Guidelines for Requesting Additions to the Distribution of Content List

Prerequisites:  No course should have more than one prerequisite if it is to be considered for General Education status.  The point of General Education is that it is made up of courses that people can take without having an extensive background in the subject.  Courses with multiple prerequisites are, by definition, not general education. 

Open Enrollment:  No course that is limited to a department’s majors is eligible for General Education status.  The term “general” implies that any student should be able to take a course. 

Single Designation:  Except in the case of extenuating circumstances (to be reviewed and assessed by the Committee on Undergraduate Education on a case-by-case basis), courses should only be allowed a single General Education designation. 

Interdisciplinary Courses:  In general, an interdisciplinary course proposed by two departments may not request multiple general education categories.  Exceptions will be made only if: 

  1. The departments explain the need to members of CUE and the members of CUE find that explanation compelling.   
  2. The departments ask for a maximum of two categories. 
  3. The two categories align with the general education categories those departments traditionally request for their courses.  For example, in a course proposed by Political Science and Art History, the two general education categories CUE would expect are social science and humanities.  If the departments ask for categories that don’t seem to fit with the departments, they will have to make a compelling case to CUE.   

Cross-listing Agreement:  When a class is submitted for General Education and is cross-listed with another course, the two courses should have the same General Education designation.  Otherwise, it is confusing for students, advisers, and degree audits. 

Area Expertise:  For courses to be eligible for General Education, they should be taught in departments that can reasonably be expected to have expertise in the subject matter.  For instance, a course on film history should not reasonably expect General Education designation as Humanities if it is being taught by the Physics Department. 

Updated: October 2021