Transforming Liberal Education for the 21st Century Achieving the USM Vision for General Education !! Recognition for USM's Curriculum Reform !!

USM is in the process of renewing its core curriculum to better reflect our mission and the needs of our graduates in the 21st Century. This work has been guided by the university-wide planning documents, The USM Plan and Transforming USM, and Expected Results of a University Education stated in the undergraduate catalog. USM now has in place a Vision, Goals and Outcomes for General Education and Guidelines and Criteria for General Education, written by the General Education Council (GEC), a committee of the Faculty Senate, and approved by the full Senate. After considerable research and deliberation, the GEC chose to use the work of the AAC&U, The Association of American Colleges and Universities, as a framework for its deliberations, beginning with Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as America Goes to College.

Note: Resources provided by the Office of Undergraduate Education to assist CAS faculty and departments in planning their participation in the new USM Core Curriculum can be found at: www.usm.maine.edu/cas/core.html. If you have any questions, please contact smcwilms@usm.maine.edu.

The GEC is charged with review of proposals for general education pathways (see guidelines under Proposal Review Process). To date, the GEC has reviewed and recommended to the Senate the Lewiston-Auburn College proposal (approved), and has favorably reviewed the proposal of the Honors Program.

A USM-wide committee, the General Education Curriculum Planning Group, has been working on a third proposal to replace the core curriculum at USM. The Planning Group has continued to utilize AAC&U as a resource, particularly its national initiatives in General Education and Liberal Education. For more detailed information on the work of the Planning Group, see the Planning Group home page.

For a history of USM's general education renewal work, see Timeline.

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