General education requirements clarification

A March 13 Student Voice story, titled "UWRF general education requirements change" and written by Christine Marriott, had some errors due to the fact that Marriott interviewed her sources prior to the March 4 Faculty Senate meeting where the general education changes were discussed.

Shortly after the March 4 meeting, Chancellor Dean Van Galen signed the motions that were passed by Faculty Senate and here are the official changes:

1) Beginning in the fall 2015 catalog year, courses will now be allowed to count wherever they meet a requirement. Thus, a course can count in general education, university requirements, liberal arts, majors, minors and certificates if it meets that outcome.

2) Beginning in the fall 2015 catalog year, in "Goal One" there is a test-out/placement score mechanism for incoming students that will allow students to obtain three to six credits for reading and writing (CW) and advanced communication (CA).

3) Beginning in the fall 2015 catalog year, "Goal Three" scientific investigation (SL) and sciences (S) categories will be replaced by a single scientific inquiry (SI) category. All past S and SL courses are being put into the SI category until their next review by the General Education Committee. Students will still need to take two science courses, but one does not necessarily have to be a laboratory course.

4) Retroactive to the fall 2014 catalog year, "Goal Four" multidisciplinary inquiry (MD) has been completely eliminated.

5) Retroactive to the fall 2014 catalog year, "Goal Five" personal health and wellness courses (HW) have been completely eliminated. The health class (PE 108) and ethical citizenship still remain.

The following motion was passed at the March 25 Faculty Senate meeting, but the motion hasn't been signed yet:

6) Retroactive to the fall 2014 catalog year, the requirement for students to complete a minor is removed, with the provision that the provost will be authorized to exempt those programs that must have a minor.

All changes to the fall 2014 catalog have been made by the Registrar’s office.

College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean Tricia Davis said that the changes give students great flexibility of choosing courses, according to her March 26 email. Davis also said that the changes will help promote Study Abroad opportunities. As a reminder, students still need to meet the 120 credits requirement to graduate.