What's wrong with our current GE program?

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As an institution reviewed and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), UH Hilo is expected to meet or exceed WASC guidelines in all areas, including General Education. Our institutional self study in 2001-2002 identified these deficiencies in our current GE program:

  1. It does not provide means of documenting and assessing student learning in our GE courses.
  2. It does not provide for general education across the four-year curriculum, that is, for upper-division as well as lower-division courses.
  3. There is no provision for review, selection, and approval of GE courses on the basis of their content or of their contribution to UH Hilo's GE goals.
  4. There is no provision that GE course syllabi must state student learning outcomes or target competencies.
  5. The total number of GE credits, as currently defined, is 40 credits; the WASC guideline minimum is 45.

Click here to see the relevant WASC criteria and standards , or review a complete description of WASC's four standards at http://www.wascsenior.org/senior/handbook.pdf .

WASC guidelines are based on good teaching practices at many institutions. In bringing the GE program into greater compliance with WASC expectations, the proposed revisions also integrate certain good practices into GE teaching.