The General Education Curriculum
In the fall of 2000 the Provost charged the General Education Committee to develop a general education curriculum that would meet the requirements set forth by the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education in their document, Credit Transfer: Guidelines for Student Transfer and Articulation among Missouri Colleges and Universities (June 7, 2000).
The committee members appointed and/or elected for three years to the standing General Education Committee were: Sylvia Barber, Bing Bayer (chair), Judy Bryant, Ernie Ferguson, Janet Juhlin (ex-officio; Director of Assessment), Ann Kitchin, Bob Kitchin, Lynn Penticuff, Shawn Ritenour, Kevin Schriver, and Linda Wooderson. In the fall of 2001 Bob Glasgow replaced Shawn Ritenour, and Rosalyn Snellen (ex-officio; Associate Provost) was added. A student representative has also now joined the committee. The committee was intentionally made large to get as many departments involved as possible.
This document summarizes the results of the committee's work at the present time and should not be considered final. Revisions are expected. The following paragraphs contain:
(1) the general education mission and vision statements of SBU;
(2) a description of the process which produced the general education curriculum;
(3) the proposed general education curriculum; and
(4) the matrix which aligns the state's goals and competencies with SBU's courses and assessment tools.
The General Education Mission and Vision Statements
The general education program of Southwest Baptist University seeks to provide students with the knowledge, experiences, skills, and spiritual insights that are foundational to a Christ-centered education and that support success in academic disciplines.
The general education program of SBU promotes excellence in scholarship and service by:
- Enabling students to develop knowledge and skills in communication, fine arts, the sciences, mathematics, and technology.
- Preparing students to seek knowledge about the past, about current society, and about diverse cultures.
- Enabling students to use the tools of research and critical thinking.
- Enabling students to become lifelong learners.
- Enabling students to develop a Christlike worldview.
The Process Which Produced the Curriculum
The procedure the committee followed to produce the curriculum was quite lengthy. First, the committee formed a matrix using the eight goals and forty-three competencies suggested by the CBHE. Based on its knowledge of the current general education courses, the committee selected those courses which aligned with respective goals and competencies. Noting that the valuing goal needed improvement, a subcommittee was formed to develop new courses to meet that need.
Second, on February 15, 2001 the committee presented its general education curriculum to the entire faculty at a special assembly. Faculty offered both suggestions and critique. The committee met and considered each comment made by faculty, and several significant changes were made.
Third, the committee invited faculty whose areas had particular problems with the general education curriculum to meet with them for further discussion. On April 6, 2001 Faculty Senate approved the general education framework.
Fourth, the committee sent the matrix to the department chairs to have them verify and/or modify the committee's alignment of their courses. In addition, faculty returned syllabi marked to show where their courses met the competencies.
Fifth, the committee examined the syllabi to determine if the courses indeed met the state's competencies. Courses were then designated as primary and secondary. Primary courses were those that most thoroughly and directly met the competencies, whereas secondary courses were those that met the competencies, but the competencies were not the primary foci of these courses. In addition, the committee designated some courses as approved alternatives, courses which met the state's competencies but also were being used for certain majors and programs.
GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM
| General Education Requirements (42 hours) | ||
| Communication Studies (9 hours) | ||
| ENG 1113 English Composition I and | 6 hours | |
| ENG 2213 English Composition II | ||
or |
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| *#ENG 1123 Honors Composition | 3 hours | |
| COM 1103 Fundamentals of Speech or | 3 hours | |
| COM 2393 Interpersonal Communication | ||
| Fine Arts/Cultural Studies (5 hours) | ||
| Choose one course from the Fine Arts area | 3 hours | |
| FAR 1003 Introduction to Fine Arts | ||
FAR 1013 Introduction to Art |
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| FAR 1023 Introduction to Music | ||
| FAR 1033 Introduction to Theatre | ||
| *MUS 1633 Survey of Music Literature | ||
| Choose one course from the Cultural Studies area | 2 hours | |
| ENG 2312 Survey of World Literature | ||
SOC 2012 Human Diversity |
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| ICS 2911 Cross-Cultural Service Project (must involve two different cultures) |
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| *GEO 1103 Geography | ||
| *HIS 1113 History of World Civilization | ||
| *HIS 1123 History of World Civilization | ||
| *NUR 3393 Transcultural Nursing | ||
| Social Studies (12 hours) | ||
| ECO 2003 L.I.F.E. Economics or | 3 hours | |
| *ECO 2023 Microeconomics | ||
| POL 1113 American Government | 3 hours | |
| HIS 2213 History of the U. S., 1492-1877 or | 3 hours | |
| HIS 2223 History of the U. S., 1877-Present | ||
| PSY 1013 General Psychology or | 3 hours | |
| SOC 1003 Introductory Sociology or | ||
| *EDU 2113 Educational Psychology | ||
| Technical Studies (14 hours) | ||
| Life Science - choose one option | 4 hours | |
| BIO 1004 Principles of Biology | ||
| *BIO 1114 General Biology I and | ||
| BIO 1124 General Biology II | ||
| Computer Literacy - choose one option | 3 hours | |
| CIS 1103 Introduction to Computing | ||
| *NUR 3353 Nursing Informatics | ||
| Mathematics - choose one option | 3 hours | |
| MAT 1143 College Algebra | ||
| *MAT 2293 Math for Elementary/Middle School Teachers II | ||
| ^MAT 1163 Pre-Calculus | ||
| ^BUS/MAT 1193 Business Calculus | ||
| ^MAT 1195 Analytics and Calculus I | ||
| *^PSY 3243 Statistics | ||
| Physical Science - choose one option | 4 hours | |
| PHS 1004 Introduction to Physical Science | ||
| PHS 1114 Introduction to Earth Science | ||
| *CHE 1104 Principles of Chemistry | ||
| *CHE 1115 General Chemistry I | ||
| *PHS 2005 Physical Science for Elementary and Middle School Teachers | ||
| *PHS 2214 Meteorology | ||
| *PHS 2314 Astronomy | ||
| *PHY 1114 General Physics | ||
| *PHY 2215 University Physics | ||
| University Studies (2 hours) | ||
| UNI 1111 University Seminar | 1 hour | |
| UNI 1121 Critical Thinking | 1 hour | |
| Total General Education Program | 42 hours | |
| * Approved alternatives for listed areas | ||
| # Students who transfer Honors Composition to SBU and who do not need 6 hours of composition on their transcripts, except to meet SBU's general education requirements, will have their second composition course waived as long as the transferred grade in their Honors Composition course is at least a C. | ||
^ Students with ACT math subscores of 13 to 18 on the Pre-Algebra/Elementary Algebra and 13 to 18 on the Intermediate Algebra/Coordinate Geometry may elect to take the indicated courses (or MAT 1143) to satisfy the 42-hour education block. |
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General Education Reporting Matrix - Southwest Baptist University
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