Educational Policies Committee Procedure and Criteria for Approval of

General Education Courses in the Disciplinary Groups

Consultation with the Director of General Education is recommended before materials are submitted through the Dean of the appropriate College to Educational Policies Committee.

The materials for nominating individual courses for approval in a disciplinary group include:

1. Course fact sheet (4-point questions) used for program review and the syllabus or course outline.

2. A statement indicating how the course addresses the Understanding Content Goals ("Know"). For courses seeking approval in two disciplinary groups, the goals for each disciplinary group must be addressed.

3. Courses seeking General Educational status usually teach to several of the Skills ("Do") and Attitudes/Values ("Think About") For those goals addressed to a significant extent, include a statement indicating how those goals are addressed.

In addition to the material provided, the Educational Policies Committee considers the following criteria in approving courses:

1. The goal statements of General Education, in particular the goals of the relevant disciplinary group(s).
2. The regularity with which the course is offered (at least biennially).
3. Course prerequisites. Lower division courses should have no (or few) prerequisites. Upper division courses should expect higher level thinking skills and/or previous exposure to the disciplinary group through courses in that disciplinary group.