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Experimental Application for General Education status

New or Existing Experimental Courses

Curriculum approval and General Education certification are separate and parallel processes at Ferris.  The following steps are for a proposal to add one or more general education attributes to a new or existing experimental course (course number ending in -90).

The process for adding general education attributes is the same as that for permanent courses, except that decisions and recommendations may be made by committee chairs. For more information or additional contingencies, review the full proposal process.

NOTE: Approval of a general education attribute for an experimental course in no way suggest that the attribute will be approved for a permanent course based on the experimental course.

STEP 1: PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION. A proposer sends a proposal to the Director of General Education (“DGE”, [email protected]).

A complete proposal includes:

1. A Form G

The Form G forms a “cover sheet” for the proposer as well as a record of decisions.

There should be one Form G for each complete proposal. So if there is a single proposal that addresses multiple courses, a single Form G will be required.

The proposal will not be sent to Academic Affairs until decisions have been rendered on all courses covered by the proposal. Proposers should consider that when deciding whether to submit one proposal or several.

2. A General Education Competency Implementation Plan (“CIP Form”) for each attribute.

The CIP Form is the substantive heart of the proposal. It indicates in detail how the course will meet the operational definition and each Ferris Learning Outcome (“FLO”) for the competency and includes a description of how each FLO will be assessed.

3. A Sample Syllabus or Content Outline

A sample syllabus or course outline provides the decision-makers with an overall view of the course under consideration, and should provide enough detail to understand how the information in the CIP Form fits into the course as a whole.

STEP 2: SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR REVIEW. Once all of the components of the proposal are received, the DGE will send the proposal to the chair of the appropriate Competency Subcommittee(s). The subcommittee chair will have 15 working days from the date the proposal is received to render a decision and report back to the proposer.  The subcommittee chair may decide to consult the full subcommittee if they choose.

Working days are any day in the fall or spring semester in which classes are held.  Final exam sessions do not count as working days.

Proposals received by the chair of a Competency Subcommittee during the last three weeks of classes of a semester will be deemed to have received the proposal on the first day of classes the following semester (not including summer semesters).

The Competency Subcommittee chair will either approve the proposal, reject the proposal, or ask the proposer to revise and resubmit the proposal. The Competency Subcommittee chair may only select revise and resubmit two times.

Decisions to reject a proposal can be appealed through the appeals process. Appeals for experimental courses will follow the "APPEAL DIRECTLY TO UGEC" route.

STEP 4: DIRECTOR OF GENERAL EDUCATION REVIEW. The role of the Director of General Education (the “DGE”) depends on the decision made by the Competency Subcommittee chair.  In each case, only one of the following will be followed.