General Education: Call for General Education CLAS Core Course Proposals

To: Departmental Executive Officers
From: Helena Dettmer, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum and the Humanities
RE: General Education: Call for General Education CLAS Core Course Proposals

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Background Information
CLAS undergraduate students who entered UI Summer 2017 and after are held to the new General Education (GE) CLAS Core requirement of Diversity and Inclusion (DI, 3 s.h.) and of Values and Culture (VC, 3 s.h.). CLAS is especially interested in proposals for courses with DI status.

  • Proposals in other areas are also welcomed.
  • Proposals are due by February 15, 2018, with any approved GE status applied for Fall 2018 and/or onward.
  • The next due date is September 15, 2018.

Proposals must show a thorough understanding of the outcomes of the GE CLAS Core and must address each required item on the proposal checklist. (Please see the link below.)

  • CLAS is also interested in GE Core courses that address issues of democracy, free speech, and citizenship either in relation to diversity and inclusion or in relation to any other CLAS Core areas.
  • The College is also interested in GE CLAS Core proposals that stress reading, its importance to education and citizenship, and reading comprehension through the understanding of related contexts and topics of a general or popular nature. These courses will suggest overall strategies for reading well and with comprehension, teaching students to apply “reading well” lessons to gradually more complex literary, scientific, and social science materials as the semester continues. Courses may be proposed in any related GE Core area.

All disciplines and departments are invited to apply, with those from other UI colleges also encouraged to participate.

  • All proposals must show how students in the proposed course will achieve the GE CLAS Core comprehensive outcomes and the GE area learning outcomes.
  • The proposals must also prove that the required course attributes and best practices are used.
  • Departments proposing the course must agree to assessment of the course annually and by the College on a 3-4 year rotation by GE Area.
  • Larger lecture courses with proposed discussion sections/labs are also welcomed but should carefully show that structured section activities and discussion strategies ensure students will have every opportunity to meet the GE CLAS Core outcomes.
  • Proposals are due by February 15, 2018, with any approved GE status applied for Fall 2018 and/or onward. The next due date is September 15, 2018.
  • More information on creating a GE proposal is at this link.
  • Please read all of these web pages carefully. Proposals that do not show a thorough understanding of the GE CLAS Core are not approved.

I encourage you to consult with Kathryn Hall in my office about possible ideas for new GE courses and about the approval process and related standards. Many thanks for your help and for your interest in the CLAS GE Core.