Approval Timeline
Please initiate the course-approval process at least a full semester prior to the first semester you’d like to offer the course as part of the general-education curriculum. This is especially important if you need to gain approval for a new subject prefix and number, as that requires a separate process (via CARMIn) that is in addition to approval from the General Education Committee. And, in that case, we would recommend a year’s lead time for getting a new course approved.
The Committee meets monthly during the academic year to review course proposals. This process usually takes a month but can take longer if the Committee requests further information or clarification of application materials. The Committee does not meet in June or July, but in special circumstances it will consider granting provisional approval when there is not sufficient time for a proposed course to be considered under the normal review timeline.
CARMIn Approval
If the proposed combination of subject prefix and course number has not already been established for use on our campus it will be necessary to initiate a New Course Request in CARMIn in addition to submitting a proposal to the Senate General Education Committee. If approval is being sought for an existing course, please proceed to the next section on Proposal Submissions.
When necessary, initiating a New Course Request in CARMIn should be the first step, as the process can take six months or more. Be sure to answer “yes” to the General Education Question in CARMIn, which is near the end of the request form, as that will ensure that the CARMIn request is routed to the General Education Directors upon approval by the unit Curriculum Committee.
Proceed to Proposal Submissions once the New Course Request is routing in CARMIn. The General Education Directors will not route the CARMIn request to the Senate Curriculum Committee, so that the remonstrance process can be completed, until the proposal has been approved by the Senate General Education Committee.
Proposal Submissions
Faculty proposals to the General Education Committee should be submitted via email to gened@iusb.edu and include three portions which can be attached as separate documents or, preferably, assembled into a single PDF:
- Completed Category Questionnaire;
- Completed Component Questionnaire; and
- Syllabus (must explicitly include the relevant SLOs).
Note: Categories within our curriculum include Fundamental Literacies, Common Core and Contemporary Social Values, whereas components are are further divisions within a category. For example, The Natural World is a component of the Common Core category.
Ongoing Expectations
Subsequent to the initial approval process, faculty teaching within the general-education curriculum are required to submit a stand-alone syllabus (i.e., a single document that contains all syllabus content for the course) for each offering to Academic Affairs via a faculty director for General Education. Additionally, components of the general-education curriculum are assessed on a three-semester rotating cycle, with a subset of courses for each assessed component selected via systematic sampling. If selected, faculty will be notified and required to submit an assessment rubric worksheet as part of the assessment process.
Category and Component Questionnaires
Carefully review the associated Essential Characteristics & SLOs when developing a course proposal and responding to the Category and Component Questionnaires below; course assessment rubrics will address the specific SLOs for each component directly.
Note: The Senate General Education Committee is currently in the process of revising component questionnaires with the goal of improving Essential Characteristics & SLO alignment; the latest revisions are reflected in the questionnaires that follow.
Fundamental Literacies – Category Questionnaire
- Writing
- Oral Communication
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Critical Thinking
Common Core – Category Questionnaire
- Art, Aesthetics, and Creativity
- Human Behavior and Social Institutions
- Literary and Intellectual Traditions
- The Natural World
Contemporary Social Values – Category Questionnaire
- Global Cultures
- Diversity in United States Society
Extended Literacies – Category Questionnaire
- Computer Literacy
- Visual Literacy
- Health and Wellness
- Financial Literacy
- Essential Characteristics & SLOs
- Component Questionnaire – Under Development
Additional Requirements – Category Questionnaire
Our general-education curriculum has two additional requirements which can be met by tagged courses:
- First Year Seminar (FYS), which is met by a special offering of a course that meets another general-education requirement and has also been approved to be “tagged” for FYS. Accordingly, FYS courses must go through two approval cycles, but the proposals can be submitted simultaneously. Instructors seeking approval to offer a tagged FYS course are strongly encouraged to consult with the FYS Director.
- Information Literacy, which can be met either by taking COAS-Q 110, or by taking a course that has been “tagged” to meet this requirement. See below for the procedures to tag a new course for this requirement, as it does not require the submission of a proposal to the Senate General Education Committee. A full proposal would only be required in order to seek approval for a new stand-alone Information Literacy course, which we do not foresee being necessary with the initiation of tagged Information Literacy courses as of Fall 2021.