Course Certification and Recertification Procedures

Certification

The current General Education program was passed by the full faculty in the Spring of 2013.  After asking for approval by individual departments about the placement of their certified courses, existing General Education courses were grandfathered into the current program.  Certification of courses in the 5-year rotation cycle, according to the current outcomes, began in Fall 2013.  All courses in the rotation cycle will now be re-certified according to the procedures and outcomes below.

Procedure

1. Departments need to examine and discuss the outcomes and forms for the General Education Category(ies) to which their course may be suited.  Once the department discusses each outcome and how the course allows students to demonstrate competence, complete the appropriate Curriculog form for each category to be requested.  Please upload course syllabi, sample assignments, and student work to provide evidence for the discussion of outcomes.
2. Recertification will be reviewed by the General Education Committee in Fall and Spring of each academic year. Recertification forms will be open in Curriculog to allow for submission throughout the year.
3. A member of the General Education Committee will be charged with reviewing all of the documentation for the course and present the material to the committee.  This committee member may contact the department with questions prior to the committee presentation.  A second reader will review the materials if the first reader does not recommend approval.  Additionally, the department can send a representative to the General Education Committee meeting to answer any questions or concerns the committee may have about the course.
4. The General Education Committee will vote on the proposal and the chair will inform the department head, proposal originator and the Registrar’s Office of the decision (certified, denied, or returned for revision).
   • Returned for Revision:  During a certification cycle, a course proposal may be returned for revision or the committee may ask for additional materials.  The materials must be provided in order for a vote on the course to proceed.
   • Certification: The course is certified for 5 years until the next cycle. Courses certified without student artifacts will be scheduled for recertification in fewer than 5 years.
   • Denied/decertified: The course is no longer considered a part of the General Education Curriculum.  However, the course will still be part of the program for a full year after being denied to accommodate students and departments.  The department can revise the course and apply for certification the following year. Note: if denied, the course needs to consult the Walker Center for Teaching & Learning, the General Education chair, and/or the Director of General Education as they revise.
   • Probation: The course is still part of the General Education Curriculum, but will be reviewed the following year (or in a number of years fewer than five, as determined by the committee).

Recertification

If a course is on the current rotation list, departments will be contacted by the General Education chair by September 15 and asked to provide all relevant materials via Curriculog.

Recommendations for Re-certification

• Appoint a committee to work on the re-certification proposal.  This allows for multiple readers and ensures that the re-certification process is a departmental process rather than the burden of one faculty member.  One purpose of the re-certification rotation is for departments to regularly reevaluate their courses and pedagogy.
• Remember that you are making an argument as to how your courses meet the General Education outcomes.  As such, you need to demonstrate through the assignments and representative student work how the course and students meet the outcomes by pointing directly to passages, exam questions and responses, or other student work that  provides the committee with this evidence.  The more specific and direct you are, the faster the committee can assess the proposal.  Proposals without clear arguments about each outcome and specific examples are usually returned for revision.

Topics Courses

Topics courses will be reviewed for recertification every three years rather than every five.  Departments with multiple topics courses are required to have a department member on the General Education Committee.  As the Honor’s Program consists, primarily, of topics courses, a member of the General Education Committee (preferably the Chair) will sit on the Honor’s College Councils.

New Courses

Proposals to certify new or existing courses for General Education credit should be submitted through Curriculog.