I. General Instructions

A. Purpose of the Form

• The proposal form is designed to provide the General Education Oversight Committee with the information it needs to implement and oversee a high quality, accessible, and vital general education system. Answers to questions on this form will be used to ensure that courses meet the broad goals of general education and specific criteria for content areas and competencies, identify resource needs, and establish a framework for the future oversight and enhancement of general education.
  
  
• Courses to be proposed using the "General Education Course Action Request Form":
  A proposal should be filled out for any course that will meet a general education requirement in a content area or carry a "W" or "Q" competency designation in the new general education system. No courses will be "grandfathered" from the old system. Departments or programs should only propose courses that it expects to offer on a regular basis. Courses whose prerequisites ensure that a student has already met the college or school requirement for three Q courses as well as the general education requirement for two Q courses should not be proposed for a "Q" designation.
  
  

B. Computer Processing Information

Note:  You cannot save the on-line version of completed form on your own computer without losing information.

1.     Getting started.  Two proposal forms are available from the GEOC website. A “short form” can be used for existing, unrevised “W” courses.  All other course proposals must use the “long form”. Download and/or print a copy of the form and instructions so that you can obtain relevant information and compose answers in advance.

2.     How to obtain a working, revisable copy of the GEOC  form:

• A proposal form is available at the GEOC website.  A filled-in form usually cannot be saved to your computer without losing information.
  
• You can obtain a working, revisable copy of the form in two ways:

a.  Copy and paste the html form from the web onto your computer and save it as a document.

b.  Complete ALL fields of the form however you wish, type in your own e-mail address at the bottom of the form, and click on “submit”.  You will receive an e-mail copy that can be saved as a document, edited, and e-mailed to others for comment and review.

3. How to Send a completed form to others for comment and review:
   
   You can e-mail copies of the completed proposal form to any set of individuals (e.g. to your departmental C&C contact person, to the Chair of your School/College C&C Committee) by inserting the appropriate email addresses in the box at the bottom of the form, separating multiple addresses with a semi - colon. These people will receive a copy of the completed form as an e-mail message.

   Alternatively, once you have composed and/or edited the form that has previously been saved on your computer as a document, you can e-mail copies of the completed form as the text of an e-mail message or e-mail attachment in your usual way.

4. How to Submit Proposals to GEOC:
   
   GEOC will only accept electronic submissions of course proposals using a GEOC form either submitted directly on-line or as an e-mail attachment.

a.   For existing courses not requiring prior school/college approval (contact your College or School C&C Committee for its policy): Completed forms should be forwarded to the departmental or program GEOC contact person. The departmental or program contact person may submit proposals directly on-line or forward proposals AS E- MAIL ATTACHMENTS using the GEOC e-mail address. GEOC@uconn.edu.

b.   For new or revised courses requiring prior school/college approval: Once the proposal has been approved by the school or college, the departmental or program contact person should forward the completed form to GEOC as an e-mail attachment to the GEOC e-mail address. GEOC@uconn.edu.

c.   Direct submission: Fill-out the form on-line. You may cut and paste information into text boxes from your own computer, but some formatting information will be lost. Insert the GEOC e-mail address into the box at the bottom, and click on "Submit". You will receive an electronic confirmation of your submission, and GEOC will receive a copy of the completed form.

5. Printing the Completed Form
   
   If you print a completed copy of the form directly from the web or print a pasted version of the completed form, not all text in the text box may be printed.  The printed text is restricted to what is visible in the text box.  You will obtain a printable copy of your entire submission as your confirmation message.

6.  Other Information

• Many questions should be answered by clicking on only one button. To select more than one item or to undo an item use ctrl left click on the mouse or if using a MacIntosh, us the shift-left click on the mouse.
  
• Instructions for answering specific questions are available by clicking on the “?” symbol when on-line.
  
• Please complete each item of the proposal. Forms without the required information cannot be submitted by hitting the "Send" button.
  

• If you receive an "error" message because required fields were omitted, click on the "back" button of your browser to return to your form.
  

• To use the on-line form to submit multiple proposals in one on-line session, hit the "back" button of your browser after submitting a proposal. This enables you to reuse information that has just been submitted. After you hit the "Send" button, you will receive an electronic confirmation copy of the proposal you submitted.
  
• After you hit the "Send" button, you will receive an electronic confirmation copy of the proposal you submitted.
  
• We welcome suggestions for improving our forms, instructions, and course proposal resources.  Please send suggestions to the GEOC chair by e-mail at Anne.Hiskes@uconn.edu or to Tammy.Gifford@uconn.edu.

 

C. Special Instructions for Q course

Issue 1- Information to faculty regarding the submission of Q-courses
The Q-subcommittee for GEOC must review all courses submitted for a Q designation. If you plan to offer or currently are offering 100 level Q courses you MUST fill out the General Education Course Action Request Form. Typically, 200 level courses will NOT require a Q designation since students will have satisfied their Q requirements with prerequisites. If your department so wishes then 200 level courses may be submitted for Q designation if the course is:


1. a 200 level course that does NOT have a 100 level Q prerequisite or,


2. a 200 level course that has a 100 level Q prerequisite but comes from a department that has 2 or fewer 100 level Q courses or,

3. if a department believes that the course is used to fulfill additional Q requirements.

D. Special Instructions for W courses.

If you are submitting a request for a W course: Proposals for existing, unrevised W courses that do not also satisfy a requirement in a content area should answer only question (3) under "Justification". Proposals for new or revised W courses that do not also satisfy a content area requirement should answer questions (1) and (3) under “Justification”. W courses that also meet a content area requirement should answer questions (1), (2), and (3) under “Justification”, and show how the course meets the criteria for both the content area(s) and a “W” designation.





While the structure of W courses may vary, a guiding principle in offering writing intensive instruction is that the instructor to student ratio must be no greater than 1 to19. This principle should be reflected in your answers to questions about class size and structure.



See the GEOC document "Certification of "P" (Partial writing) courses and other "W-equivalents" for information on the approval process of certain nonstandard W courses. (Link)

E. Preparing New Catalog Copy

Whenever an approved new course is to be submitted for entry into a catalog, the elements of this entry should be standard for all departments, following the format as given in the Directory of Courses, and detailed as follows:
1. course number (assigned by Scheduling office)
2. course title
3. semester in which the course is offered
4. credits which may be earned upon satisfactory completion
5. instructional pattern
6. restrictions for registration in the course

a. prerequisites (other courses and/or consent)
b. credit restrictions
c. advising, registration information (e.g., state specifically who may or may not enroll)
d. years in which offered (if alternate year course)


7. instructor(s) of the course
8. course description
9. cross reference to prior courses


Example: Containing most of the elements above:


232. Quantitative Analysis.
Either semester. Four credits. Two class periods and two 3-hour laboratory periods. PREREQUISITE: Chemistry 128. Not open for credit to students who have passed Chemistry 233 or 234 or Pharmacy 239. Open to sophomores. This course cannot be counted toward the chemistry major group. Stuart.


This course emphasizes the fundamentals, etc: (description)

II. Specific Line Instructions

A. Course number: Retain the course number if you are submitting a proposal for an existing course. If you are submitting a proposal for a new course use the generic designations "1XX, 2XX, or 3XX". If you are submitting more than one new course, please use sequential alphabetic variations: "1XX, 1XY, 1XZ,
1YX, ...".

B. Course Title: Keep new titles brief. Ordinarily a title should not be more than 45 spaces of type.

C. Skill Codes: "Q" and "W" are the only skill codes in the new general education System.
Only a course at the 200-level may carry both a "W" and a "Q" designation,
and it must satisfy the criteria for both types of courses.

D. Date of Departmental Approval. Every course proposal must provide a date for departmental approval. Departments may provide a "dummy" date for existing, unrevised courses. The dummy date for existing, unrevised CLAS courses is October 7, 2003.

E. Date of School/College Approval: Every course proposal must provide a date for school/college approval. Existing courses have been provided with nominal approval date by the relevant school/college. Eg., CLAS has adopted Oct. 14, 2003 as the nominal date for approval of existing general education courses. Contact your School/college for its approval procedures and deadlines.

F. Content Area: The six content area selections given here represent the only options allowed in the new general education system. If a content area course is to be offered as a W or Q course, then indicate the appropriate skill code in the next box.

G. Laboratory Courses: Courses appropriate for meeting the requirement of one laboratory course in the area of science and technology must be a minimum of four credit hours, and teach basic principles of physical and/or biological science through hands-on participation.



H. "International" courses for the Diversity and Multiculturalism requirement: Courses appropriate for this area may focus on issues of diversity/multiculturalism outside the United States or on cultural continuities and transformations over time and place.

I. Complete Title and Catalog Copy: For existing, unrevised courses enter the current catalog copy. For new or revised courses enter the newly proposed copy.



• General education courses satisfying the Group I, II, or III requirements may not have prerequisites other than other general education courses. The prerequisites for courses satisfying Group IV requirements are unrestricted. Peoplesoft software enforces prerequisites and denies registration to students who do not match criteria.
  
  
• Recommended Preparation: Describe the computer, information literacy, writing, or quantitative skills, or other recommended preparation. Peoplesoft software does not check whether a student has the recommended preparation as a condition for registering for the course.

J. Old Catalog Copy for revised courses: Enter the old catalog copy here. Describe the changes that have been made (e.g. change in prerequisite, credit hours, opening a 200-level course to sophomores, significant change in content, etc.)



K. Overlapping Courses: Answer for new courses only. Which courses, if any, in your department or in other departments or schools treat substantial parts of the material of this course (perhaps from some other point of view)? In what ways would the proposed new course differ from these courses?



L. Effect on other Departments: Answer for new courses only. Which courses in other departments have, or would have, this course as a prerequisite? Which courses in other departments are prerequisites for this course? Have all departments that might be affected by this change been consulted?



M. "For Courses Being Offered at the Storrs Campus": This data is needed for the purposes of monitoring seat availability and resource needs. Please be as accurate as possible. Departments offering a general education course at Storrs should be committed to offering it on a regular basis.

N. Role and Supervision of Graduate Students: See also note (K). All G.A.'s who instruct or assist in general education courses must be supervised by responsible faculty. G.A's may assist in but not serve as instructors of 200-level W courses. All G.A.s who assist in or instruct W courses must attend a training workshop at the W Learning Center.

O. Regional Campus Availability: The regional campuses consist of the campuses at Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, Torrington, and Waterbury. At which regional campuses will the course be offered? If this represents an addition to regional campus courses, how does that affect the progress of students at the campus? If the course is not available at a regional campus, explain why.

P. Resources and Teaching Loads: For new or revised courses, can the course be offered with the staff or resources that are currently available? Explain. Does the new course replace an existing course that is being dropped? If so, which course? Will the new course alternate with an existing course? If so, with which course? Will teaching loads or class sizes in other courses be increased? If so, in what way? Does the course require additional non-faculty resources? If yes, explain.

III. Course Justification: Guidelines and Criteria

(For a more detailed and comprehensive description of the General Education Guidelines see the GEOC website)


Question 1. Course Information.


Provide this information for all Content Area courses, Q courses, and new or revised W courses. Proposals for existing, unrevised W courses are NOT required to answer this question.


a. Briefly describe (two or three sentences) the course, stating course goals and objectives.


b. Describe course requirements (Specify exam formats, nature and scope of weekly reading assignments, nature and scope of writing assignments, problem sets, etc.)


c. List the major themes, issues, topics, etc. to be covered.


(You may cut and paste into the text box from other text files, but any material with tabs or columns in the original will lose that formatting when the form is submitted to GEOC)


Question 2. Goals of General Education.


Answer this question only if you are proposing a course for one of the four content areas: Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Science and Technology, or Diversity and Multiculturalism.



To be included in any of the new general education content areas, a proposed course must focus on meeting two or more of the seven basic purposes of general education as they are stated in the UConn General Education Guidelines and given here. "

" The purpose of general education is to ensure that all University of Connecticut undergraduate students:

1. Become articulate;
2. Acquire intellectual breadth and versatility;
3. Acquire critical judgement;
4. Acquire moral sensitivity;
5. Acquire awareness of their era and society;
6. Acquire consciousness of the diversity of human culture and experience; and
7. Acquire a working understanding of the processes by which they can continue to acquire and use knowledge.

Please indicate which of the goals listed above will be integral to the proposed course, and for EACH applicable goal briefly explain (two to three sentences for each goal) how that goal will be integrated into course content, assignments, etc. A course is not required to serve all seven purposes of general education.



Question 3. Specific Criteria for Content Area and Q and W competencies.



Group I: Arts and Humanities


Courses appropriate for Group I- Arts and Humanities - must, through historical, critical and/or aesthetic modes of inquiry, introduce students to and engage them in AT LEAST ONE of the following activities: 1.) Investigations and historical/critical analyses of human experience; 2.) Inquiries into philosophical and/or political theory; 3.) Investigations into the modes of symbolic representation; 4.) Comprehension and appreciation of written, graphic and/or performance art forms; 5.) Creation or"re-creation" of artistic works culminating in individual or group publication, production or performance, supplemented by written or oral analysis/criticism.


Provide a brief statement (two to three sentences) for ONE OR MORE of the criteria listed above explaining how the proposed course will meet them. A course is not required to meet all five criteria.



Group II: Social Sciences

Courses appropriate for Group II- Social Sciences- must enable students to analyze and understand interactions of the numerous social factors that influence behavior at the individual, cultural, societal, national, or international level, and must meet ALL FOUR of the following criteria:
1. Introduce students to theories and concepts of the social sciences.
2. Introduce students to methods used in the social sciences, including consideration of the ethical problems social scientists face.
3. Introduce students to ways in which individuals, groups, institutions, or societies behave and influence one another and the natural environment.
4. Provide students with tools to analyze social, political, or economic groups/organizations (such as families, communities, or governments), and to examine social issues and problems at the individual, cultural, societal, national, or international level. Social issues may include issues of gender, race, social class, political power, economic power, and cross-cultural interaction.

For each of the four criteria listed above, please provide a brief statement (two to three sentences for each criterion) explaining how the proposed course will meet that criterion.
ALL FOUR criteria must be satisfied.



Group III: Science and Technology

Courses appropriate for Group III- Science and Technology - must acquaint students with scientific thought, observation, experimentation, and formal hypothesis testing, and enable students to consider the impact that developments in science and technology have on the nature and quality of life. Courses in this group should meet the following criteria:
1. Explore an area of science or technology by introducing students to a broad, coherent body of knowledge and contemporary scientific or technical methods;
2. Promote an understanding of the nature of modern scientific inquiry, the process of investigation, and the interplay of data, hypotheses, and principles in the development and application of scientific knowledge;
3. Introduce students to unresolved questions in some area of science or technology and discuss how progress might be made in answering these questions; and
4. Promote interest, competence, and commitment to continued learning about contemporary science and technology and their impact upon the world and human society.

For each of the four criteria listed above, please provide a brief statement (two to three sentences for each criterion) explaining how the proposed course will meet that criterion. While all four criteria should be addressed, only two or three need to be satisfied in depth.

Group IV: Diversity and Multiculturalism

Courses appropriate for Group IV - Diversity and Multiculturalism - must lead students to an appreciation of the differences as well as commonalities among people by studying the ideas, history, values, and/or creative expressions of diverse groups from the perspectives of the groups under study. Courses in this group must meet AT LEAST ONE of the following five criteria:
1. Emphasize that there are varieties of human experiences, perceptions, thoughts, values, and/or modes of creativity;
2. Emphasize that interpretive systems and/or social structures are cultural creations;
3. Consider the similarities that may exist among diverse groups;
4. Develop an understanding of and sensitivity to issues involving human rights and migration;
5. Develop an awareness of the dynamics of social, political, and/or economic power in the context of any of the above four items.

Please provide a brief statement (two to three sentences) for each of the criteria listed above explaining how the proposed course will meet it. A course is not required to meet all five criteria.

If the course is proposed to meet the "international" requirement, please briefly explain how the course meets AT LEAST ONE of the following two criteria:
1. The course focuses on issues of diversity/multiculturalism outside the United States;
2. The course focuses on cultural continuities and transformations over time and place


Q Courses (See also “Special Instructions for 200-level Q courses” in section I.C. above.)

In filling out the General Education Course Action Requrest Form the
Courses appropriate for a "Q" designation must meet ALL THREE of the following criteria:
1. Include mathematics and/or statistics at or above the basic algebra level as an integral part of the course which is used throughout the course.
2. Include use of basic algebraic concepts such as: formulas and functions, linear and quadratic equations and their graphs, systems of equations, polynomials, fractional expressions, exponents, powers and roots, problem solving and word problems. Formal abstract structures used in symbolic logic and other algebraic analyses are acceptable;
3. Require the student to understand and carry out actual mathematical and/or statistical manipulations, and relate them to whatever data might be provided in order to draw conclusions. Merely feeding numerical data into a program on a computer or a calculator to obtain a numerical result does not satisfy this requirement. Technology should be viewed as a tool to aid understanding and not as a driver of content.



For each of the three criteria listed above, please provide a brief statement (two to three sentences for each criterion) explaining how the proposed course will meet that criterion. ALL THREE criteria must be satisfied. Also provide examples of exams, projects, problem sets, etc. that evaluate the quantitative competency of the student. (NOTE: Once the course is approved by your Departmental/School/College C&C Committee, a small sample of exam questions, projects, problem sets, etc. that evaluate the quantitative competency of the student can be sent via email as an .rtf file attachment to your C&C Committee contact person who can forward this along with your form to GEOC. Send to: GEOC@uconn.edu)



W Courses

Courses appropriate for the "W" designation must satisfy the following criteria:
1.The writing assignments enable and enhance learning the content of the course.
2. The course requires a minimum of fifteen pages of revised, edited writing.
3. The student must pass the “W” component in order to pass the course.
4. The course syllabus must inform students of requirements (2.) and (3.) and provide details concerning how those requirements will be met.

With these criteria in mind, briefly answer ALL FOUR of the following questions about the proposed W course.


1. Describe how the writing assignments will enable and enhance learning the content of the course. Describe the page requirements of the assignments, and the relative weighting of the "W" component of the course for the course grade.


2. Describe the primary modes of writing instruction in the course (e.g. individual conferences, written commentary, formal instruction to the class, and so on.)


3. Explain how opportunities for revision will be structured into the writing assignments in the course.

4. State that the syllabus will inform students that they must pass the "W" component of the course in order to pass the course. (Failure to include this clause will result in a request for revisions on your proposal.)


Laboratory Courses:



For the laboratory section of the course, list the title or topic of each lab, the number of hours per lab, and the final product of the lab (e.g. formal lab write-up or filled in worksheet). The General Education Guidelines indicate that the laboratories must involve "hands-on participation" rather than virtual or simulated experiments.


Provide enough detail about the actual labs to demonstrate that they are indeed "hands-on."