The Faculty Senate established the General Education Committee to review and recommend courses to be included in the Cortland General Education Program. The committee’s responsibility is to ensure that courses meet the intent and outcomes of the particular General Education categories.
Cortland General Education Program
- Communication
- Writing Studies (CPN) - up to eight credit hours of CPN may count towards GE credit hour total and
- Presentation Skills (PRES)
- Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice
- Mathematics (and Quantitative Reasoning)
- Natural Sciences (and Scientific Reasoning)
- Humanities
- Social Sciences
- The Arts
- US History and Civic Engagement
- World History and Global Awareness
- World Language — refer to degree program
- Science, Technology, Values and Society
Students must complete a minimum of 30 credits hours of SUNY General Education
Refer to the university catalog for more information regarding general education requirements.
Guidelines for General Education Courses
The purpose of General Education courses is to examine and explain fundamental ways of knowing common to academic discourse. When designing a course for GE approval, the following criteria must be considered:
- The design of a General Education course should connect the content of the course to the goals, assumptions, objectives, and learning outcomes of the General Education category.
- General Education courses are introductory in nature. They should not have prerequisites and should be accessible to non-majors. Additional rationale must be provided if a course is proposed with a prerequisite.
- All GE courses must include a minimum five-page writing requirement.
- Special topics (-29) courses may be submitted for inclusion in local GE, although they can be offered no more than three times under the -29 course number. These courses are specifically identified with the GE Category included in the course description.
- Courses that are interdisciplinary in nature are encouraged.
GE Committee Review Process
Courses approved by the college curriculum process are then submitted to the General Education Committee for review. The Committee will use the following process for evaluation:
- The Committee reviews submitted proposals based on the category goals and outcomes, and the above guidelines.
- Courses that do not meet the GE criteria will be returned with suggestions for revision.
- Faculty may appeal the GE committee’s decisions in writing, in person, or both.
- Courses meeting the GE criteria will be approved and forwarded to the next level of review (Provost). Except for local categories (11 and 12), courses must also receive SUNY approval.
- GE Committee decisions and actions are not retroactive.