Adopted by Faculty Senate, 5pm, March 8, 2000

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.