General Education is a signature component of all Mount Royal University degrees. As stated in the 2012-7 Academic Plan, GNED is a “fundamental part of all our degree programs.” This Academic Plan builds upon this commitment. Comprising at least 25% of a degree, and derived from different faculties and disciplines, the General Education provision sets this institution apart, providing more comprehensive coverage in liberal education than the typical university Arts and Science demands. MRU’s Institutional Strategic Plan commits this university to “expose our students to a liberal education and a broad interdisciplinary approach to critical thinking and problem solving.”

Through requirements in the four clusters—Numeracy and Scientific Literacy; Values, Beliefs and Identity; Community and Society; and Communications—students acquire a broad knowledge and intellectual skills, and develop a commitment to social responsibility. They are better enabled, both to thrive in an increasingly multi-disciplinary and rapidly changing workplace and economy, and beyond, in Mill’s words, to build on insight into subjects “larger and far more ennobling than the minutiae of a business or profession” to truly flourish as thoughtful and engaged citizens. Political and social developments around us bring renewed currency to Newman’s assertions that true university training aims “at raising the intellectual tone of society, at cultivating the public mind… at giving enlargement and sobriety to the ideas of the age.” MRU’s commitment to liberal education shows our dedication to these goals.

Recognizing that a robust, high quality, General Education component is key to ensuring an exceptional liberal education and Mount Royal’s reputation as a premier undergraduate university, this Academic Plan commits to:

• Intensifying the GNED review process to ensure that all its courses strongly and clearly reflect program values and cluster goals
• Increasing the percentage of GNED courses taught by Full-Time faculty
• Providing a dedicated student advisor in General Education
• Establishing a university-wide Centre for Liberal Education, reporting to the AVP Teaching and Learning, with participation (e.g. scholars in residence and a high profile speakers series) from the Department of General Education and all other faculties across the institution
• Revisiting Policy 501 to redefine GNED as “core” to every Mount Royal degree
• Develop minors with capstone courses and high impact experiences, particularly Community Service Learning, in areas that include: Science, Technology and Society; Media and Culture; Texts and Tradition; and Citizenship and Social Action
• Establish capstone courses at the 3000 level for each GNED cluster that incorporates practices such as Community Service Learning, Community-Based Research, and an international experience.