Preliminary Recommendations for a Revised General Education Curriculum to begin Fall 2014 (posted November 12, 2012)
2011 General Education Retreat: Moving from My Work to Our Work: General Education for the 21st Century • September 2011 • Tennessee Room • agenda/handouts • facilitator information
Paul Gaston, Kent State University, presentation: The Five Epiphanies of Undergraduate Education And the Strong General Education Programs That Embody Them
Suggested reading: AAC&U Statement on the Lumina Foundation for Education’s Proposed Degree Qualifications Profile, January 2011 • The Degree Qualifications Profile • Powerpoint slides from presentation • Text of presentation
GENERAL EDUCATION AT UTC
The general education curriculum lies at the heart of the university's mission, providing not just a foundation for academic study but also the tools and intellectual experiences to promote learning long after its students have left campus. The UTC faculty believes that this curriculum can expand our students' knowledge base, analytical and communicative faculties, and aesthetic sensibilities, while also fostering a sense of social awareness that is essential for citizenship in our increasingly complex global village.
Specifically, the general education program at UTC aims to equip its graduates to:
- think analytically, logically, creatively, reflectively and sensitively about the human condition;
- think analytically, logically, creatively, and reflectively about natural and abstract structures;
- collect, process, interpret, and use quantitative and qualitative information, using up-to-date methods, to define and defend viewpoints, solve problems, and make decisions;
- communicate effectively, especially in writing and speech; engage in civil debate; and collaborate on common tasks;
- incorporate into their world views a comparative, historical, and global perspective on the diversity of the human experience, including the complex factors that shape individuals, societies, and civilizations as well as knowledge itself.
To accomplish these goals, the UTC faculty has developed a curriculum, overseen and maintained by the Faculty Senate General Education Committee, consisting of six different areas (categories) of intellectual activity:
- Behavioral and social sciences
- Cultures and civilizations
- Humanities and fine arts
- Mathematics and statistics
- Natural sciences
- Rhetoric and composition
Taken together, these courses offer students opportunities to explore subjects both within and outside their majors. The curriculum include offerings from the key disciplines -- humanities, social, and natural sciences -- that have developed to pursue knowledge of the human condition and the universe. It also maintains a balance between courses designed to provide essential fundamental knowledge and those providing outlets for individual intellectual exploration.
The basic organization of the UTC General Education curriculum may be summarized as follows:
| Category | Course Requirements | Number of Hours |
|---|---|---|
Behavioral and Social Sciences |
Two approved courses in the behavioral and social sciences, to be taken in two disciplines unless precluded by departmental requirements. Click here for the majors that require specific courses for this category. |
6 hours |
Cultures and Civilizations |
Option I. One course approved for both Western Humanities I and II, and one approved course in non-western cultures and civilizations (total of three courses), OR Option II: One course approved for World Civilizations I, II, and III (total of three courses). Click here for the majors that require specific courses for this category. |
9 hours |
Humanities and Fine Arts |
Two approved courses in the humanities and fine arts, at least one from fine arts. Click here for the majors that require specific courses for this category. |
6 hours |
Mathematics and Statistics |
Two approved courses, one in mathematics and one in statistics. Click here for the majors that require specific courses for Math. |
6 hours |
Natural Sciences |
Two approved courses in the natural sciences, at least one including a laboratory component. Click here for the majors that require specific courses for this category. |
7-8 hours |
Rhetoric and Composition |
Two approved courses in rhetoric and composition. | 6 hours |
The text of two resolutions passed by the Faculty Council (now, the Faculty Senate) in 1998 concerning a new general education curriculum is available here.
