The General Education The General Education Program at WestmontProgram at Westmont

Its goals and visionIts goals and vision

The Graduation RequirementsThe Graduation Requirements• Complete at least 124 units with at least a 2.0 GPA.

• Complete the general education requirements

• Complete a major with– at least 2.0 average in the upper-division major courses– at least one half of the upper division major requirements taken

“at Westmont”

• Complete 68 units outside the major department

• Meet the senior residence requirement

The Purpose of the GEThe Purpose of the GE

• Provide– Support for the major area of study– Tools to relate specialized knowledge to other

areas of learning, to life, and to the world

• Foster– Intellectual vitality– Christian character– Commitment to service

The Components of General The Components of General Education at WestmontEducation at Westmont

• Common Contexts

• Common Inquiries

• Commons Skills

• Competent and Compassionate Action

Common Contexts – PurposeCommon Contexts – Purpose

• Provide contextual background, concepts, vocabulary to support exploration in other areas

• Ground our pursuit of knowledge in the context of God’s revelation

• Orient students to the idea of a Christian Liberal Arts education

Common Contexts – Content Common Contexts – Content

• Biblical and Theological Canons– Life and Literature of the New Testament– Introduction to Christian Doctrine– Life and Literature of the Old Testament

• Introduction to the Christian Liberal Arts– Philosophical Reflections on Truth and Value– World Civilizations in Christian Perspective

Common Contexts Common Contexts Special ConsiderationsSpecial Considerations

• Common Contexts courses must be taken at Westmont

• These courses should be taken early – if possible, by the end of the second year.

The Components of General The Components of General Education at WestmontEducation at Westmont

• Common Contexts

• Common Inquiries

• Commons Skills

• Competent and Compassionate Action

Common Inquiries – PurposeCommon Inquiries – Purpose

• Provide an introduction to a range of methodological approaches to knowledge and ways of thinking

• Provide a broad context within which to place the major discipline

Common Inquiries – ContentCommon Inquiries – Content• Reading Imaginative Literature• Exploring the Physical Sciences• Exploring the Life Sciences• Performing and Interpreting the Arts• Reasoning Abstractly• Thinking Globally• Thinking Historically• Understanding Society

Common Inquiries Common Inquiries Special ConsiderationsSpecial Considerations

• These are method, not departmentally, based

• You are encouraged to develop and submit courses from your discipline that address one of these categories

• One time only, a student can use one course to satisfy two area requirements

The Components of General The Components of General Education at WestmontEducation at Westmont

• Common Contexts

• Common Inquiries

• Commons Skills

• Competent and Compassionate Action

Common Skills – PurposeCommon Skills – Purpose

• Improve communication skills to support academic, professional and personal life

• Enhance the capacity to work with numerical data and analytic models

• Develop physical skills and habits of fitness to support a healthy and active life

Common Skills – ContentCommon Skills – Content

• Three writing or speech intensive courses– Writing for the Liberal Arts– writing/speech-intensive course in the major– writing/speech-intensive course outside the

major

• Quantitative and Analytical Reasoning

• Modern/Foreign Language

• Physical Education (4)

Common Skills Common Skills Special ConsiderationsSpecial Considerations

The first two parts (A and B) are not assigned units – they should be done in the context of other GE or major courses

Common Skills Common Skills Writing for the Liberal ArtsWriting for the Liberal Arts

• This course should be taken this during your first year

• ENG 002: Composition is typically required

• With a qualifying test score (ACT, SAT WR II,

TSWE) a student may take an alternate writing-intensive course

Common Skills Common Skills Modern/Foreign LanguageModern/Foreign Language

• Students must take a language course at their current level of expertise

• Student placing into the fourth semester of a language or with an AP score of 4 or 5 are not required to take an additional language course. However, they are encouraged to do so.

Common Skills Common Skills Physical EducationPhysical Education

• All students must take Fitness for Life (not

necessarily first) and three additional activity courses

• Since these courses are designed to establish a habit of life-long physical activity, only one PE Activity course per term will count toward the total unit count or the GE requirement

• Athletes can use their sport one time

The Components of General The Components of General Education at WestmontEducation at Westmont

• Common Contexts

• Common Inquiries

• Commons Skills

• Competent and Compassionate Action

Competent and Compassionate Competent and Compassionate Action – Purpose Action – Purpose

• Provide an opportunity to integrate the entire educational experience

• Put learning into practice

• Initiate the practice of life-long, reflective service

Competent and Compassionate Competent and Compassionate Action – ContentsAction – Contents

• One of– Productions and Presentations– Integrating the Major Discipline

• One of– Serving Society; Enacting Justice– Communicating Cross-Culturally

Competent and Compassionate Competent and Compassionate Action – Details Action – Details

• These experiences are intended to be culminations of a student’s studies – they should be done in the junior or senior year

• These must be done with the academic oversight, but need not be connected with a particular course

• It is preferable, but not required, to satisfy these requirements in the context of the major

The Flow of a Westmont EducationThe Flow of a Westmont Education

Common Contexts

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Skills

Major

Competent & Compassionate Action

Common Inquiries

A Bit of Historical ContextA Bit of Historical Context

• The GE is currently referred to as the “New GE”

• This year’s incoming class is the first group that will graduate under the new GE curriculum

• This program is the result of five years of work – three years of development and two years of review for implementation

More Historical ContextMore Historical Context

• We are still in the process of developing and approving courses

• Few courses in the area of Competent and Compassionate Action have been approved yet

• This year will focus on developing courses for the Serving Society; Enacting Justice area

A Bit of Political ContextA Bit of Political Context

The new GE structure represents several significant shifts

1. Courses are oriented toward objectives and goals rather than being resources distributed to departments

2. The GE Committee reviews and approves courses for GE credit

3. Course syllabi are expected to explicitly address issues relevant to the GE area for which they are approved.

4. The GE areas and their courses will be reviewed on a rotating basis

A Call For ParticipationA Call For Participation

• Eventually, you will be involved in advising students in the new GE – Talk it up!

• You are invited to develop and submit courses in any of the areas

The Course Submission ProcessThe Course Submission Process

1. Review the specifications for the GE area

2. Consult as needed with experts in the area

3. Create/modify your syllabus in light of On the Role of the Syllabus

4. Complete the course submission form

5. Submit the proposal to the GE Committee via the Provost’s Office

Important ResourcesImportant Resources(Accessible through the curriculum link on the (Accessible through the curriculum link on the Provost’s web page or www.westmont.edu/ge)Provost’s web page or www.westmont.edu/ge)

1. The GE Document

2. The Supplemental Document

3. What Makes an Appropriate GE Course?

4. On the Role of the Syllabus

5. Syllabus Template

6. Course Submission Form

7. Lists of approved GE courses

8. This slide show

Questions?Questions?

Common Contexts

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Skills

Major

Competent & Compassionate Action

Common Inquiries