February 2025
In this issue:
CAPC has called for all existing Diverse Communities courses (DIV, previously J) to be submitted for revalidation. Because of the approved changes to the Goal and SLOs, all course/syllabi will need to be revised and submitted to CIM, even those recently reviewed for other reasons. The deadline for proposals to revalidate existing DIV courses is May 2025. All proposals to add DIV to an existing course or for a brand new DIV course must align with the new goal/SLOs.
The revised Goal and SLOs are:
DIVERSE COMMUNITIES GOAL (GEN ED GOAL 5):
Examine the workings of power, oppression, and resistance in a diverse society.
DIVERSE COMMUNITIES SLOs. Address all of the following:
a) Analyze the role that social structures have historically played or continue to play in maintaining disparities within and/or across diverse groups.
b) Discuss the varied ways peoples from marginalized groups resist oppression and wield agency despite structural exclusion and discrimination.
c) Identify relevant tools or strategies to challenge oppression and help create a more just and equitable world.
Each SLO must be explicitly aligned with an appropriate assessment (an assignment can assess more than one SLO). One assessment of Goal #5 must be explicitly identified for upload to the students' Gen Ed ePortfolio (see info here).
The new handbook can be found here; the criteria here.
IMPORTANT NOTES: When working towards revalidating your DIV courses, make sure to pay special attention to the way in which you connect the SLOs with your assessment. Often, we see that there is a lack of clarity on how the assessments listed on the proposed syllabi connect with what the SLOs require. In general, this is not particularly problematic with SLO 5.a (“Analyze the role that social structures have historically played or continue to play in maintaining disparities within and/or across diverse groups”), but it is more so for 5.b (“Discuss the varied ways peoples from marginalized groups resist oppression and wield agency despite structural exclusion and discrimination”) and very often for 5.c (“Identify relevant tools or strategies to challenge oppression and help create a more just and equitable world”). While 5.b asks you to assess your students in their understanding of the studied groups' perspectives, in how they are agents of their own resistance, 5.c is asking you to assess whether your students are able to think about ways to address the problems presented in the class. Students should be able to reflect on how they will contribute to making the world a more just and equitable place. When preparing your materials, we encourage you to review the "Common Problems and Solutions" section of the DIV Handbook. The questions presented there truly represent the challenges we're discovering while working on the review of syllabi. Finally, make sure to change all references to "J" courses to "DIV", since in RamPortal these courses are now listed as "DIV." Please also see below about the need to include a Gen Ed Narrative Form.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Gen Ed Committee Chair, Karen Mitchell or Diverse Communities Subcommittee Chair, Cristobal Cardemil-Krause
We are receiving a non-trivial and unnecessary number of course substitution requests that are related to the use of outdated or inaccurate Gen Ed Program (Academic Foundations and Distributed Disciplinary Requirements, i.e., Gen Ed/ABR) course syllabi. This raises issues of inequity as some students file substitutions and some do not. There are several issues that create this situation; each is easily avoided. The simple rule of thumb to keep in mind is that all courses must be taught as they are advertised when students register, regardless of when a proposal is approved by CAPC and the Provost.
We are seeing issues in the following areas:
The syllabus for a course is not updated when a course is approved for a new attribute (e.g., SPE is added) or an attribute is removed officially (e.g., SPE is removed). All faculty teaching any course related to Gen Ed/ABR requirements should check the course catalog/schedule each semester as they prepare their syllabi to ensure they know the current Gen Ed/ABR status of the course--how it was advertised to students when they registered. Syllabi should be adjusted accordingly, e.g., adding or removing Gen Ed goals/outcomes.
A revised syllabus is used before the change shows up in the catalog/schedule. Regardless of when a proposal is submitted to CAPC, which semester the change is requested to start, or when it is approved at CAPC Assembly or the Provost, the new syllabus should not be used for class until approval is final and the change shows in the course catalog/schedule.
A syllabus includes Gen Ed goals/student learning outcomes for attributes not approved. For example, a course approved as a Speaking Emphasis course (and no other attributes) should include only Gen Ed Goals/SLOs #1 and #2, not any others. If the course also happens to address competencies related to other Gen Ed goals (e.g., Demonstrate the ability to think across disciplinary boundaries; Make ethical choices), those should be developed and identified as course goals/outcomes and not listed as Gen Ed. Otherwise, it gives the impression the course is meeting Gen Ed goals and students expect credit for that attribute.
In short, courses must be taught as described in the current catalog and the course schedule that was in place when students were enrolled (typically the prior term). We are requesting help from deans, department chairs, and faculty to improve our "truth in advertising" by teaching each Gen Ed/ABR course only as currently listed using an appropriate syllabus. For example, deans and chairs can watch for "extra" Gen Ed goals/SLOs in syllabi submitted to CIM. Chairs can ensure that temporary faculty or faculty assigned last minute to a Gen Ed/ABR course are explicitly informed of the requirements. If a sample syllabus is provided it should be "up-to-date." Faculty can stay informed about the current status of their courses by checking the course schedule for the semester they are teaching the course, not the CIM proposal page.
We appreciate your help. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Gen Ed Committee Chair/Gen Ed Council Director, Karen Mitchell (kmitchell@wcupa.edu).
See the Gen Ed 2019 Program document for details about requirements.
The suspension of proposals for Interdisciplinary (INT) courses continues for Spring 2025, as we work to bring our INT curriculum into the 21st century. The suspension is for both new courses and existing courses that seek to add the INT. Until curriculum revisions are completed, all INT proposals (revised or new) are suspended. NOTE: As per usual CAPC process, although we are not accepting any new INT proposals, any existing INT course that comes through CAPC for any reason will be reviewed to ensure it meets the current INT criteria. The criteria, handbook, and checklist can be found here.
We hope to have new INT requirements approved this semester. Watch for more news.
If you have any questions, please contact Gen Ed Committee Chair/Gen Ed Council Director, Karen Mitchell (kmitchell@wcupa.edu)
With the implementation of Banner/RamPortal, the abbreviations for many Academic Foundations, Distributed Disciplinary, and Additional Baccalaureate attributes have been changed to 3 letters. These new abbreviations are already implemented in the online platforms; documentation (e.g., Handbooks, Criteria Checklists, CAPC website) will be edited over time as the opportunity arises. Using the new abbreviations in your syllabi and departmental advising sheet will help students. The new abbreviations are:
Academic Foundations
Mathematics (MAT)
Interdisciplinary (INT)
Diverse Communities (DIV)
Ethics (ETH)
Distributed Disciplinary Requirements
Arts (ART)
Behavioral And Social Science (BSS)
Humanities (HUM)
Science (SCI)
Additional Baccalaureate Requirements
Speaking Emphasis (SPE)
Writing Emphasis (WRT)
Capstone (CAP)
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the system transition team.
Completion of the Capstone course, including the Gen Ed Capstone Assignment, is a graduation requirement for students who matriculated to WCU Fall of 2023 or later. It is thus imperative that your program have an approved Assignment approved and that anyone teaching the Capstone course include the Assignment in their syllabus. If your program still needs an approved Capstone Assignment, the chair has been notified. You can read more about this Gen Ed requirement here.
Effective Fall 2023, a Gen Ed "Narrative" form is required for any new or revised course that checks any of the following boxes in the CIM shell:
· Additional Baccalaureate Requirement 2019+
· General Education 2019+
· General Education Pathways
The form can be found linked to the CIM page at submission or here (please be sure to download the file and save to your own computer to complete and then upload to the CIM proposal as an additional file--do not complete the form in Google Drive or Sharepoint).
The form provides useful information for reviewers at every level as they consider course proposals and the role the course may play in the WCU Gen Ed curriculum. Any proposals in the categories listed above (for a new or revised course) that do not include the Gen Ed Narrative Form will be rolled back to the preparer without review.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Gen Ed Chair, Karen Mitchell (kmitchell@wcupa.edu).