General Education is a shared, institution-wide program. Faculty participation ensures that students experience a broad, high-quality curriculum and that departments contribute their disciplinary perspectives to the program.
Chairs support faculty participation by:
- Identifying faculty interested in teaching General Education courses
- Encouraging departments to offer courses that align with program needs
- Helping faculty understand expectations (learning objectives, syllabus, assessment)
- Supporting faculty participation in course development and revision
- Reinforcing the importance of General Education in departmental culture
Department Chairs influence:
Direct faculty to:
All instructions, procedures, and deadlines for proposing the inclusion of a course in the General Education program are here:
GE Course Approval Process
In some departments, the Chair submits proposals while in other departments, the faculty who will teach the course submits the proposal. In the latter case, the first step the Director of General Education will take is to confirm with the Chair that the proposal is approved for consideration by the General Education Council.
Departments help ensure that assessment data is submitted and used to improve the General Education program. Assessment policies and tools are found here.
Responsibilities:
- Ensure faculty submit assessment data
- Encourage alignment with learning objectives
- Review results when available
Assessment Workflow:
- Instructor collects and submits assessment data in their Canvas course sites
- Director of General Education processes data
- General Education Council Assessment Subcommittee reviews results and reports to the Council; data and results are released to campus
- General Education Council reviews results and discusses program improvements
- When relevant, course-level insights will be shared with Department Chairs to support ongoing improvement
The General Education Council (GEC) consists of 13 voting faculty members representing the College of Arts & Sciences (6), College of Business & Technology (3), College of Education (3), and the Calvin T. Ryan Library (1). The Director of General Education chairs the Council and is one of non-voting ex-officio members. The Council has regular meetings at 3:30 pm on the first Thursday of the month, September-May except January. A list of Council members, past meeting minutes, the upcoming meeting agenda, the GEC Bylaws are available here:
General Education Council webpage
Between regular meetings, the work of the Council is conducted through the subcommittees:
- Oversight - Oversees implementation of the General Education Program governance and meeting rules. May propose changes in these to the Council. Conducts the initial review of program change proposals.
- Assessment - Oversees assessment data collection procedures, conducts the initial review of each annual General Education assessment report and brings items to the attention of the Council. Reviews and acts on matters pertaining to Program and LOPER category goals and learning objectives.
- Course Review - Conducts the initial reviews of courses proposed for inclusion, or to remain, in the General Education program and make recommendations to the Council.
How or when do department Chairs interact with the GEC?
- Chairs are invited to attend GEC meetings to answer questions about their department courses under consideration for inclusion in General Education.
- Chairs are encouraged to provide input/feedback to their GEC college representatives on business and discussion items in GEC meeting agendas and in response to information requests from the Council.
- Questions about GE policies and procedures should be directed to the Director of General Education
Contact Christopher Exstrom, Director of General Education, exstromc@unk.edu, 107C Calvin T. Ryan Library, 308-865-8565
