Written communication and oral communication are inextricably linked as essential life skills and as desirable educational outcomes. However, there is a clear disconnect between what Alabama colleges expect of their graduates and what they are providing them in terms of oral communication education. The steps taken to develop the general studies…

This article reports the development of a "course trailer" video series that communicates the professional and academic value of general education courses' core competencies and describes the results of a survey measuring the impact of those videos on student perception. Although general education programs represent a staple of U.S.…

Despite efforts of both administration and faculty, the intent and the execution of new curricular initiatives are not always in alignment. To understand how the declaration of a campus-wide general education initiative was being implemented, this article combines analyses of syllabi and courses from across disciplines. In an initial review, the…

Academic advisers play an important role in making general education relevant and meaningful to student learning by helping to facilitate the three I's of general education: inter-disciplinarity, integration, and intentionality. This essay argues that the "advising as learning" model of academic advising embodies the kinds of advising…

The spirit of the liberal arts has been undermined by overspecialization, and it has been further damaged by the increase in emphasis on the economic purpose of education. The spirit might be renewed by using the aims of the liberal arts to develop every course we teach.

We discuss a model of academic rigor and apply this to a general education introductory astronomy course. We argue that even without central tenets of professional astronomy-the use of mathematics--the course can still be considered academically rigorous when expectations, goals, assessments, and curriculum are properly aligned.

Most students enter Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) poorly prepared to face the challenges and seize the opportunities of an American-style education grounded in the liberal arts owing to their inadequate preparation in grade school. NU-Q's mission is to produce graduates who will be leaders and innovators in the media industry and the…

General education reform provides strategic opportunities for departments. This article analyzes reform at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, illustrating how departments could use the reform process to clarify their strategic planning, align with institutional goals, and steer the university closer to departmental objectives. (Contains 1 table.)

This article articulates the experience of three professors from different disciplines, teaching at three levels of University Studies, Portland State University's general education program, for whom the toggling between personal/professional critical practices and use of reflective practices in the classroom has led to transformative learning…

The component of the baccalaureate degree referred to as general education is at risk. General education is losing traction in the curriculum, as calls for graduate students on a faster time schedule and a desire to produce readily employable graduates head the list of higher education objectives. Little attention is paid to how students come to…

The assessment of general education is often approached through broad surveys or standardized instruments that fail to capture the learning goals most faculty members desire for this portion of the curriculum. The challenge in remedying this situation lies, first, in defining general education in meaningful ways that can be both articulated and…

This essay explores why, despite repeated affirmations of the importance of civic education in undergraduate education, preparing students to understand and play an active role in democratic life is, for the most part, a marginal and episodic part of the undergraduate experience. After describing various factors that have contributed to its…

We in higher education have allowed the balance of the private and public purposes of liberal education to become skewed in our angst over fully embracing a central role in restoring prosperity and preparing our increasingly diverse population for the evolving responsibility of mending our fraying democracy. As we consider how best to reshape…

The international branch campus is a relatively new but growing phenomenon that raises many questions of values, pedagogy, and culture and is also receiving increasing scrutiny. What an international branch campus imports unchanged from its home country, in terms of curriculum, student services, and culture, and what it adapts to local populations…

General education must develop in students an appreciation of the power of science, how it works, why it is an effective knowledge generation tool, and what it can deliver. Knowing what science has discovered is desirable but less important.