The Oakland University General Education Program Revision Ad Hoc Committee (GEPRAHC) was set up by the OU Senate to investigate options and propose recommendations for a revision of the General Education Program at Oakland University. The committee includes faculty representatives from across all units, as well as staff members from advising and other OU offices. A student member will begin serving on the committee in the Fall semester. The list of current members can be found on the Oakland University Senate Committee Membership page. The committee is co-chaired by Maria Paino (Sociology) and Laila Guessous (SECS). Questions can be directed to committee chairs or to GEreform@oakland.edu.
Oakland University’s General Education program last underwent a full overhaul about 20 years ago, and has only undergone small changes and adjustments since then. There are several reasons why OU is looking at revising its General Education Program.
The General Education and General Education Assessment committees have reported several issues and concerns with the current curriculum.
The professional schools have expressed concerns over the years related to students’ skills sets and the lack of flexibility in the program.
Many students often don’t understand the relevance of General Education.
Prior to OU’s last review by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Linda Suskie, an HLC consultant hired by OU to review our General Education program, indicated in her report that “while the framework of OU’s gen ed curriculum is conceptually sound, in many respects the gen ed curriculum and its learning outcomes are outdated and ineffective." Her report included many suggestions, including focusing the General Education curriculum “more on thinking skills than on knowledge.”
Reviews of General Education programs across the country show that universities are moving away from distributive (cafeteria-style) General Education models, like the one that OU has, to more integrative models that aim to help students see the connections between different disciplines and that incorporate various High Impact Practices (HIPS).
For those wishing to learn about different General Education models, we recommend the book “General Education Essentials, A Guide for College Faculty” by Paul Hanstedt. The OU Kresge Library has recently acquired a digital version of the book that can be downloaded here by OU faculty, staff and students. The University of Nebraska Omaha has also prepared a one page summary of three common General Education models for those of you preferring a quick overview.