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Salisbury University students on campus

General Education 2024 Implementation

In April 2021, SU faculty voted to adopt new General Education requirements for all undergraduate students. Those requirements go into effect starting fall 2024. The following outlines the requirements and the implementation plan.

General Education Requirements

SU Signature Outcomes: Must complete at least 3 credits in each of the following areas:

  • Civic and Community Engagement
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Environmental Sustainability

Approved courses in the above areas may also include General Education requirements below.
Approved courses in the above areas may also include major coursework.
If a student does not complete a course in all three areas above within their General Education or major coursework, an additional course(s) must be completed in order to fulfill these requirements.

Please Note: A detailed description of each Student Learning Outcome (SLO) can be found in Appendix C of the of the online Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog:

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First Year Seminar: Academic preparation, skills and expectations for educational and professional success through exploration of a topic or issue.
SLOs: Critical Thinking and Reasoning, Effective Reading, Information Literacy, Oral Communication, Written Communication, Intellectual Curiosity

Communicating Through Writing: Effective reading, writing, and information usage.
SLOs: Effective Reading, Information Literacy, Written Communication

Quantitative Analysis: Numerical, analytical, statistical, and problem-solving skills.
SLOs: Quantitative Reasoning

Human Expression: Exploration of the different ways individuals and societies have and continue to express themselves and communicate the human experience.
SLOs: Knowledge of Human Experience, Intellectual Curiosity, Ethical Reasoning

Humanity in Context: Critical and comparative analysis of humanity, emphasizing the role of history, culture, and/or language in human issues.
SLOs: Critical Thinking and Reasoning, Understanding the Human World, Effective Reading, Knowledge of Human Experience, Intercultural Competence

Social Configurations: Quantitative and/or qualitative analysis of human behavior and/or societies.
SLOs: Understanding the Human World, Knowledge of Human Experience, Emerging and Enduring Global Issues, Intercultural Competence

Social Issues: Applied social science, with an emphasis on understanding and solving problems in the social or behavioral sciences.
SLOs: Quantitative Reasoning, Knowledge of Human Experience, Emerging and Enduring Global Issues, Ethical Reasoning

Hands-on Science: Experiential laboratory-based science.
SLOs: Quantitative Reasoning, Scientific Reasoning, Knowledge of the Physical World

Solutions Through Science: Applied science, with an emphasis on understanding and solving problems in the natural, physical, and technological sciences (may or may not include a lab).
SLOs: Critical Thinking & Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Scientific Reasoning

Personal Wellness: Interconnected dimensions of wellness, including physical, emotional, and financial, to live a healthy, successful life.
SLOs: Personal Health and Wellness

Experiential Learning: Apply knowledge and competencies from General Education through internship, study abroad/away, research, senior project, or other relevant experience.
SLOs: Critical Thinking and Reasoning, Information Literacy, Oral Communication, Written Communication, Ethical Reasoning, Intellectual Curiosity

General Education Oversight Committee

The purposes of the committee shall be to:

  1. Create, regularly review, and update guidelines and processes to be used for approving General Education courses.
  2. Approve the alignment of undergraduate courses with specific General Education requirements.
  3. Coordinate with all academic units to ensure appropriate distribution and offerings of General Education courses.
  4. Evaluate, in coordination with the University Academic Assessment Committee, the General Education program’s effectiveness. Results shall be reported to the Senate annually.
  5. Recommend modifications to the General Education program and its Student Learning Outcomes to the Senate. Recommendations must consider input from Faculty and the Office of Academic Affairs, and report on impact studies.
  6. Recommend modifications to its own Advisory Subcommittees to the Senate.

The committee shall have seven voting members: one faculty member elected by and from each Unit and one faculty member elected at-large. Ex officio members: Provost; Registrar; and Director of University Analysis, Reporting, and Assessment. The committee shall be supported by Advisory Subcommittees associated with specific General Education requirements.

General Education Advisory Subcommittees

The purposes of these subcommittees shall be to:

  1. Recommend guidelines for the alignment of courses with their assigned General Education requirements to the General Education Oversight Committee.
  2. Recommend the approval of specific courses for those requirements to the General Education Oversight Committee and, where courses are not recommended for approval, provide faculty with actionable advice for how they might be brought into alignment.
  3. Provide support for evaluation and faculty development associated with those requirements as needed.

Process & Timelines

Implementation Resources