When completing the course proposal form, consider the following questions:

1. Does the course fit the intent/content of the category proposed?

2. Is the course too discipline-specific or too applied to make it appropriate for a general education course?

3. Is the course sufficiently rigorous?

4. Is the course numbered at an appropriate level?

5. Is the answer to question 10 specific enough? (This answer often provides the committee the key to whether the course is appropriate for general education.) Does the syllabus deliver what the proposal - particularly the answer to question 10 - promises?

6. Is the syllabus comprehensive enough so that detail and emphases are clear? Recommended syllabus components include course title and number; instructor's name; office hours and location; instructor's telephone number and e-mail address; course description; textbooks required and optional; learning objectives; tentative calendar of activities, including dates for reading assignments, papers, projects, tests, and field trips where applicable; information on assignments including research paper if applicable; information on exams, quizzes, etc. (including percentage of grade); grade scheme and scale; attendance/absence policy; late/incomplete work policy; make-up policy; a description of the research/writing project for Part III courses; ADA statement. Syllabus examples are available upon request.

7. Does the course include challenging reading and writing components? (For example, are the texts named, are reading lists included, is the writing component substantial?)

8. If proposal is for Part III, is the library component challenging? Library faculty have offered to work with faculty to create innovative and imaginative library use.

9. If appropriate, is the international, multi-cultural component adequate?

10. Are lab hours carefully listed in the credits? Is lab required?

11. Does the course have prerequisites that will prohibit it for most general education plans? Is the prerequisite an approved general education course?

Additional comments:

The college representative on the General Education Course Certification Committee is available to work with departments as they prepare proposals.

Gender-neutral language should be used where appropriate. (For example, avoid the use of "mankind," "man's search for...," "he" when both sexes are implied.)

Multiple sections of a proposed course should be coordinated so that all sections meet the spirit and letter of general education requirements.