3020

Grade Minima for CSU General Education Courses in the
“Golden Four”

AS-3020-11/APEP/AA (Rev)

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate of the California State University (ASCSU) support a
minimum grade of C (2.0) in the “Golden Four” CSU General Education areas (Written Communication/English Composition, Mathematical Concepts/Quantitative Reasoning, Oral Communication, and Critical Thinking) for both native and transfer students; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU encourage the CSU Board of Trustees to wait for faculty input prior to
enshrining such grade minima requirements into Title 5 (as opposed to transfer admissions, which is already policy albeit not in Title 5); and be it further,

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU request that campuses without a minimum grade of "C" (2.0) or better
to receive General Education credit for courses in the “Golden Four” of CSU General Education consider such policies; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU use communications from the campus senates to inform potential
actions to endorse changing the criteria in Title 5 for General Education certification requirements; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU distribute this resolution to: the General Education Advisory Committee; CSU Campus Senate Chairs; Directors of Campus General Education Committees; Leadership of the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges; CSU Board of Trustees; Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Academic Support, CSU; CSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer.

RATIONALE: Completion of CSU GE curricula is a requirement of all CSU students. It is a CSU eligibility requirement to complete the “Golden Four” of CSU GE curricula prior to admission for all transfer students. Many, but not all, campuses of the CSU require a minimum grade of “C” (2.0) or better (as opposed to a "C-" (1.7) or no minimum grade standard) in the “Golden Four” as a campus requirement for native students. [All transfer students must have a “C” (2.0) or better in the “Golden Four.” An eventual statewide requirement of a “C” (2.0) or better in Golden Four courses would create greater parallelism between requirements for native and transfer students.]

It is noted that the Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges already has
weighed in positively on encouraging a grade minima of a C (2.0) or better as a required element of “Transfer AA” degrees (see attachment). It is the intention that the Chancellor’s General Education Advisory Committee would help inform ASCSU action prior to encouraging any such change in Title 5 GE requirements.

Feedback to the ASCSU on this issue could be as straightforward as submitting a statement of existing campus policy or could be a more inclusive commentary of the status of arguments for and against grade minima in the Golden Four.

Approved Unanimously – May 5-6, 2011