Proposal for Changes in the General Education Program

Rationale

1. SUNY Trustees require that all general education programs address their 10 learning outcomes, which include both a course in the arts and a course in the humanities

2. SUNY Trustees require that both freshman and transfer students satisfy these SUNY minimum general education requirements

3. The committee believes that both transfer students and freshman should have the same general education program

4. Adding the SUNY requirements on top of the existing UB general education requirements would:

  • a. Make it more difficult for students to graduate in four years, and
  • b. Require CAS to add many sections without additional resources

5. It is desirable for the general education program to have both breadth and depth. The 13th course is proposed as a means of preserving some of the depth of the existing general education program

6. The ideal general education program cannot be realized due to resource issues, yet the CAS CC believes that providing a coherent program is so important that it is worth moving some additional resources into the program to achieve a quality program

 

Proposal

The CAS Curriculum Committee proposes that the UB general education program be changed by making the following alterations:

1. Apply the general education program (p 25 of the 2001-02 Undergraduate Catalogue) to both freshman and transfers.

2. Replace the one course literature and arts requirement with:

  • a. One course in the arts, and
  • b. One course in the humanities

3. Replace the junior/senior science, the mathematical sciences and the foreign language requirements with the following:

  • a. One semester of mathematical sciences,
  • b. Proficiency at the second semester of a foreign language, and

c. A choice of one of the following:

  • i. One semester Junior/Senior science (UGC 302, UGC 301, or cognate)
  • ii. One additional semester of mathematical sciences, or
  • iii. Proficiency at the third semester of a foreign language

4. Modify the writing skills requirement as follows:

  • a. Students placing into ENG 101 will be required to take a version of ENG 201 that will satisfy the SUNY humanities requirement as well as the UB Writing Skills requirement
  • b. Students placing into ENG 201 will use it to satisfy the SUNY basic communication requirement, but not the humanities requirement