In addition to criteria listed for each area below, please note that the General Education Model has already adopted the following criteria that apply to certain categories:

• All GER courses will attempt to integrate goals 1, 2, and 3 wherever possible. The General Education Committee expects that writing across the curriculum will extend beyond writing for tests.
• Writing I, Writing II, and the oral communication course must incorporate goals 1, 2, and 3.
• there will be limits of 25 students in writing intensive and oral communication intensive courses. This Academic Senate recommendation is subject to the discretion of the appropriate administrator.
• writing intensive courses must be at the 3000 or 4000 level; a lower division course with a prerequisite of ENGL 1551 may apply for certification.  Oral communication intensive components may be part of general education courses or upper division courses; critical thinking intensive components may occur in any course as long as certification is secured.

• All general education courses must satisfy the goals in a given domain and must be designed for the general student body. Exceptions to this principle include: 1) those courses submitted by departments to satisfy only the writing intensive, oral communication intensive, and critical thinking intensive requirements; 2) courses submitted by departments to satisfy the capstone requirement in the major; and 3) courses approved as substitutes for general education requirements. It is understood that the requirements of general education in a given domain may be met by a substitution of a more advanced course if the course also satisfies the goals for that domain.
• It shall be the prerogative of the department or program to decide which of the courses approved by the General Education Committee in each domain shall be required of its majors.
• Any department proposing courses must offer assurances to the General Education Committee that faculty from that department who teach a general education course meet the minimal qualifications required by North Central guidelines ["hold graduate degrees that include substantial study (typically a minimum of 18 semester hours at the graduate level) appropriate to the academic field in which they are teaching."] The General Education Committee interprets this guideline to mean that anyone teaching in an interdisciplinary program need meet the minimum for only one of the disciplines involved in that interdisciplinary program. This guideline does not apply to writing-, oral communication-, or critical thinking- intensive components of courses offered in general education or the major.
• Faculty are encouraged to include in general education courses goals 5, 10, and 12 wherever possible. The development of math skills and exposure to the diversity of the United States and of the world are important enough to merit coverage in a wide variety of courses.
• In each of the domains where there are multiple goals to be addressed, the General Education Committee will be looking for a substantive description that is explicity and directly addressed as to how the course fulfills any of the primary goals. When goals beyond those designated as the featured or primary goals of a particular domain are involved, such as in Artistic and Literary Perspectives, the course must explicity and directly address the secondary goal only within the context of the primary goals.

1. BASIC SKILLS

As already established by the GER model approved by the YSU Academic Senate, Writing I and II will incorporate goals 1, 2, and 3

CRITERIA FOR WRITING COURSES

Writing I or Writing II each must:

• Require students to write at least 5000 words, a total that may include informal homework, reading journals, in-class writing, drafts and revisions as well as formal final projects

• Use a pedagogy based on a view of writing as a process, including: assignments written in multiple drafts, with ample time for instructor response and serious revision; appropriate instructor response at different stages of the process (i.e., emphasis on mechanical correctness only in later editing stages); grading that reflects the totality of a student’s work on writing projects

• Assess students’ learning with reference to achievement of goals 1, 2, and 3

• Teach students to: use writing as a means of critical inquiry; use a writing process that includes planning, drafting, revising, and editing in response to comments from various readers; focus on a specific purpose for writing; marshal evidence appropriate to the purpose; address various audiences according to their nature; use an appropriate tone; and obey the conventions of writing appropriate to the purpose (including organization, documentation, and mechanical correctness.)

• In incorporating goal 1, allocate at least a small part of the class grade to an oral project (possibly as part of a larger writing project)

• Incorporate goal 2 but focus primarily on goals 1 and 3

• Incorporate goal 2 with emphasis on electronic communication, such as e-mail, newsgroups, and listservs.

• Require students to "investigate a topic, gather evidence from the library, the Internet, and other appropriate sources, and write a research paper using a computer" (as already established by the GER model)

• Incorporate goal 3 but focus primarily on goals 1 and 2

• Incorporate goal 2 with emphasis on acquisition, critical analysis, and presentation of information from the Internet and other electronic resources.

Writing Intensive courses will:

• Attempt to integrate goals 2 and 3 in addition to goal 1 wherever possible, as research and critical thinking are vital parts of the writing endeavor

• Be at the 3000 or 4000 level.  A lower division course that has a prerequisite of ENGL 1551 may be considered for certification as writing intensive.

• Allocate at least 30% of the course grade to writing assignments of various kinds

• Prepare students to write for specific purposes and audiences

• Include instruction on the writing process—the interconnected activities of planning, drafting, revising and editing writing

• Integrate writing as a vital component of the course

• Require students to write at least 2500 words, a total that might include journals, lab reports, case studies, proposals, and lesson plans in addition to formal research papers and essays

• Employ a "learning to write" approach (aimed at teaching students to write as members of a professional discourse community) in addition to a "writing to learn" approach (aimed at using writing as a tool of inquiry and discovery of disciplinary information)

• Assess students’ learning with references to achievement of goals 1, 2, and 3 (i.e., effective writing and speaking; ability to acquire, process and present information effectively, especially in a persuasive manner; and critical reasoning)

• Teach students to: use writing as a means of critical inquiry within a discipline; use a writing process that includes planning, drafting, revising, and editing in response to comments from various readers; focus on a purpose for writing recognized as legitimate within a specific discipline; marshal evidence appropriate to the purpose and recognized as legitimate by the discipline; address an audience of members of the discipline according to their nature; use an appropriate tone; and obey the conventions of writing appropriate to the discipline (including organization, documentation, and mechanical correctness)

As already established by the GER model approved by the YSU Academic Senate, the oral communication course will incorporate goals 1, 2, and 3.
 
 

CRITERIA FOR ORAL COMMUNICATION COURSES

The oral communication courses must help students become more effective communicators in their interpersonal, group, and presentational communication situations. Students will be required to:

Oral communication courses will:

1. attempt to integrate goals 2 and 3 in addition to goal 1 whenever possible, as research, preparation, and critical thinking are vital parts of effective oral communication..
2. demonstrate oral communication as an integral part of the course.
3. Include instruction on the oral communication process – the sequential activities of planning, communicating, and self-evaluation.
4. Reinforce appropriate interpersonal, group, and /or presentational competencies introduced in the oral communication course.
5. Reflect the strategies for evaluating interpersonal, group, and/or presentational competencies introduced in the oral communication course.
6. Allocate at least 30% of the course grade to oral communication assignments of various kinds (interpersonal, group, and/or presentations).
7. Require students to participate in at least 15 minutes of graded oral communication assignments, that might include interpersonal, group, and/or presentational activities.
8. Teach students to use oral communication skills as a way of learning and thinking critically in a discipline.

The model, as adopted by the Academic Senate, has the following to say about critical thinking intensive courses:

To meet Goal 3, students must take at least two critical thinking courses. Any course may qualify as critical thinking intensive course, whether it is a GER course or not, as long as it has been certified as critical thinking intensive. To be certified as critical thinking intensive, a course should allocate a substantial portion (30%) of the course grade to critical thinking assignments of various kinds. The kinds of critical thinking can and should vary with the discipline. In addition to imparting information, critical thinking intensive courses should strengthen the critical thinking abilities of students

(e. g., defining terms, solving problems, generating and organizing ideas or hypotheses, developing and evaluating evidence and arguments, detecting errors, biases, and fallacies, exploring issues from multiple perspectives, identifying and questioning assumptions, applying knowledge to new situations, etc.) by engaging students in learning and evaluating the definitions, concepts, methods, knowledge, and goals of the discipline and/or the course. Critical thinking coordinators will offer assistance to faculty in developing critical thinking intensive courses and teaching methods.
 
 

CRITERIA FOR CRITICAL THINKING INTENSIVE COURSES

• The outline/syllabus must indicate that a substantial portion (30%) of the course grade is based on critical thinking assignments of various kinds.

• There must be a description of the two or more kinds of graded assignments.

• The description of the course and the course assignments must address the critical thinking abilities and applications of the course consistent with Goal 3.

• All courses requesting ‘critical thinking intensive’ status must address and emphasize multiple critical thinking skills. Examples of these skills include "defining terms, solving problems, generating and organizing ideas or hypotheses, developing and evaluating evidence and arguments, detecting errors, biases, and fallacies, exploring issues from multiple perspectives, identifying and questioning assumptions, (and) applying knowledge to new situations." Moreover, since this list of skills is significant and representative, but not exhaustive, courses requesting ‘critical thinking intensive’ status may feature additional critical thinking skills. The application should identify such additional skills and justify their inclusion by reference to the literature on critical thinking. The application should also describe how the course will strengthen the critical thinking abilities of students and help them apply their learning to their life and society.

CRITERIA FOR GOAL 5

A numerically literate student should be able to apply mathematical methods to the solution of real world problems. Therefore, the essential skills mathematics course should enable a student to:

• Interpret mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables, and schematics, and draw inferences from them.
• Represent mathematical information symbolically, visually, numerically, and verbally.
• Use arithmetical, algebraic, geometric and statistical methods to solve problems.
• Estimate and check answers to mathematical problems in order to determine reasonableness, identify alternatives, and select optimal results.
• Recognize that mathematical and statistical methods have limits.
• Participate in collaborative learning situations, which use a wide variety of writing assignments, study significant mathematical models, conduct explorations using calculators or computers, and employ team projects.

CRITERIA FOR GOAL 13

The course must:

• provide an understanding of principles/concepts of basic science associated with the physical and/or biological environments.
• utilize principles of basic science as the unifying themes of the course.

• describe and illustrate these principles of basic science regarding the natural environment as the majority of the course.

The course must:

• demonstrate what the scientific method is and is not by the use of illustrative examples.
• introduce students to the prime components of the scientific method involving the formulation and use of a predictive, testable, and potentially falsified hypothesis, the design of appropriate experiments, the observation, measurement, and critical analysis of experimental data, the drawing of appropriate conclusions, and the acceptance, rejection or revision of the initial hypothesis.
• help the student learn how the iterative process by which science is practiced leads to the development of reliable theories that are validated and extended or eventually overturned based on subsequent research.
• provide an appreciation of the empiricism and experimentation on which science is based, the tentative nature of the scientific knowledge, an understanding of cause and effect, and the results that science produces.
• link the process by which science is carried out with knowledge that science produces

The course must:

• emphasize the interrelationships between the different scientific sub-disciplines.
• relate the fundamental principles of science to their technological applications.
• relate the results of science to its social consequences.
• discuss the multiple perspectives in approaches to questions employed by different scientific and technological disciplines and other elements in society.
• examine ways in which society has shaped scientific thought and progress.
• discuss scientific progress and the transfer of technology within their historical and social contexts.

CRITERIA FOR GOAL 8

Courses meeting this goal must provide students with the opportunity to:

• Develop an informed acquaintance with examples of works of art and/or literature and an appreciation of how they may serve as sources of enjoyment, knowledge, and insight into the human condition.
• Understand the interaction of technique and imagination in the creative process and the dynamic relationship between artists, works of art, and audiences.

• Develop and present basic analyses of works of art and/or literature from diverse aesthetic, cultural, historical or structural perspectives.

• Develop the skills to evaluate and communicate effectively about the art form (i.e. understanding vocabularies, tools, methodologies, materials, techniques, form and genre).

A course submitted for the Societies and Institutions category of the General Education Requirement must:

• Demonstrate in a clear and unambiguous manner how its subject matter can enhance our understanding of human society and the ways in which it is organized.

• Introduce students to explanations developed by scholars for observed societal and institutional behavior. These explanations can range from formal theories to more inductive generalizations. The course should also identify the strengths, weaknesses and the standards of evidence entailed by such explanations.

• Provide the tools necessary so that students can interpret significant events in the past and analyze current and future issues related to human societies and institutions.

CRITERIA FOR GOAL 4

The courses must:

• present different reasoning strategies that aim to resolve matters of personal and social importance and engage the student in reflection and analysis that results in decision making.
• relate theories of ethics to issues of practical concern. Issues addressed may include past/current and potential future social concerns (e.g. civil disobedience, the environment, capital punishment, free speech, war and peace, bio-ethical issues, technology, population, world hunger, immigration, distribution of wealth and opportunities, professional conduct, responsibilities associated with citizenship, and professional client relationships) and/or the making of individual moral decisions (e.g. sexuality, procreation, truthfulness), etc.
• give students a firm foundation on the diversity of values and principles that come to bear upon matters of personal and social concern: e.g., autonomy, beneficence, justice, harm.

The course must:

• address common problems related to physical, mental, and/or emotional well being and how they impact on individuals, families, and communities.
• use different theoretical approaches, research methodologies and empirical literature to examine the relationships among physical, mental and emotional well-being.
• focus on the development and strategic maintenance of physical, mental, and emotional well being.
• create opportunities in the classroom to examine current, past and/or future issues concerning individual and social well being, and to formulate potential solutions to these problems. Strategies used could include films, role-plays, field-placement, labs, case scenarios, etc.
• help students to understand the role that diversity (race, social and economic class, religion, gender, ethnicity, age, disability, lifestyle, and political identity) plays on individual and social well being.

CRITERIA FOR COURSES THAT COMBINE GOALS

A multiple-goal course must:

1. identify clearly the goals from which questions, concepts, examples and/or methods will be drawn.
2. integrate the goals utilized.
3. include a clear statement of pedagogical approaches and objectives.
4. demonstrate that faculty have appropriate qualifications.
5. encourage, but not require, team teaching. Team teaching requires the involvement of more than one faculty member from the inception of the project, including conceptualization of the course, building of the syllabus, and actual classroom presentations.
6. require students to demonstrate (and faculty to assess) the integration of goals.