The University is committed to ensuring that its General Education program consistently and coherently provides students with intellectually challenging and vibrant learning experiences.
PURPOSE
Student Governance and Policies, Chapter 114, Section 3 charges and authorizes the University Committee on General Education (UCGE) to review and approve proposals for new courses and course revisions involving General Education (GE) designations, guide evaluations and assessments of the University GE program, maintain working documents inclusive of expanded definitions and criteria associated with each requirement, and make recommendations to the Senate Executive Committee for potential revisions to GE policies and procedures.
The UCGE works closely with the University Committee on Curriculum Administration.
MEMBERSHIP
The membership of the UCGE is comprised of a chair, an associate chair, and a series of “boards,” one dedicated to each of the six University GE requirements.
Chair (voting): Ann Huppert (College of Built Environments)
Associate Chair (non-voting): Jason Johnson (Undergraduate Academic Affairs)
One board is dedicated to each GE requirement:
- Area of Inquiry: Arts & Humanities (A&H) Requirement Board
- Area of Inquiry: Natural Sciences (NSc) Requirement Board
- Area of Inquiry: Social Sciences (SSc) Requirement Board
- Reasoning (RSN) Requirement Board
- Diversity (DIV) Requirement Board
- Writing (W) and Composition (C) Requirement Board
Each board is composed by the following sets of voting and non-voting members:
- Voting: TBD; 7 voting members of the faculty; 2 Bothell, 3 Seattle, 2 Tacoma
- Non-voting: TBD; Up to 3 academic services professionals, 1 from each campus
The faculty serving on each board regularly teach courses that meet its associated requirement. The academic services professionals serving on each board regularly advise students or are otherwise affiliated with student-facing programs with deep connections to the associated requirement.
AY 23-24 BYLAWS & AGENDA
- Autumn 2023
- Finalize membership
- Tri-campus vetting of A&H, NSc, SSc, and RSN course development and review guidance*
- DIV and W policy agenda development and advancement begins**
- Information sessions (w/UCCA) at College/School/Campus Curriculum Committees
- Winter 2024
- A&H, NSc, SSc, RSN, and C course proposal review begins
- DIV and W policy agenda development and advancement continues
- Spring 2024
- A&H, NSc, SSc, RSN, and C course proposal review continues
- DIV and W policy agenda development and advancement continues
*A&H, NSc, SSc, and RSN course proposals call for final review at the University-level; Guidance for course development and review to be vetted prior to initiation of board review
**DIV and the Additional Writing component of the W GE requirements do not call for final review at the University level, meaning that their respective boards do not engage in course proposal review; Primary purpose of DIV and W boards is to carry work from prior years forward into ongoing policy agenda development and advancement.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The UCGE builds upon work undertaken by the Senate and its Faculty Councils over the past several years, as documented by the following:
- AY22-23 Senate Committee on Undergraduate General Education
- AY21-22 Diversity Credit Taskforce
- Class B Legislation 212: Undergraduate General Education and University Curriculum Governance
- Class B Legislation 211: Diversity Credit
- Class C Resolution: Concerning the Roadmap to Update the Undergraduate Diversity Requirement
- Class B Legislation 207: Requirements for the Bachelor’s Degree
CONTACT
If you have questions or concerns for the UCGE, please contact:
Jason Johnson, Vice Dean
Undergraduate Academic Affairs
jej@uw.edu