward in a long process,” said Jill Leonard (Biology) of the general education committee. “Through the action of the Senate, the university has decided to make a significant change to its general education approach that will result in an enhanced experience for our future students. It is also noteworthy that with the shift in direction toward AACU-LEAP approaches to general education, we solidify our position within the community of institutions that are progressive in their offerings for their students and enhance our active participation in the higher education discussion. Moving forward, there is still much work that needs to be done to get the new program ready for the students and we are planning out those elements now.”
Larry Pagel (Business), chair of the Academic Senate, added, “I believe the passage of the general education proposal is a significant step forward that will benefit our students, and I am thrilled that this Academic Senate was able to debate the proposal and pass it.”