Mission Statement
The mission of George Mason University's General
Education Program is to
educate, liberate and broaden the mind and to
instill lifelong love of learning. In
conjunction with each student's major program
of study and other
electives, minors or certificates, this Program
seeks to produce graduates
with intellectual vision, creative abilities
and moral sensibility, as
well as the skills to assure a well-rounded and
useable education.
Specifically, General Education courses should
first ensure that all
undergraduates develop skills in information
gathering, written and oral
communication, and analytical and quantitative
reasoning.
Second, General Education courses should expose
students to the
development of knowledge by emphasizing major
domains of
thought and methods of inquiry.
Third, General Education courses should enable
students to attain a
breadth of knowledge that supports their specializations
and contributes
to their education in both personal and professional
terms.
Fourth, General Education courses should encourage
students to make
important connections across boundaries (for
example: among disciplines;
between the university and the external world;
between the United States
and other countries).
Framework Elaboration
This is the initial stage of the framework.
Each category will have more specific
criteria developed as the second phase of this
framework.
Many units will add three or more credits to
the General Education Program
as part of their degree requirements.
The listing below is the University-wide
requirement only.
A. Foundation Requirements
1. Written Communication -- Goal:
develop ability to use written
communication as a way of thinking and of discovering
ideas and meanings
as well as expressing them.
Required -- English 101, 302, approved
writing intensive course in major,
and increase emphasis on reading and writing
in appropriate Gen Ed courses.
2. Oral Communication -- Goal: develop
ability to use oral communication
as a way of thinking and learning as well as
sharing ideas with others.
Required -- One approved course in oral
communication; increase emphasis
on oral communication in appropriate Gen Ed courses.
3. Quantitative Reasoning -- Goal:
develop ability to use and critically
evaluate numerical information, and to create
and critique logical arguments
using quantitative reasoning.
Required -- Either: (a) appropriate placement
score on quantitative skills and
one of Math 108, 110, 111, 113, 115, 125 or Stat
250 or Desc 210 or (b) lower
placement score requiring Math 106; increase
emphasis on mathematics and
statistics in appropriate Gen Ed courses.
4. Information Technology -- Goal:
develop ability to use information
technology to communicate and conduct research;
develop understanding of
ethical use of computing and information systems.
Required -- One course in IT skills course/lab
(WITH TESTING OUT OPTION);
increase emphasis on the use of IT in appropriate
Gen Ed courses
and major.
B. Core Requirements
1. Literature
-- Goal: develop an understanding of the aesthetic and intellectual
components of literature through critical analysis
of major literary works.
Required -- At least one approved course in literature.
2. Arts -- Goal: develop an understanding
of the aesthetic and intellectual
components of the arts through either critical
analysis of major artistic works
or through creative work of their own.
Required -- At least one approved course in the arts.
3. Natural Science -- Goal: develop an
understanding of natural science,
including the critical approach of the scientific
method, the relation between
theory and experiment, the development and elaboration
of major ideas in science.
Required -- Two approved science courses,
at least one with a laboratory
experience.
4. US / Western Institutions, Traditions and
Economies -- Goal: develop
an understanding of the institutions and traditions
of our society and its
Western counterparts.
Required -- One approved course.
5. Global Understanding: International Institutions
and Cross-Cultural
Values -- Goal: develop an
understanding of the institutions and values of
global society, with an emphasis on cultural
traditions other than one's own.
To the degree possible, these courses will emphasize
the comparison of more than one cultural tradition.
Required -- One approved course.
6. Social and Behavioral Sciences -- Goal:
develop an understanding of the
social and behavioral sciences, including the
scientific approach to the study of human behavior.
Required -- One approved course.
C. Synthesis Requirement
1. Goal: To assist students in the making
of connected meaning and the
synthesis of knowledge.
Required -- One approved upper division course.
(Implementation may lag behind the other parts
if it is determined that significant
course development is required.)
One type of course is one that links issues in
the student's major to wider
intellectual and community concerns. Others might
be interdisciplinary.
PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION AND FACULTY
A. Program Administration
The Program on General Education will be administered
by the Associate Provost for
General Education, who will be appointed by the
Provost with the advice and consent
of the Faculty Senate. A University standing
committee on General Education will
be created, with roughly 2/3 of members
elected
by the Senate and the remainder
appointed by the Provost. The Associate
Provost and the University Standing Committee,
along with a student representative, will approve
courses as satisfying general education requirements.
B. Program Faculty
Faculty involved in the design and delivery of
General Education courses will request
appointment in the Program on General Education
in a process developed by the
Associate Provost for General Education and the
Faculty Senate Standing Committee.
The initial process will be completed during
academic year 2000-2001.
C. Course Development
Assuming approval of the framework, faculty will
begin course development in the
Summer, 2000 for courses created in response
to programmatic needs.
D. Implementation Dates
Assuming approval, the program would begin operations
in Fall 2001 for entering
freshmen and in Fall 2002 for entering transfer
students.
E. Implementation Principles
1) This document is a draft and is expected to further evolve as consideration and input continue.
2) The establishment of a long-term administrative structure is essential to the success of the General Education program.
3) Transformation requires a transition period and the long-term General Education program will evolve over time.
4) No one course should be required to fulfill any general education requirement. (Other than the current multiple-sectioned ENGL 101 and 302.)
5) Advisors will play important roles in helping students make the best choices for general education. Individual students should also be able to waive, petition or test out of certain requirements under unusual circumstances.
6) Deans and directors must be willing to work
with and support departments involved in general education. Implementation
of this program should be done in a way as not to overburden or frustrate
faculty. Resources provided to General Education benefit the overall
University mission.
F. Exceptions
Programs that have external accreditation requirements
will be permitted modifications where
needed.
G. Integrated Programs
It is understood that the already approved integrated
General Education programs at
GMU will continue to serve as General Education
requirements.