After several years of development and revision, APU has officially revised the General Education (GE) Program. Starting in the fall of 2016, incoming students will adhere to the new GE catalog. All current students will have the opportunity to stay in their current GE program’s catalog or switch to the revised program.
“The new GE model places a higher emphasis on themes such as intercultural competence, information literacy and critical thinking across all classes,” Student Government Association academic senator Ellen Emery said.
Emery believes the new GE program will prepare students to be better global citizens, smarter communicators and deeper thinkers.
Two new categories featured in the catalog are Personal and Social Responsibility and Integrative and Applied Learning. These categories were added with an outcome-based learning experience in mind.
“You say to yourself, ‘What would we like an APU student to be like when he or she graduates? What values [and] what skills would we like to see in the typical APU student?’ From there, go backwards and say, ‘Okay let’s build in those outcomes much more explicitly,’” Director of General Education Bryan Lamkin said.
These two new categories include courses such as Civic Knowledge and Engagement and Intercultural Competence, which seek to integrate practical skills as well as train responsible students to operate in society after graduation.
Through this new model of education, departments can offer individualized courses that fulfill GE requirements while counting toward a specific degree. This type of crossover is where GE units will begin to minimize.
Lamkin said the vast majority of departments will see a reduction in units necessary to complete that degree, which can open up students’ schedules and allow them to take a wider variety of courses or pick up a minor.
This revision was based on the concept of cross-applying courses for the longevity of a student’s education at APU, in order to flow in a more logical and succinct manner.
“GE and major learning will be interwoven. Connecting the elements of the overall college curriculum will model for students the cohesive and comprehensive approaches required to solve complex problems in the workplace and our world,” Director of Undergraduate Student Success Tracie Burt said.
Once the new GE program is announced, students will be provided with multiple resources in order to make an informed decision. Switching GE catalogs may vary depending on major and year and may not always be the best decision for each student. The Office of Academic Advising and Retention will also offer individual GE consultations with academic mentors. The deadline for current students to switch catalogs is Friday, March 25.
“Using the provided tools in consultation with an APEX mentor will help you make the best decision for you,” Burt said.