The Curriculum Advisory Board (CAB), as instructed by the Academic Senate, is leading a “transparent and consultative process of revising the number and/or title of upper-division (UD) Pathways and corresponding GE Minors” (EM 19-021), for implementation in Fall 2021. On October 22, following a period of consultation and public meetings, CAB voted to recommend ten upper-division Pathways and GE Minors that best reflected campus feedback and met the established criteria:
- Agriculture, Food, and the Environment
- California: People, Place, and Cultures
- Equity, Ethics, and Policy
- Gender and Sexuality
- Global Studies
- Health and Wellness
- Innovation, Design, and the Arts
- Race, Ethnicity, and Sovereignty
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Sustainability and Climate Change
During the final third of the Fall 2019 semester, Departments proposed courses for the new/revised UD Pathways and GE Minors (Chairs/Coordinators of Departments/Programs with existing GE courses received proposal forms on October 31). To assist Departments, CAB has produced a guide that lists possible topics that may be included in each UD Pathway and GE Minor. Please note that this guide does not contain official descriptions or definitions, which will only appear once the UD Pathways and GE Minors are populated with courses.
On November 20, Departments with existing upper-division GE courses indicated their Pathway preferences. On December 7, in the interest of creating a sustainable GE program that takes into consideration Department/College resource allocation, CAB returned a list of all proposed upper-division GE courses by Pathway to Department Chairs of each upper-division GE area (B, C, and D), and asked Departments to confirm by December 13 the distribution of courses across the upper-division Pathways.
On December 20, Departments with existing GE courses indicated whether they would like any course(s) considered for a GE Minor. The next steps in the process are elaborated further online.
Note: campus feedback reveals very strong student and employer demand for a Minor in Leadership, and strong employer demand for a Minor in Data Literacy. While these do not meet the established criteria for an Interdisciplinary GE Minor, the subcommittee encourages the university to meet this demand by proposing non-GE minors in these areas. Note: EM 99-016 established a Minor in Leadership Studies (since suspended), which EM 10-011 moved from the School of Graduate, International, and Interdisciplinary Studies to the Office of Undergraduate Education.