For Faculty Interested in Proposing a General Education Course

If you are interested in teaching in general education, it is important to distinguish between a desire to teach an already-existing general education course and the process of proposing a new or existing course to count for general education credit. If you are interested in teaching an already-existing course, contact your chair or the appropriate general education administrator. To propose that a course count for a general education requirement, chairs or tenure-track faculty with the support of chairs/deans should follow the instructions below.

To propose a course for a Freshman Seminar, Quantitative Reasoning, Modern Language, Oral Communication, Writing 1, Writing 2, Studies in Theology and Religion, or Ethics requirement, contact the appropriate general education administrator. Keep in mind that, with the exception of the Freshman Seminar, these courses generally focus on discipline-based skills and competencies and require instructors to have substantial graduate coursework or other documentable qualifications in the area they teach. Thus, proposals to teach in these areas will begin with a conversation about the instructor’s disciplinary expertise. Please be aware that all new courses require approval through the standard channels (Curriculum Committee review and Academic Council approval). If you are unfamiliar with this process and the related proposal form, consult your department chair.

Instructions for Proposing that a Course Count for Diverse American Perspectives, Global Perspectives, Exploring Artistic Works, Creativity and Making, or Natural Sciences Requirements

To propose that a course count for: Diverse American Perspectives, Global Perspectives, Exploring Artistic Works, Creativity and Making, or Natural Sciences, Spring 2024 proposals (for courses to be taught Fall 2024 or later) must be submitted electronically using this link, and be approved by your chair and dean. The spring deadline will be Jan 26, 2024. Be sure to check with your chair or dean for internal deadlines necessary for you to meet the general education proposal deadline. If you need more information or if there is an urgent situation, contact the Director of General Education, Christie Wilson, christiw@stedwards.edu, or Administrative Coordinator, Gabby Caraballo at gcarabal@stedwards.edu

You may want to contact the relevant general education administrator before you propose to discuss your course's possible fit with the requirement and general requirement expectations. You can find the appropriate contact person and email address here.

You can find the SLOs for each of these requirements here.

To complete the online proposal form you will want the following information at hand:

  • Your contact information
  • Name and course number of the proposed course/section
  • If a course is required by major, whether it is open to non-majors, and course prerequisites (if any)
  • A brief course description
  • Course SLOs (which should include the requirement SLOs)
  • A rationale for the course meeting the general education requirements
  • The course syllabus (to be submitted as an attachment)
  • Keep in mind that new courses will also need to go through the standard Curriculum Committee/Academic Council approval process. Your chair and dean should support the creation of any new courses and can guide you through the process of creating a new course. You may propose a new course to Curriculum Committee/Academic Council and for general education approval simultaneously.

A copy of your proposal will go to you, as well as to your chair and dean for approval.

Flagging a Course for a Mission Marker

Mission Markers are flagged elements within existing courses for the core or major, not additional required courses. The Mission Markers focus on Writing (2 flags), Social Identities, and Experiential Learning for Social Justice. They are designed to deepen students’ learning in areas particularly important to the SEU mission: communication, problem-solving, diversity, and social justice. This page describes the details of the Mission Marker flags.

Note: Freshman Seminar courses are not eligible for a Mission Marker flag as they are designed to be a particular kind of introductory experience to be followed by the Mission Marker flags. Diverse American Experience courses are not eligible for a Social Identities Mission Marker flag as all such courses are required to address social identities-related issues, and the Mission Marker flag is intended to be a second encounter. Culminating Experience courses and most other courses in the general education or major curriculum are eligible for flags.

Spring 2024 proposals (for courses to be taught Fall 2024 or later) should be submitted and electronically approved by your chair and dean using this link.The spring deadline will be Jan 26, 2024. Be sure to check with your chair or dean for internal deadlines necessary for you to meet the general education proposal deadline. If you need more information or if there is an urgent situation, contact the Director of General Education, Christie Wilson, christiw@stedwards.edu, or Administrative Coordinator, Gabby Caraballo at gcarabal@stedwards.edu

You may want to contact the relevant general education administrator before you propose to discuss your course's possible fit with the requirement and general requirement expectations. You can find the appropriate contact person and email address here.

To complete the online proposal form you will want the following information at hand:

  • Your contact information
  • Name and course number of the proposed course/section
  • If the course is required by major, whether it is open to non-majors, and course prerequisites (if any)
  • A brief response to how the course/section meets the requirements of the Mission Marker
  • Sample syllabi or assignments, including SLOs, to demonstrate evidence of your responses regarding Mission Marker requirements
  • Email addresses for your Chair and Dean