General Education
What is General Education?
General Education is shared by all degree-seeking students. Gen Ed credits (~34-41) account for about 2/3 of the Associate's and 1/3 of the Bachelor's degrees. Through core and breadth courses, Gen Ed provides broad exposure to diverse disciplines and is the foundation for developing intellectual tools and responsibility to the self and others.
What is the Mission of General Education?
The purpose of the Weber State University General Education program is to provide students with foundational knowledge and intellectual tools that enhance and transcend their academic program of study. The big questions posed by General Education courses address significant issues about the world. General Education courses help students apply their learning and develop personal and social responsibility, which is demonstrated through signature assignments.
Why is General Education required?
Gen Ed is not a random series of courses to "get out of the way" - it is a program of courses to lead the way to students' future success in higher education, the workplace, and the community. Because Gen Ed courses are framed around a Big Question, which is tapped by a Signature Assignment, students repeatedly exercise Gen Ed Learning Outcomes (GELOs) and "cross-train" their mind. Gen Ed helps students acquire transferable skills, expand their perspective on the world, explore possibilities and opportunities, and discover the unexpected. Thus, the General Education program is designed to help students achieve both program-level (GELOs) and core and breadth area (ALOs) learning outcomes.
When asked to "describe the most significant learning experience you have had so far at this institution", two WSU freshman remarked:
"The Signature Assignments for each of my classes. They've really challenged me to think back on course information I've learned throughout the semester and how it can/does apply to my personal life."
"Although signature assignments aren't the easiest assignment to complete, I love seeing course material take shape in real life. It's so fulfilling to see things that I've learned help me in the real world."
Area Learning Outcomes (ALOs)
The table provides the mission statements and learning outcomes for the five CORE and 3 BREADTH areas of general education at Weber State University.
Printable version
Core Requirements
- Composition
MISSION
The composition core required by the Utah System of Higher Education is a two- or three-semester sequence of courses: ENGL 1005, 1006/1007, or 1010 (EN1), followed by ENGL 2010 or 2015 (EN2). The overarching goal of composition is to prepare students to enter the discourse communities of the university and larger society.
EN 1 OUTCOMES
- Composing processes: Identify and practice composing processes including: peer review, recursive drafting, summary, synthesis and authorial ownership.
- Genre: Analyze and apply genre features including: organization, surface features, and modalities.
- Audiences: Identify and analyze various audiences, texts, and writing situations in order to determine appropriate rhetorical strategies, conventions, media, and sources.
EN 2 OUTCOMES
- Processes: Demonstrate proficiency in academic research and writing processes.
- Connections: Articulate audience and critically evaluate information sources, identifying onnections between and among texts, ideas, language, and disciplines, in various contexts.
- Conventions: Implement writing that employs ethical and appropriate conventions such as thesis statements, topic sentences, surface features, and documentation.
(approved by Faculty Senate, 2024)
- American Institutions
MISSION
The mission of Weber State’s American Institutions (AI) requirement is to adhere to the Utah State Code, specifically 53B-16-103(b) which reads: "A student shall demonstrate a reasonable understanding of the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States prior to receiving a bachelor's degree or teaching credential." The overarching goal of this requirement is to have all students gain the basic knowledge necessary for informed and responsible citizenship.
OUTCOMES
An American Institutions (AI) course will meet the following outcomes.
Upon completing an AI course a student shall demonstrate a reasonable understanding of:
- the significant political, economic, and social changes in American history.
- the major principles of American civilization, including the concepts of popular sovereignty, liberty, and equality.
- the institutions and practices of the government provided for in the United States Constitution.
- the basic workings and evolution of a market economy in the United States.
- Quantitative Literacy
MISSION
It is the mission of Weber State University to produce graduates that can reason quantitatively within the context of their majors and career goals. This includes understanding information and reasoning that is numerical, geometric, algebraic, graphical, and statistical -- and at the level of sophistication of college algebra.
OUTCOMES
A quantitatively literate person should be able to:
- Interpret mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables, and schematics, and draw inferences from them.
- Represent mathematical information symbolically, visually, numerically, and verbally.
- Use arithmetical, algebraic, geometric, and statistical methods to solve problems.
- Estimate and check answers to mathematical problems in order to determine reasonableness, identify alternatives, and select optimal results.
- Recognize that mathematical and statistical methods have limits.
- Cultural Competence (CC)
MISSION
General Education at Weber State University supports the development of cultural competence through designated Cultural Competence (CC) courses which prepare students to recognize a plurality of perspectives, including their own, to function successfully in a global society.
OUTCOMES
A student who successfully completes a CC General Education course will:
- Evaluate their own perspective as one among many.
- Analyze the ways in which biases or values influence and/or have influenced the structures, policies, practices, norms, or perspectives often assumed to be neutral.
- Apply diverse perspectives to complex subjects in the face of multiple or conflicting positions, in accordance with their sense of personal and civic responsibility.
Approved by the General Education Improvement and Assessment Committee on 3/21/21, Student Senate on 4/12/21, and Faculty Senate on 11/11/21. Non substantive change approved 6/27/24
- Information Literacy
MISSION
The Weber State University Information Literacy requirement provides students with the ability to use the Internet and library resources. Specifically it provides students with skills and knowledge to find, identify, retrieve, analyze, and evaluate information to support academic success and lifelong learning.
OUTCOMES
- RESEARCH AS AN EXPLORATORY PROCESS: Using tools and techniques to address information needs while understanding that the research process is often iterative and nonlinear.
- 1.1 - understand information needs and formulate research questions or thesis statements based on scope of the project
- 1.2 - use and refine different search techniques appropriately, matching information needs and search strategies to appropriate search tools
- 1.3 - understand that the research process is often iterative and non-linear
- SCHOLARSHIP AS COMMUNICATION: Scholarly communication is a conversation between creators of information with a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.
- 2.1 - identify and describe various resource types and formats, recognizing their value and contribution to scholarly communication
- 2.2 - recognize that a given scholarly work may not represent the only or even the majority perspective on an issue
- 2.3 - recognize the value of information literacy outside the academic setting
- CRITICALLY EVALUATE INFORMATION: It is important to evaluate the quality of all information based on its context.
- 3.1 - define different types of authority, such as subject expertise or special experience, and use research tools and indicators to evaluate the credibility of authors and sources
- 3.2 - recognize that authoritative content may be packaged formally or informally and may include sources of all media types, and that information may be perceived differently based on the format in which it is packaged, but all sources should be critically evaluated
- ETHICAL USE OF INFORMATION: Legal and ethical standards are important to the dissemination, retention, and study of information resources.
- 4.1 - avoid plagiarism by identifying the different types and by giving credit to the original ideas of others through proper attribution and citation
- 4.2 - articulate the purpose and characteristics of ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of information, such as copyright, fair use, open access, Creative Commons, and the public domain
The revised outcomes were approved by GEIAC, November, 2016; approved by Faculty Senate, February, 2017.
Breadth Requirements
- Humanities and Creative Arts
MISSION
Foundational Principles
- We believe the arts and humanities play a fundamental role as tools for the analysis, interpretation, creation, and expression of human ideals, challenges, and desires across cultures.
- Perspectives from the arts and humanities apply to other academic disciplines and to society at large.
- We value open inquiry into complex problems, and the ability to reflect on, analyze, and appreciate diverse viewpoints and schools of thought.
Although the broad foundational principles outlined above are explored in both Creative Arts and Humanities courses, important distinctions of emphasis characterize these two branches of knowledge. The specific learning outcomes for the two areas are as follows.
Creative Arts:
- Students will create works of art and/or increase their understanding of creative processes in writing, visual arts, interactive entertainment, or performing arts.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of key themes, concepts, issues, terminology and ethical standards employed in creative arts disciplines. They will use this knowledge to analyze works of art from various traditions, time periods, and cultures.
Humanities:
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of diverse philosophical, communicative, linguistic, or literary traditions, as well as of key themes, concepts, issues, terminology, and ethical standards in humanities disciplines.
- Students will analyze cultural artifacts within a given discipline, and, when appropriate, across disciplines, time periods, and cultures.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate their understanding of humanities materials in written, oral, or graphic forms.
- Social Science
MISSION
The mission of the Social Science general education area is twofold: 1. to provide students with a basic understanding of humans and their behavior within their environments; and 2. to empower students to contribute to society in their particular professions and as engaged citizens of their various communities.
OUTCOMES
Students completing a social science general education course will demonstrate their understanding of the following three outcomes:
- Interactions between individuals and society: Students will describe how individuals and groups influence and are influenced by social contexts, institutions, physical environments and/or global process.
- Application of concepts, theories, and methods: Students will apply basic social science concepts, theories, and/or methods to a particular issue and identify factors that influence change.
- Diverse perspectives: Students will identify an argument about a social phenomenon and understand alternative explanations.
- Life and Physical Sciences
MISSION
The mission of the natural sciences general education program is to provide students with an understanding and appreciation of the natural world from a scientific perspective. Science is a way of knowing. Its purpose is to describe and explain the natural world, to investigate the mechanisms that govern nature, and to identify ways in which all natural phenomena are interrelated. Science produces knowledge that is based on evidence and that knowledge is repeatedly tested against observations of nature. The strength of science is that ideas and explanations that are inconsistent with evidence are refined or discarded and replaced by those that are more consistent. Science provides personal fulfillment that comes from understanding the natural world. In addition, experience with the process of science develops skills that are increasingly important in the modern world. These include creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and communication of ideas. A person who is scientifically literate is able to evaluate and propose explanations appropriately. The scientifically literate individual can assess whether or not a claim is scientific, and distinguish scientific explanations from those that are not scientific.
OUTCOMES
All General Education science courses will meet the following natural science outcomes.
After completing the natural sciences general education requirements, students will demonstrate their understanding of general principles of science:
- Nature of science. Scientific knowledge is based on evidence that is repeatedly examined, and can change with new information. Scientific explanations differ fundamentally from those that are not scientific.
- Integration of science. All natural phenomena are interrelated and share basic organizational principles. Scientific explanations obtained from different disciplines should be cohesive and integrated.
- Science and society. The study of science provides explanations that have significant impact on society, including technological advancements, improvement of human life, and better understanding of human and other influences on the earth’s environment.
- Problem solving and data analysis. Science relies on empirical data, and such data must be analyzed, interpreted, and generalized in a rigorous manner.
All life science courses will also meet the following life science outcomes.
Students will demonstrate their understanding of the following characteristics of life:
- Levels of organization: All life shares an organization that is based on molecules and cells and extends to organisms and ecosystems.
- Metabolism and homeostasis: Living things obtain and use energy, and maintain homeostasis via organized chemical reactions known as metabolism.
- Genetics and evolution: Shared genetic processes and evolution by natural selection are universal features of all life.
- Ecological interactions: All organisms, including humans, interact with their environment and other living organisms.
All physical science courses will also meet the following physical science outcomes.
Students will demonstrate their understanding of the following features of the physical world:
- Organization of systems: The universe is scientifically understandable in terms of interconnected systems. The systems evolve over time according to basic physical laws.
- Matter: Matter comprises an important component of the universe, and has physical properties that can be described over a range of scales.
- Energy: Interactions within the universe can be described in terms of energy exchange and conservation.
- Forces: Equilibrium and change are determined by forces acting at all organizational levels.
