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3.1P
PROCEDURES FOR APPROVING GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES
AT SANTA ROSA JUNIOR COLLEGE
ADOPT: JUNE 12, 2001
REVISED: JANUARY 8, 2002
REVISED: MARCH 12, 2002
TITLE 5: 55805

  1. A course approved for the General Education pattern at Santa Rosa Junior College should meet the spirit of the SRJC General Education Philosophy.

  2. The course should be introductory in nature, broad in scope, and of value to non-majors.

  3. The course should be of value to students in and of itself. Courses that are taught in sequence can be approved so long as each course meets this criterion.

  4. The course should promote lifelong learning in the discipline.

  5. In a general education course, the student should develop his or her ability to do one or more of the following:

    1. To think clearly, logically, and ethically;

    2. To find information from a variety of sources and technologies;

    3. To examine information critically;

    4. To communicate effectively both in speaking and in writing;

    5. To reason quantitatively; and,

    6. To work collaboratively.

  6. The course work should call for critical thinking (Title 5, 55002(a)(2)). For an explanation of how critical thinking skills can be incorporated into general education courses, see the document "Critical Thinking Skills" in the Curriculum binder.

  7. Where appropriate in the general education pattern the course should:

    1. Involve students actively in examining values inherent in proposed solutions to major social problems (Title 5, 55805);

    2. Engage students in thinking about ethical problems (Title 5, 55805);

    3. encourage students to develop a critical awareness of and informed participation in the natural and social worlds in which we live; and/or,

    4. Encourage students to discover connections with other disciplines.

  8. The course must be appropriate to the associate degree (as specified in Title 5, 55805.5, see end note), and the course must meet the standards and criteria for associate degree credit courses (as specified in Title 5, 55002, see end note).

  9. In addition to the criteria stated above, the course must meet the specific criteria for one of the SRJC general education areas, Areas A through I, described below.

    Area A

    English Composition

    Course fulfilling the written composition requirement shall be designed to include instruction in and evaluation of both expository and argumentative writing. A student may apply only one English course below transferable freshman composition towards the associate degree. (Title 5, 55805.5, 55806)

    Area B

    Communication and Analytical Thinking

    Courses fulfilling the communication and analytical thinking requirement include oral communication, mathematics, logic, statistics, computer languages and programming, and related disciplines. (Title 5, 55806)

    Area C

    Natural Sciences

    Courses in the natural sciences are those, which examine the physical universe its life forms, and its natural phenomena. To satisfy the general education requirement in natural sciences a course shall be designed to help the student develop an understanding of the scientific method, and encourage an understanding of the relationships between science and other human activities. The category would include introductory or integrative courses in astronomy, biology, chemistry, general physical science, geology, meteorology, oceanography, physical geography, physical anthropology, physics, and other scientific disciplines. (Title 5, 55806)

    Area D

    Social and Behavioral Sciences

    Course in the social and behavioral sciences are those which focus on people as members of society. To satisfy the general education requirement in social and behavioral sciences, the course shall be designed to develop an awareness of the methods of inquiry used by the social and behavioral sciences. It shall be designed to stimulate critical thinking about the ways people act and have acted in response to their societies and should promote appreciation of how societies and social subgroups operate. This category would include introductory or integrative survey courses in cultural anthropology, cultural geography, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology, and related disciplines. (Title 5, 55806)

    Area E

    Humanities

    Course in humanities are those which study the cultural activities and artistic expressions of human beings. To satisfy the general education requirement in the humanities, a course shall be designed to help the student develop an awareness of the ways in which people throughout the ages and in different cultures have responded to themselves and the world around them in artistic and cultural creations and to help the student develop aesthetic understanding and an ability to make value judgements. Such courses could include introductory or integrative course in the arts, foreign language, literature, philosophy, and religion. (Title 5, 55806)

    Area F

    American Institutions

    To satisfy the general education requirement for American Institutions, courses must help students to understand the history of the United States and/or the rights and responsibilities of participating in the democracy of the United States. The criteria that will be applied in approving courses are outlined in "Graduation Requirements in United States History, Constitution, and American Ideals" published by the Office of the Chancellor for the California State University and Colleges. The reading and writing skills for courses satisfying this requirement are those taught at the English 100 level or higher.

    Area G

    American Cultures and Ethnic Studies Requirement

    Courses for Area G must meet the requirement for American Cultures or for Ethnic Studies. These courses will be reviewed by the American Cultures/Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee to determine if the course satisfies the requirement.

    American Cultures

    To satisfy the general education requirement in American Cultures, courses must meet the specific guidelines approved by the Santa Rosa Junior College Board of Trustees (3/11/97) and must be reviewed and approved by the American Cultures Advisory Group (that reports to the Curriculum Committee). Courses satisfying Area G must indicate the Course Outlines of Record that they:

    1. Take a comparative and integrative approach to the study of at least three of the following groups studied within the larger context of United States culture: African, Asian, Chicano/Latino, European, Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, Middle Eastern. One group should not be the focus of a greater part of the course.

    2. Address major theoretical or analytical issues relevant to understanding the meaning of and dynamic interactions between race, ethnicity, and gender in the United States.

    3. Where appropriate to the breadth, depth, and learning objectives of particular course, examine how issues of class, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, or Deaf culture help structure our common experience.

    4. Require reading and writing skills taught at the English 100 level or higher.

    Ethnic Studies

    The course outline that satisfies the Ethnic Studies requirement will make it evident that the course satisfies the follow criteria. Ethnic Studies shall:

    1. Provide a focused examination of one of the following groups: African American, Asian American, Chicano/Latino American, Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, and Americans of Middle Eastern origin.

    2. Include explicit comparisons with other American culture or ethnic groups.

    3. Address major theoretical or analytical issues relevant to understanding the meaning of and dynamic interactions between race, ethnicity, and gender in the United States.

    4. Allow the option, where appropriate to the breadth, depth, and learning objectives of a particular course, to examine how issues of class, sexual orientation, age, religions, disability, or Deaf culture help structure our common experience.

    5. Require reading and writing skills taught at the English 100 level or higher.

    Area H

    The following criteria will be used in the curriculum review process to determine if a course shall meet the Area H requirement for Environmental or Global Studies.

    1. The clear intent of each course shall be to include the coverage of issues, theories, controversies, or challenges related to global and/or environmental topics as either the primary focus of the class or the principle interpretive theme while covering other subjects or topics. The presentation of more than one point of view, without the privileging of one, shall be required whenever possible or appropriate.

    2. Course materials (exs. the syllabus, assignments, exercises, and textbooks) shall clearly address environmental or global topics. Additional course content (exs: vocabulary, skills development, and the like) should be included in a manner that supports the goals of environmental or global instruction.

    3. Material and issues listed on the Environmental/Global Topic Sheet (available through the Curriculum Committee) are examples of focus for global or environmental classes. Similar topics, not currently found on this list, may be proposed at the time a course is offered for curriculum review. The Environmental/Global Curriculum Review Sub-Committee will review their appropriateness and make a recommendation to the District Curriculum Review Committee regarding their inclusion in this requirement area.

    4. Courses that will include both global and environmental coverage must indicate one of these two areas as "primary" for purposes of catalogue listings (to direct the interests of students most appropriately.) It is understood that many topics on these lists share overlapping data, issues, and solutions.

    5. New or revised course proposals for the Environmental/Global requirement shall be reviewed by the Environmental/Global Curriculum Sub Committee for recommendation to the District's Curriculum Review Committee. This subcommittee of Curriculum Review will be appointed annually or as needed.

    Area I

    Information Literacy

    Courses that satisfy the general education requirement in Information Literacy must meet the standards, performance indicators and outcomes approved by the Academic Senate for this requirement and summarized below. More details regarding requirements are available through the Curriculum Review Committee or the Information Literacy Advisory Group.

    Courses proposed for this requirement shall be reviewed and approved by the Information Literacy Advisory Group that works in association with the Curriculum Review Committee. Appropriate prerequisites or advisories should be stated in course outlines.

    When a department elects to add an Area I course to the list of approved "Credit by Examination" classes (See Policy and Procedures 3.16), students may fulfill this requirement by passing a challenge examination. The examination will be administered by the department teaching the course. The examination shall be based on the Information Literacy standards, performance indicators and outcomes presented in the course outline.

    Courses which fulfill the Information Literacy requirement shall give students the ability to:

    1. Recognize the need for information;

    2. Form appropriate questions based on information needs;

    3. Identify potential sources of information;

    4. Use available information tools to locate and retrieve relevant information;

    5. Evaluate found information on the basis of reliability, accuracy, authority, appropriateness, timeliness and point of view or bias;

    6. Synthesize and integrate new and existing information; and,

    7. Recognize the ethical and legal issues concerning the use of information and information technology

    This course must be degree applicable with the minimum level of rigor required of other reading/writing based degree applicable courses.

    End-notes:

    Standards for Course Approval

    The College and/or District curriculum committee shall recommend approval of the course for associate degree credit if it meets the following standards:

    1. Grading Policy. The course provides for measurement of student performance in terms of the stated course objectives and culminates in a formal, permanently recorded grade based upon uniform standards in accordance with section 55758 (of Title 5). The grade is based on demonstrated proficiency in subject matter and the ability to demonstrate that proficiency, at least in part, by means of essays or in course where the curriculum committee deems them to appropriate, by problem solving exercises or skills demonstrations by students.

    2. Units. The course grants units of credit based upon a relationship specified by the governing board, between the number of units assigned to the course and the number of lecture and/or laboratory hours or performance criteria specified in the course outline. The course also requires a minimum of three hours of work per week, including class time for each unit of credit, prorated for short-term, laboratory, and activity courses.

    3. Intensity. The course treats subject matter with a scope and intensity that require students to study independently outside of class time.

    4. Prerequisites and Co-requisites. When the College and/or District curriculum committee determines, based on a review of the course outline of record, that a student would be highly unlikely to receive a satisfactory grade unless the student has knowledge or skills not taught in the course, then the course shall require prerequisites or co-requisites that are established, reviewed, and applied in accordance with the requirements of Title 5, article 2.5 (section 55200).

    5. Basic Skills Requirements. If success in the course is dependent upon communication or computation skills, then the course shall require, consistent with the provisions of Article 2.5 (55200), as prerequisites or co-requisites eligibility for enrollment in associate degree credit courses in English and/or mathematics, respectively.

    6. Difficulty. The course work calls for critical thinking and the understanding and application of concepts determined by the curriculum committee to be at college level.

    7. Level. The course requires learning skills and a vocabulary that the curriculum committee deems appropriate for a college course.

    End-notes:

    Types of Courses Appropriate to the Associate Degree (Title 5, 55805.5)

    1. All lower division courses accepted toward the baccalaureate degree by the California State University or University of California or designed to be offered for transfer.

    2. Courses that apply to the major in non-baccalaureate occupational fields.

    3. English courses not more than one level below the first transfer level composition course, typically known as English 1A. Each student may count only one such course as credit toward the associate degree.

    4. All mathematics courses above and including Elementary Algebra.

    5. Credit courses in English and mathematics taught in or on behalf of other departments and which, as determined by the local governing board, require entrance skills at a level equivalent to those necessary for the courses specified in subsections (c) and (d) above.

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