This executive order is issued pursuant to Title 5, California Code of Regulations, Sections 40402.1, 40403, 40405, 40405.1, 40405.2, 40405.4, and 40508, and the Standing Orders of the Board of Trustees, Section II(a).
This executive order is intended to establish a common understanding of the minimum requirements for CSU General Education Breadth and to provide for the certification of coursework completed by transfer students at regionally accredited institutions. Reciprocity among the CSU campuses for full and subject-area completion of lower-division General Education Breadth Requirements is also addressed in this executive order.
This document also addresses:
·
Applicability
of the policy (Article 1, page 1),
·
Pathways
to fulfillment of general education requirements (Article 2, page 2),
·
Premises
of CSU General Education Breadth (Article 3, page 4),
·
Distribution
of General Education Breadth units (Article 4, page 6),
·
Transfer
and articulation (Article 5, page 9),
·
Implementation
and governance (Article 6, page 16).
Article 1. Applicability
1.1 Prior to Completion of CSU
Lower-Division General Education Requirements
The
requirements, policies, and procedures adopted pursuant to this executive order
shall apply to students enrolling in fall 2008 and subsequent terms who have
not previously been enrolled continuously at a campus of the CSU or the California Community Colleges and who have not
satisfied lower-division general education requirements according to the
provisions of Title 5 Sections 40405.2 or 40405.3.
1.2 Subsequent to Completion of Entire CSU
General Education Requirements
Subsequent
to initial completion of all CSU general education requirements (at the lower
and upper divisions), a student may not be required to satisfy further exclusively
general education requirements associated with an additional major program or
baccalaureate degree.
Article 2.
Fulfilling General Education Requirements in the CSU
2.1 Pathways
Policies
adopted by the Board of Trustees in July 1991 provide three pathways for
undergraduate students to fulfill CSU general education requirements:
1.
CSU General
Education Breadth
Fulfillment of CSU General Education
Breadth Requirements (Title 5, Section 40405.1), including the completion of an
upper-division requirement consisting of a minimum of nine semester units or
twelve quarter units at the CSU campus granting the baccalaureate degree; or
2.
Intersegmental
General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)
Completion of the Intersegmental General
Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) (Title 5, Section 40405.2), as certified
by a California community college, plus a minimum of nine upper-division
semester units or twelve upper-division quarter units at the CSU campus
granting the baccalaureate degree; or
3. University of California (UC) Campus Lower-Division
Completion of lower-division general
education requirements of a University of California campus (Title 5, Section
40405.3), as certified by that campus, plus a minimum of nine upper-division
semester units or twelve upper-division quarter units at the CSU campus
granting the baccalaureate degree.
Implementation of this alternative is contingent on development of a
formal agreement between the California
State University
and the University
of California.
2.2 Minimum
Requirements
2.2.1 General
Education Requirements
Every
baccalaureate candidate who has not completed either the IGETC or UC-campus
pathway specified in Article 2 shall complete the CSU General Education Breadth
requirements described in Article 4, Subsections A through E, totaling a
minimum of 48 semester units or 72 quarter units.
2.2.2 Minimum Grades
Each
CSU campus shall establish the minimum grades for satisfactory completion of
CSU General Education Breadth courses.
2.2.3 Upper-Division
Requirement
At
least nine of these semester units or twelve of these quarter units must be
upper-division level, taken no sooner than the term in which upper-division
status (completion of 60 semester units or 90 quarter units) is attained.
2.2.4 Residency
Requirement
Campuses
may require that at least nine of the 48 semester units or twelve of the 72
quarter units shall be earned at the campus granting the degree. In all cases, students shall meet the
residency requirements specified in Title 5 Section 40403.
2.2.5 Exceptions
Exceptions
to the foregoing requirements may be authorized only under the following
circumstances:
a. In
the case of an individual student, the campus may grant a partial waiver of one
or more of the particular requirements of Title 5 of the California Code of
Regulations, Section 40405.1, to avoid demonstrable hardship, such as the need
to extend the time required for completion of the degree in the case of a
senior-level transfer student.
b. In
the case of high-unit professional major degree programs, the chancellor may
grant exceptions to one or more requirements for students completing the
particular program. Such exception must
be approved at the campus level prior to initiating a request to the
Chancellors Office. A full academic
justification shall be submitted to the executive vice chancellor and chief academic
officer, Academic Affairs, who shall submit his or her recommendation and the
campus recommendation (along with all relevant documents) to the chancellor.
c. Each campus is authorized
to make reasonable adjustments in the number of units assigned to any of the five
required distribution areas (A through E) if campus requirements and CSU GE-Breadth
distribution requirements unduly exceed any of the minimum GE Breadth credit
requirements. However, in such
cases, the total number of general education units required shall not be fewer than
48 semester units or 72 quarter units.
(No campus is required to adjust normal course credit configurations for
the sole purpose of meeting the requirements specified herein.)
2.2.6 Double
Counting
2.2.6.1 General
Education, Major, and Other Requirements
Through
a process of campus-wide curriculum review and approval, campuses may permit
the double counting of courses for General Education Breadth with major
requirements and prerequisites only after giving careful consideration to the
impact of such actions on general education programs.
2.2.6.2 General
Education and US History, Constitution, and American Ideals Statutory
Requirement
CSU
campuses may permit up to six semester units or eight quarter units taken to
meet the United States History, Constitution, and American Ideals Requirement
(Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 40404) to be credited
toward also satisfying General Education Breadth Requirements.
Article 3. Premises
of CSU General Education Breadth
3.1 Background
CSU
General Education Breadth requirements have been designed to complement the
major program and electives completed by each baccalaureate candidate, to assure that graduates
have made noteworthy progress toward becoming truly educated persons.
These
requirements are designed to provide the knowledge, skills, experiences, and
perspectives that will enable CSU students to expand their capacities to take
part in a wide range of human interests and activities; to confront personal, cultural,
moral, and social problems that are an inevitable part of human life; and to
cultivate both the requisite skills and enthusiasm for lifelong learning. Faculty are encouraged to assist students in
making connections among disciplines to achieve coherence in the undergraduate
educational experience.
Courses
approved for GE-Breadth should be responsive to the need for students to have
developed knowledge of, or skills related to, quantitative reasoning,
information literacy, intellectual inquiry, global awareness and understanding,
human diversity, civic engagement, communication competence, ethical decision-making,
environmental systems, technology, lifelong learning and self-development, and
physical and emotional health throughout a lifetime.
3.2 CSU
Student Learning Outcomes
Each
CSU campus shall define its GE student learning outcomes, to fit within the
framework of the four Essential Learning Outcomes drawn from the Liberal Education and Americas Promise
(LEAP) campaign, an initiative of the Association of American Colleges and
Universities.
LEAP
Essential Learning Outcomes Framework
·
Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and
Natural World
·
Intellectual and Practical Skills
·
Personal and Social Responsibility
·
Integrative Learning
Within
the LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes framework, campuses may identify more
specific outcomes, such as students ability to:
·
think clearly and logically;
·
demonstrate information competencyfinding and
examining information critically;
·
carry out effective oral communication;
·
write effectively;
·
apply quantitative reasoning concepts and skills
to solve problems;
·
make informed, ethical decisions;
·
understand and apply the scientific method;
·
apply learning from study abroad experiences to
general education areas;
·
utilize technology in pursuit of intellectual
growth and efficacious human interaction;
·
demonstrate understanding of human beings as
physiological and psychological organisms;
·
demonstrate understanding of the physical world
in which they live and the life forms with which they share the global
environment;
·
demonstrate knowledge of cultural endeavors and
legacies of world civilizations;
·
demonstrate understanding of how human societies
have developed and now function;
·
apply
socially responsive knowledge and skills to issues confronting local or global
communities;
·
demonstrate life skills such as financial
literacy;
·
understand and apply the principles,
methodologies, value systems, ethics, and thought processes employed in human
inquiry;
·
engage in lifelong learning and
self-development; and
·
integrate and apply the insights gained from general
education courses.
3.3 Entry-Level Learning Skills
3.3.1 Minimum
Competency
Title 5
of the California Code of Regulations, Section 40402.1, provides that each
student admitted to the California
State University
is expected to possess basic competence in the English language and
mathematical computation to a degree that may reasonably be expected of
entering college students.
3.3.2 Remediation
Students
admitted who cannot demonstrate such basic competence should be identified as
quickly as possible and be required to take steps to overcome those
deficiencies. Any coursework completed
primarily for this purpose shall not be applicable to the baccalaureate degree.
Article 4 Subject
Area Distribution
Instruction
approved to fulfill the following subject-area distribution requirements should
recognize the contributions to knowledge and civilization that have been made
by members of diverse cultural groups and by women as well as men.
Area A
English Language
Communication and Critical Thinking
Minimum 9 semester units
or 12 quarter units
-one
course in each subarea
A1 Oral Communication (3
semester units or 4 quarter units)
A2 Written Communication (3
semester units or 4 quarter units)
A3 Critical Thinking (3
semester units or 4 quarter units)
A
minimum of nine semester units or twelve quarter units in communication in the
English language, to include both oral communication (subarea A1) and written
communication (subarea A2), and in critical thinking (Area A3), to include consideration
of common fallacies in reasoning.
Students
taking courses in fulfillment of subareas A1 and A2 will develop knowledge and
understanding of the form, content, context, and effectiveness of
communication. Students will develop
proficiency in oral and written communication in English, examining
communication from the rhetorical perspective and practicing reasoning and
advocacy, organization, and accuracy.
Students will practice the discovery, critical evaluation, and reporting
of information, as well as reading, writing, and listening effectively. Coursework must include active participation
and practice in both written communication and oral communication in English.
In critical thinking (subarea A3) courses, students will understand logic and
its relation to language; elementary inductive and deductive processes,
including an understanding of the formal and informal fallacies of language and
thought; and the ability to distinguish matters of fact from issues of judgment
or opinion. In A3 courses, students will
develop the abilities to analyze,
criticize, and advocate ideas; to reason inductively and deductively; and to
reach well-supported factual or judgmental conclusions.
Area B Scientific
Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning
Minimum of 12 semester units or 18 quarter units
-one course each in
subareas B1, B2, and B4, plus laboratory activity related to one of the
completed science courses
B1 Physical Science (3
semester units or 4 quarter units)
B2 Life Science (3
semester units or 4 quarter units)
B3 Laboratory Activity associated with a course
taken
to satisfy either B1 or
B2
B4 Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning
(3
semester units or 4 quarter units)
A minimum of
twelve semester units or eighteen quarter units to include inquiry into the
physical universe and its life forms, with some immediate participation in a
related laboratory activity, and into mathematical concepts and quantitative
reasoning and their applications.
In subareas
B1-B3, students develop knowledge of scientific theories, concepts, and data
about both living and non-living systems.
Students will achieve an understanding and appreciation of scientific
principles and the scientific method, as well as the
potential limits of scientific endeavors and the value
systems and ethics associated with human inquiry. The nature and extent of laboratory
experience is to be determined by each campus through its established
curricular procedures.
Courses in
subarea B4 shall have an explicit intermediate algebra prerequisite, and
students shall develop skills and understanding beyond the level of
intermediate algebra. Students will not
just practice computational skills, but will be able to explain and apply basic
mathematical concepts and will be able to solve problems through quantitative
reasoning.
Area C Arts
and Humanities
Minimum of 12 semester units or 18 quarter
units
-at
least one course completed in each of these two subareas:
C1 Arts:
Arts, Cinema, Dance, Music, Theater
C2 Humanities: Literature,
Philosophy, Languages Other than English
A
minimum of twelve semester units or eighteen quarter units among the arts,
literature, philosophy and foreign languages.
Across the disciplines in their Area C coursework, students will
cultivate intellect, imagination, sensibility and sensitivity. Students will respond subjectively as well as
objectively to aesthetic experiences and will develop an understanding of the
integrity of both emotional and intellectual responses. Students will cultivate and refine their
affective, cognitive, and physical faculties through studying great works of
the human imagination. Activities may
include participation in individual aesthetic, creative experiences; however
Area C excludes courses that exclusively emphasize skills development.
In their
intellectual and subjective considerations, students will develop a better
understanding of the interrelationship between the self and the creative arts and of the humanities in a
variety of cultures.
Students
may take courses in languages other than English in partial fulfillment of this
requirement if the courses do not focus solely on skills acquisition but also
contain a substantial cultural component.
This may include literature,
among other content. Coursework
taken in fulfillment of this requirement must include a reasonable distribution
among the subareas specified, as opposed to restricting the entire number of
units required to a single subarea.
Area D Social
Sciences
Minimum of 12 semester units or 18 quarter units
A
minimum of twelve semester units or eighteen quarter units dealing with human
social, political, and economic institutions and behavior and their historical
background.
Students
learn from courses in multiple Area D disciplines that human social, political
and economic institutions and behavior are inextricably interwoven. Through fulfillment of the Area D
requirement, students will develop an understanding of problems and issues from
the respective disciplinary perspectives and will examine issues in their
contemporary as well as historical settings
and in a variety of cultural contexts.
Students will explore the principles, methodologies, value systems and
ethics employed in social scientific inquiry. Courses that emphasize skills
development and professional preparation are excluded from Area D. Coursework
taken in fulfillment of this requirement must include a reasonable distribution
among the subareas specified, as opposed to restricting the entire number of
units required to a single subarea.
Area E Lifelong
Learning and Self-Development
Minimum
of 3 semester units or 4 quarter units
A
minimum of three semester units or four quarter units in study designed to
equip learners for lifelong understanding and development of themselves as
integrated physiological, social, and psychological beings.
Student learning in this area
shall include selective consideration of content such as human behavior,
sexuality, nutrition, physical and mental health, stress management, financial
literacy, social relationships and relationships with the environment, as well
as implications of death and dying and avenues for lifelong learning. Physical activity may be included, provided
that it is an integral part of the study elements described herein.
Article 5. Transfer
and Articulation
This
article pertains to regionally accredited non-CSU institutions that certify
transfer students fulfillment of CSU General education breadth requirements.
5.1 Premises
of General Education Breadth Transfer and Certification
a. It is the joint responsibility of the public
segments of higher education to ensure that students are able to transfer
without unreasonable loss of credit or time.
b. The faculty of an institution granting the
baccalaureate degree have primary responsibility for maintaining the integrity
of the degree program and determining when requirements have been met.
c. There shall ordinarily be a high degree of
reciprocity among regionally accredited institutions unless there are specific
indications that such reciprocity is not appropriate.
5.2 Conditions for Participation in CSU
General Education Breadth Certification
Any
institution that is accredited by a recognized regional accrediting association
and that offers the BA or BS degree or the first two years of such degree
programs may participate in General Education Breadth certification if it
agrees to the following provisions:
a. The participating institution shall designate
a liaison representative who shall participate in various orientation activities
and provide other institutional staff with pertinent information.
b. The participating institution shall identify
for certification purposes those courses or examinations that fulfill the
objectives set forth in Article 3 of this executive order and such additional
objectives as may be promulgated by the chancellor of the California State
University.
1. The courses and examinations identified
should be planned and organized to enable students to acquire abilities,
knowledge, understanding, and appreciation as interrelated elements, not as
isolated fragments.
2. Interdisciplinary courses or integrated sets
of courses that meet multiple objectives of the CSU General Education Breadth
requirements may be appropriate components of general education.
3. Credit units of an interdisciplinary course
or integrated set of courses may be distributed among different areas of
general education, as appropriate.
c. The CSU Office of the Chancellor, Division of
Academic Affairs, shall maintain a list of participating institutions courses
and examinations that have been identified and accepted for certification
purposes.
1. Each entry in the list shall include
specification of the area or areas and objectives to which the course or
examination relates and the number of units associated with each area or
objective. (See Attachment A.)
2. The list shall be updated annually. Each participating institution shall transmit
annually to the CSU Office of the Chancellor, Division of Academic Affairs, any
proposed changes to its portion of the list.
If a course is to be added or if the specification of areas and
objectives for a course is to be modified, the participating institution shall
include in its submission the approved course outline. If a course is part of an integrated set of
courses, the submission shall identify the set and describe how the course
complements the others in the set.
3. A copy of the list shall be made available in
printed or electronic form to any CSU campus or participating institution. Participating institutions are free to share
their course outlines and communications from the CSU about those course
outlines with other participating institutions.
4. The participating institution shall be
responsible for reviewing periodically its portion of the list to assure that
entries continue to be appropriate and to reflect current knowledge in the
field. It is also responsible for
re-approving entries that are found to have remained appropriate and for
directing to the subcommittee of the Chancellors General Education Advisory
Committee any questions such updating of the courses may have raised as to
their congruence with CSU General Education Breadth areas and objectives.
5. The participating institution shall report
certification for individual students in a format to be specified.
5.3. Certification
Requirements
5.3.1 Definition
General
education certification shall indicate that a participating institution has
verified that a transfer student has met CSU lower-division requirements. CSU campuses shall accept participating
institutions full certification or subject-area certification, as defined
below.
5.3.2 Full Certification
5.3.2.1 Fulfillment of
Lower-Division Requirements
Students
admitted to a CSU campus with full certification shall not be held to any
additional lower-division general education requirements.
5.3.2.2 Additional Lower-Division Graduation
Requirements
Full
certification does not exempt students from unmet lower-division graduation
requirements that may exist outside of the general education program of the
campus awarding the degree.
5.3.2.3 Qualification for Full Certification
To
qualify for full certification, a student must satisfactorily complete no fewer
than 39 lower-division semester units or 58 lower-division quarter units of
instruction appropriate to meet the objectives of Articles 3 (Premises) and 4
(Distribution Areas). Community college
certification does not guarantee that all CSU campus admission requirements
have been met. The units must be distributed
as follows below (except as specified in Subsection 5.3.4 below):
a.
In Area A, no fewer than 9 semester units (12-15
quarter units), including instruction in oral communication, written
communication, and critical thinking.
b.
In Area B, no fewer than 9 semester units (12-15
quarter units), including instruction in physical science and life science, at
least one part of which must include a laboratory component, and
mathematics/quantitative reasoning.
c.
In Area C, no fewer than 9 semester units (12-15 quarter
units), with at least one course in the arts and one in the humanities (see
Attachment A).
d.
In Area D, no fewer than 9 semester units (12-15
quarter units), with courses taken in at least two disciplines (see Attachment
A).
e.
Area E, no fewer than 3 semester units (4-5 quarter
units).
5.3.3 Subject-Area (Partial) Certification
5.3.3.1 Fulfillment of Lower-Division
Requirements by Area
Students
admitted to a CSU campus with subject-area certification may not be held to any
additional lower-division general education coursework in the subject areas
certified.
5.3.3.2 Certification Limits on Credits that Exceed Minimum
Subject-Area Requirements
For
subject-area certification, campuses are not required to certify credits that
exceed the minimum number of units required for the five Subject AreasA
through E.
5.3.3.3 Additional Lower-Division Graduation
Requirements
Subject-area
certification does not exempt students from completing unmet lower-division
graduation requirements that may exist outside of the general education
requirements at the campus awarding the degree.
5.3.3.4 Qualification
for Subject-Area Certification
To
qualify for subject-area certification, a student must satisfactorily complete
instruction appropriate to meet the objectives of one or more subsections of Article
4 (Subject-Area Distribution). Except as
specified in Subsection 5.3.4, the units must be distributed as follows:
a.
For Area A, no fewer than 9 semester units (12-15
quarter units), including instruction in oral communication, written
communication, and critical thinking. A
single course may not be certified as meeting more than one subarea for any
given student.
b.
For Area B, no fewer than 9 semester units (12-15
quarter units), including instruction in mathematics/quantitative reasoning and
physical science and life science, at least one part of which must include a
laboratory component. A single course
may not be certified as meeting more than one subarea for any given student,
except for laboratory components incorporated into a physical or life science
course.
c.
For Area C, no fewer than 9 semester units (12-15
quarter units), with at least one course in the arts and one in the humanities
(see Attachment A).
d.
For Area D, no fewer than 9 semester units (12-15
quarter units), with courses taken in at least two disciplines (see Attachment
A).
e.
For Area E, no fewer than 3 semester units (4-5 quarter
units).
5.3.4 Exceptions
to Certification Requirements
At the discretion of the campus, exceptions
to the requirements
for full certification and subject-area certification (as specified above) may
be made for programs in which instruction is integrated into a set of courses
or into interdisciplinary courses designed to meet multiple objectives. Interdisciplinary courses in this case would
be expected to be offered at an appropriately greater number of units.
5.4 Certification
of Courses and Examinations
5.4.1 Qualification
for Certification
A
participating institution may certify completion of courses or examinations taken
at other eligible institutions, provided that all such courses and examinations
would be identified for certification purposes by the institution offering
them.
5.4.2 If
so identified, those courses and examinations shall contribute to qualification
of a student for either full certification or subject-area certification, as
appropriate.
5.4.3 California
Community Colleges may include non-CSU upper-division courses in certification
of lower-division CSU General Education Breadth or Intersegmental General
Education Transfer Curriculum.
5.5 Limitations
of Certification
5.5.1 Restriction
to General Education Requirements
Neither full certification nor
subject-area certification exempts students from unmet lower-division
graduation requirements that may exist outside of the general education program
of the campus awarding the degree.
5.5.2 Maximum
Number of Credits Allowed
5.5.2.1 Limit
on Certification on Total General Education Units
A
participating institution shall not certify a student for more than 39 semester
units or the quarter equivalent. If more
than one participating institution certifies a student, the CSU campus granting
the degree is not required to accept certification for more than 39 semester
units or the quarter equivalent.
5.5.2.2 Limit on
Certification of Units in Areas B through D
A
participating institution shall not certify a student for more than 30 semester
units (45 quarter units) total in subject areas B through D combined. If more than one participating institution certifies
a student, the CSU campus granting the degree is not required to accept
certification for more than 30 semester units (45 quarter units) total in
subject areas B through D combined.
5.5.2.3 Limit
on Requirements After Transfer
Upon
transfer, no student shall be required to complete more units in General
Education Breadth than the difference between the number certified in
accordance with this executive order and the total units in General Education
Breadth required by the campus granting the degree.
5.5.2.4 Restrictions
on Certification of Upper-Division Courses
Baccalaureate-granting
institutions certifying a student for units earned in upper-division courses or
examinations may provide certification only for those units that were completed
during or after the term in which the student achieved upper-division status
(i.e., earned a total of at least 60 semester units or 90 quarter units).
5.6 General
Education Reciprocity Among CSU Campuses
5.6.1 Full Lower-Division Reciprocity
a. Full lower-division reciprocity is the
process through which all lower-division general education requirements that
one CSU campus has designated as having been satisfactorily and entirely
completed shall be accepted as fulfilling all lower-division general education
requirements of the CSU
campus granting the baccalaureate degreewithout regard to differences
that may exist between the GE requirements of
two campuses.
b. A course or examination is to be regarded
as satisfactorily completed if the students performance meets the minimum
standards for full acceptance toward satisfying a requirement as set by the
campus at which the course or examination was taken.
c. For the purposes of this section,
completion of lower-division general education requirements is equivalent to
qualification for full certification, as defined in Article 5 above.
5.6.2 Reciprocity as Fulfillment of Full
Lower-Division General Education Requirements
Transfer
students admitted with documentation of full lower-division general education
program completion at another CSU campus shall not be held to any additional
lower-division general education requirements by the campus awarding the
degree.
5.6.3 Reciprocity for Subject-Area General
Education Requirements
5.6.3.1 Definition
a. Subject-area lower-division reciprocity
is the process through which lower-division general education subject-area
requirements designated by CSU campuses as having been satisfactorily completed
shall be recognized as fulfilling the corresponding subject-area general
education requirements of the CSU campus granting the baccalaureate
degreewithout regard to differences that may exist in the configuration of the
two programs or in the content of the subject area.
b. Students seeking to transfer under the provisions
of this section shall be responsible for requesting verification that
lower-division general education program or subject-area requirements have been
met. Upon the request of a currently or
formerly enrolled student, the CSU campus from which the student seeks to
transfer shall determine the extent to which that student has satisfactorily
completed the lower-division general education requirements in each subject
area, and shall provide official documentation of such completion.
c. For the purposes of this section,
completion of lower-division general education subject-area requirements is
equivalent to qualification for subject-area certification, as defined above.
d. Transfer students admitted with
documentation of completion of one or more general education subject areas at
another CSU campus may not be held to any additional lower-division general
education requirements in that subject area by the campus awarding the degree.
5.6.4 Reciprocity
Limitations
The
provisions of Article 5.6 do not exempt students from unmet lower-division
graduation requirements of the CSU campus awarding the degree or from
lower-division courses required by individual baccalaureate majors at the CSU
campus awarding the degree.
Article 6 Implementation
and Governance
6.1. General
Education Advisory Committee
A
systemwide Chancellors
General Education Advisory Committee is hereby established. While it is important that the membership of
this committee be broadly based, it shall in largest part be drawn from the instructional
faculty of the California
State University.
At
minimum, the membership shall also include Chancellors Office staff, one California Community College
instructional faculty member, one CSU campus academic affairs administrator,
and one articulation officer from the CSU system and one from the California Community College system. Each member of the committee shall have an
equal vote.
The
chancellor or the executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer may from
time to time request that the committee address and provide advice on other
issues related to the development and well-being of California State University
General Education Breadth policy and programs.
The
responsibilities of this committee shall be as follows:
a. To review and propose any necessary revisions
in the objectives, requirements, and implementation of CSU General Education
Breadth policy to ensure high-quality general education.
b. To continue to study general education
policies and practices inside and outside the system and, as appropriate, to
stimulate intersegmental discussion of the development of general education
curricula.
c. To review the implications of CSU General
Education Breadth policy for students transferring to the CSU and for the
institutions from which they transfer, and to propose any necessary adjustments
to pertinent policies and practices so that students may be better served in
their educational pursuits and achievement of the baccalaureate degree.
d. To report as appropriate to the Chancellor
and the Board of Trustees.
6.2 Campus Responsibility
6.2.1 Development
and Revision of Campus Requirements
Campus
faculty have primary responsibility for developing and revising the
institutions particular general education program. Within the CSU General Education Breadth
distribution framework, each CSU campus is to establish its own requirements
and exercise creativity in identifying courses, disciplines, and learning
outcomes. In undertaking this task,
careful attention should be given to the following:
a. Assuring
that General Education Breadth requirements are planned and organized so that
their objectives are perceived by students as interrelated elements, not as
isolated fragments.
b. Considering
the organization of approved courses so
that students may choose from among a variety of cores or themes,
each with an underlying unifying rationale.
c. Periodically
reviewing approved courses to ensure that they remain responsive to the essential
learning outcomes framework identified in Section 3.2
d. Using
evidence of student attainment of learning outcomes to inform the ongoing
design of General Education curriculum and instruction.
e. Considering
the possibility of incorporating integrative courses, especially at the
upper-division level, that feature the interrelationships among disciplines and
traditional general education categories.
f. Providing
for reasonable ordering of requirements so that, for example, courses focusing
on learning skills will be completed relatively early and those emphasizing
integrative experiences will be completed relatively later.
g. Developing
programs that are responsive to educational goals and student needs, rather
than programs based on traditional titles of academic disciplines and
organizational units.
h. Considering
possibilities for innovative teaching and learning, including activity as well
as observation in all general education coursework.
6.2.2 GE Breadth Requirements and the Development
of New Baccalaureate Degrees
The
development of new baccalaureate programs shall include consideration of how
the degree requirements will incorporate at least the minimum required general
education distribution credits, the major program requirements, and other
graduation requirements. Justifications
must be provided to the Office of the Chancellor for any program extending the
baccalaureate credit requirement beyond 120 units (Title 5, Section 40508).
6.2.3 Campus Standing General-Education Committee
The
effectiveness of a General Education Breadth program is dependent upon the
adequacy of curricular supervision, its internal integrity and its overall
fiscal and academic support. Toward this
end, each campus shall have a broadly representative standing committee, a
majority of which shall be instructional faculty, and which shall also include
student membership, to provide for appropriate oversight and to make
appropriate recommendations concerning the implementation, conduct and
evaluation of these requirements.
6.2.4 General-Education Academic Advising
Each campus shall provide for
systematic, readily available academic advising specifically oriented to
general education as one means of achieving greater cohesiveness in student
choices of course offerings to fulfill these requirements.
6.2.5 General-Education Review and Assessment
Each
campus shall provide for regular periodic reviews of general education program
policies and practices in a manner comparable to those of major programs,
including evaluation by an external reviewer.
The review should include an assessment of general education student
learning outcomes (as designed by campuses in consonance with but not
constrained by the objectives stated in Article 3.2 of this executive order).
Charles B. Reed, Chancellor
Dated: June 18, 2008
Executive Order No.1033
Attachment A
Requirements for Certification of CSU General Education Breadth
Area A English Language Communication and Critical Thinking
References: Article 4-A,
Article 5.3.2.3-A, Article 5.3.3.4-A
A minimum of
9 semester units or 12-15 quarter units
-one course in
each subarea
Oral
Communication
.. A1
Written
Communication
. A2
Critical
Thinking
A3
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Area B Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning
References: Article 4-B, Article 5.3.2.3-B, Article
5.3.3.4-B
A minimum of
9 semester units or 12-15 quarter units
-one course in subareas B1, B2, and B4, plus laboratory
activity related to one of the completed science courses
Physical
Science
B1
Life
Science
B2
Laboratory
Activity................................
B3
associated with the course taken to satisfy
either B1 or B2
Mathematics/Quantitative
Reasoning
B4
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Area C Arts and Humanities
References: Sections
Article 4-C, Article 5.3.2.3-C, Article 5.3.3.4-C
A minimum of 9 semester units or 12-15 quarter units
-at least one course in each subarea
Arts (
Art, Cinema, Dance, Music,
Theater)
.. C1
Humanities (Literature, Philosophy, Languages Other than
English)
. C2
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Area D Social Sciences
References: Article 4-D Article 5.3.2.3-D Article
5.3.3.4-D
A minimum of 9 semester units or 12-15 quarter units
-courses to be taken in more than one subarea
Anthropology
and Archeology
.. D1
Economics
..........
.. D2
Ethnic
Studies*
........ D3
Gender
Studies*
......
. D4
Geography
.........
.
D5
History*
...........
.
D6
Interdisciplinary
Social or Behavioral Science
..
D7
Political
Science, Government, and Legal Institutions
D8
Psychology
. D9
Sociology
and Criminology
D0
* Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies, or
history courses emphasizing artistic or humanistic perspectives may be
categorized in Area C.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Area E Lifelong Learning and Self-Development
References: Article 4-E Article 5.3.2.3-E Article
5.3.3.4-E
3 Semester units or 4-5 quarter units required E
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