SP 24-08 - Policy on General Education Program Course Requirements

General Education Program Course Requirements

Section 1: Courses in the CSUCI General Education Program must satisfy the following set of requirements:

1. CSUCI General Education (GE) unit requirements shall be those described in the CSU General Education General Education Requirements (EO 1100, GE, 5/6/2024) and amendments, as updated.
2. CSUCI General Education courses must be inclusive and open to all students regardless of major. GE Student Learning Outcomes must be the primary focus of the GE course. Course assignments and assessments must reflect the course as designed to serve students beyond the offering program’s majors.The course syllabus, objectives, assignments and outcomes must reflect GE Student Learning Outcomes as central to the course.
3. Course proposals shall also indicate these GE outcomes in the designated sections of course proposal form.
4. GE courses must be offered at least once every two academic years.
5. Assessment of GE courses will follow the campus Assessment Policy and Program Review Policy and the General Education Assessment Policy. GE Courses for which assessment data (including direct assessment of student learning experience, based on activities and assignments directly produced by the student over the course of the learning experience) has not been collected by faculty in the program offering the course within a five-year period shall have their GE designation deactivated. Programs will share GE Course assessment data from Program Review with the GE Committee.
6. GE courses offered must be within the offering program’s disciplinary expertise.
7. Every Lower-Division General Education course must have exactly one (1) CSU GE Subject Area (GE Subject Areas 1 through 6) or Subarea (i.e. 1C, 3A, 5A) as defined by the CSU General Education Requirements Subject Area Distribution (EO 1100, GE).
8. GE Courses in GE Subject Areas 1-5 must have outcomes that align with at least two Student Learning Outcomes, and GE Subject Area 6 must align with at least 3 of Student Learning Outcomes as described in SP 24-04 Policy on GE Program and Learning Outcomes. Per EO 1100, upperdivision ethnic studies courses may be certified to satisfy the lower-division Subject Area 6 so long as adequate numbers of lower-division course options are available to students.
9. Every Upper-Division GE course must have exactly one (1) CSU GE Subject Area from Upper Division Subject Area Distribution (GE Subject Area 2, 3, 4, or 5), as defined by the CSU General Education Requirements (EO 1100, GE). Upper-Division courses provide an opportunity for in-depth explorations of subjects and topics in their respective Upper-Division GE Area.
10. Upper-Division GE courses must have course outcomes that align with at least two (2) to three (3) GE Student Learning Outcomes from the relevant Area in the Policy on GE Program & Learning Outcomes [SP 24-04]. The course syllabus, course objectives, assignments and outcomes must reflect these outcomes as central to the course.

Section 2: Student Progress in the General Education Program

1. Lower-division GE courses in Area 1 or 2 require a minimum passing grade of C- or higher. For all other GE courses, any passing grade in the course constitutes satisfactory completion of the GE requirement.
2. Upper-Division (UD) GE courses are to be taken after successful completion of the Golden Four (Area 1A English Composition, Area 1B Critical Thinking, Area 1C Oral Communication, and Area 2 Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning) General Education requirements. UDGE courses shall have no prerequisites other than any Golden Four courses.

Section 3: Cross-Listed GE Courses

1. GE courses can be cross-listed. Cross-listed GE courses are subject to CSUCI Policy on Cross-Listing Courses (currently SP 16-06).
2. Any cross-listed GE Course will have the same GE designation for any prefixes associated with that course.
3. Cross-listed GE courses will count toward total GE course offerings by cross-listing academic units.
4. The faculty in the academic units teaching the cross-listed course are responsible for collecting assessment data for the GE SLOs in the course.

Section 4: General Education Course Offerings per Academic Unit

1. For the purposes of the GE Program, “academic units” are defined as degree-granting programs. Course prefixes are not academic units. The official list of distinct academic units will be maintained by Academic Programs, Planning and Committee (APPC). For the purpose of this policy, “academic unit” also applies to emerging programs with approved Minors that are in development to offer Majors.
2. Each academic unit can have up to a total of twelve (12) GE courses per Catalog year. Multiple sections of a GE class can be offered in any semester. For academic units that are incubating new academic programs without approved minors, an additional 3 classes will be allocated to the host academic unit to distribute to each new academic program under development.
3. Courses outside of degree-granting programs (i.e. GEND, GEOG, MIXT) may have GE certification, and do not count against the limit of 12 for the department administering them.

Section 5: Mission Pillars in the General Education Curriculum

1. A core aspect of the CSUCI General Education Program is the embedding of the Mission Pillars in the curriculum. a. Upper-Division GE courses must include at least one Mission Category designation. b. Lower-Division GE courses may include at least one Mission Category designation.
2. Mission-designated GE courses must have a course outcome that aligns with the relevant GE Student Learning Outcomes from Area 7 in the Policy on GE Program & Learning Outcomes [SP 24-04].

Section 6: Recommendations and Best Practices

1. Upper-division GE courses should not be core requirements in a major.
2. Noting that the previous policy on GE Program Course Requirements (SP-16-12) recommended “Upper-division courses may not exceed more than 25 percent of the total number of General Education courses, by catalog listing not by section, with cross-listed courses counted once,” academic units are strongly encouraged to maintain a balance between Lower-Division and Upper-Division GE courses.

Section 7: GE Subject Area Distributions and Definitions (from CSU EO 1100)

1. Subject Area 1: English Communication (9 lower-division semester units total):

a. Subject Area 1 requires courses in the following sub-areas:

▪ Area 1A, English Composition (3 semester units),
▪ Area 1B, Critical Thinking (3 semester units),
▪ Area 1C, Oral Communication (3 semester units).
Students taking courses in fulfillment of Areas 1A (English Composition) and 1C (Oral Communication) 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 enhance their skills and abilities in the discovery, critical evaluation, and reporting of information, as well as reading, writing, and listening effectively. Coursework must include active participation and practice in written communication for 1A courses and oral communication for 1C courses. In Area 1B (Critical Thinking) 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 Area 1B 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.

2. Subject Area 2: Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning (3 lower-division semester units. Additionally, 3 upper-division semester units in either Subject Area 2 or subject Area 5. See Subject Area 5 below):

● One Course (3 units)

a. Through courses in Subject Area 2, students shall demonstrate the abilities to reason quantitatively, practice computational skills, and explain and apply mathematical or quantitative reasoning concepts to solve problems. Courses in this area explore the scope and major concepts of mathematics. The focus of all courses in Area 2 is on the presentation and evaluation of evidence and argument, the appreciation of use/misuse of data, and the organization of information in quantitative, technological or other formal systems. Students are introduced to the principles and practices that underscore mathematical inquiry and gain an understanding of the process by which new knowledge is created, organized, accessed, and synthesized. Courses in this area promote the understanding and appreciation of the methodologies of mathematics as investigative tools and the limitations of mathematical endeavors. Students apply inductive and deductive reasoning processes and explore fallacies and misconceptions in the mathematical areas.

3. Subject Area 3 Arts and Humanities (6 lower-division semester units, and 3 semester units taken at the upper-division level):

b. Subject Area 3 requires courses in the following sub-areas:
▪ Area 3A Arts (3 units)
▪ Area 3B Humanities (3 units)
In Subject Area 3 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 works of the human imagination. 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. Activities may include participation in individual aesthetic, creative experiences; however, courses should not focus solely on skills acquisition, rather they must integrate a substantial cultural component. This may include literature, among other content.

4. Subject Area 4 Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 lower-division semester units, and 3 semester units taken at the upper-division level):

○ Two Courses (6 units)
c. Subject Area 4 courses focus on social, political and economic institutions and behavior, and their historical background. Course objectives aim to emphasize how social, political, and economic institutions and behavior are inextricably interwoven. 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 Subject Area 4. Courses satisfying the American Ideals Title 5 requirement may count in this area.

5. Subject Area 5 Physical and Biological Sciences (7 lower-division semester units which includes 1 semester unit allocated for a laboratory. Additionally, 3 upper-division semester units in either Subject Area 5 or Subject Area 2. See Subject Area 2 above):

d. Subject Area 5 requires courses in the following sub-areas:

▪ Area 5A, Physical Science (3 units)
▪ Area 5B, Biological Science (3 units)
▪ Area 5C, Laboratory (1 unit)
Courses in Area 5 emphasize the perspectives, concepts, principles, theories, and methodologies of the scientific disciplines. Some but not all course outlines submitted for these areas will refer to “the scientific method.” Implicit inclusion of the scientific method is acceptable, especially for courses designed for students majoring in science. Area 5 courses should enhance students’ appreciation of how scientists do science, not just what scientists have concluded. Courses in physical and biological sciences must emphasize experimental methodology, the testing of hypotheses, and the power of systematic questioning, rather than only the recall of facts. Courses that emphasize the interdependency of the sciences are especially appropriate for non-science majors. Courses that have a built-in laboratory activity may also qualify for Area 5C, as long as the course outline clearly distinguishes the laboratory activity from the lecture.

6. Subject Area 6 Ethnic Studies (3 semester units):

○ One Course (3 units)
e. Ethnic Studies is an interdisciplinary and comparative study of race and ethnicity with a special focus on four historically defined racialized core groups: Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Chicanxs/Latinxs. In Ethnic Studies courses, students acquire knowledge to better understand the historic and continued impact of race and comprehend the histories of settler colonialism, racism, white supremacy, and ethnocentrism in the United States. Students will learn about the intellectual and cultural contributions made by Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Chicanxs/Latinxs so that students may operate as responsible, informed, and constructive citizens in an evolving intersectional society.

Appendix:
EO 1100, GE CSU General Education (GE) Requirements (Effective 5/6/2024):
https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/13059034/latest

SP 16-06 - Policy on Cross Listing Courses (Effective Fall 2017):
https://catalog.csuci.edu/preview_course_nopop.php?catoid=51&coid=121327

SP 16-12 - Policy on General Education Program Course Requirements (Effective Fall 2019)
https://catalog.csuci.edu/preview_course_nopop.php?catoid=51&coid=121372 SP 24-04 - Policy on GE Program & Learning Outcomes