2.43.03 General Education Program

2.43.03.010	The University will have a General Education Program that all undergraduates must fulfill as part of a Bachelor's Degree program at Wayne State University. The General Education Program shall be comprised of Competencies, Group Requirements, and Wayne Experience Requirements. The General Education Program shall not require more than 35 credits.
2.43.03.020	Competencies
	Success in college and the ability to function as an educated citizen require not only the mastery of areas of substantive knowledge, but also acquisition of fundamental skills or competencies that underlie the acquisition of knowledge. Since these competencies are preconditions for higher education, multiple methods of demonstrating competency shall be available, including satisfactory completion of designated courses, earning an appropriate score on designated examinations, or, in some instances, satisfactory completion of specified high school courses.
2.43.03.030	Written Communication
	Basic Composition (BC) Intermediate (IC; choice of one) Intermediate Composition Writing in the discipline
2.43.03.040	Oral Communication (OC)
2.43.03.050	Quantitative Experience (QE; choice of one)
	Algebra-Math (Math 1050 or any higher Math course) Statistics (STA 1020, BA 2300 or other approved course) Quantitative Reasoning (any approved QR course) All QE options will offer co-requisite support as deemed appropriate
2.43.03.060	Group Requirements
	Fundamental to the university-level General Education requirements are courses designed to ensure that all students have some exposure to important areas of knowledge. Group requirements include courses that provide intellectual breadth important for completion of and complement their majors and is necessary for an understanding of public life and continuing self-education throughout the life-course. Each student must complete a minimum of seven courses of at least 3 credits each from the following Inquiry groups, with at least two courses from the Natural Science Inquiry (NSI), one with a lab section, and one course from the remaining Inquiry groups, all of which are listed below.
2.43.03.070	Cultural Inquiry (CI)
2.43.03.080	Natural Scientific Inquiry (NSI)
2.43.03.090	Social Inquiry (SI)
2.43.03.100	Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Inquiry (DEI)
2.43.03.110	Global Learning Inquiry (GL)
2.43.03.120	Civic Literacy (CIV)
2.43.03.130	Wayne Experience (WE; 1 credit)
	Wayne Experience is the opportunity to work with a small group of students with similar interests to become immersed in the Wayne State University campus and community, including understanding the challenges and opportunities offered by a research university in an urban setting The essential goals for this requirement are to foster a sense of belonging, acculturate the student to the WSU academic community, and cultivate the skills to navigate the college experience, all within the context of a exploring a topic of interest. Students must select one WE course based on their needs and interests.
2.43.03.140	GUIDING PRINCIPLES
	The philosophy, specific criteria, and guidelines governing the establishment and implementation of the General Education requirements are set forth in the report of the Curriculum and Instruction Committee on General Education requirements, as approved by the Academic Senate on February 5, 1986, and endorsed in principle by the Board of Governors on February 14, 1986. The current revision adheres to these principles. Any future revisions to the General Education curriculum requirements established herein should consider the appropriate balance between curricular requirements, the overall goals of student success, and degree attainment.
2.43.03.150	Guidelines
	The following general guidelines shall prevail in implementation of the requirements:
2.43.03.160	All courses that satisfy General Education requirements must be approved as General Education Program courses by the President or his/her designee after review and recommendation by the General Education Oversight Committee.
2.43.03.170	Equivalent courses taken at another institution may satisfy General Education requirements. Other proposed revisions throughout 2.34.04 include an affirming of our commitment to equity in transfer policies, updates to reflect the accurate names of accrediting agencies and other organizations, and removal of specific procedural practices that are continually evolving.
2.43.03.180	It is the primary responsibility of departments whose courses are granted General Education Program status to schedule these courses to fit the special programming needs of students in professional programs.
2.43.03.190	Satisfactory scores on advanced placement examinations, CLEP and special departmental examinations shall be accepted as fulfilling General Education requirements in the appropriate competencies or group requirements.
2.43.03.200	Departments, schools and colleges have the responsibility to develop or select tests which students may take to complete competency and group requirements and to recommend those to the General Education Oversight Committee for review. The president or his/her designee will approve the tests after recommendation from the General Education Oversight Committee.
2.43.03.210	A student who satisfies competency requirements by examination shall be excused from taking the related course, but may receive no course credit.
2.43.03.220	Course credit granted upon earning an appropriate score on advanced placement, CLEP, or departmental examinations will satisfy the General Education Program group requirement and award credit toward degree requirements.
2.43.03.230	IMPLEMENTATION
	General Education Oversight Committee In consultation with the Academic Senate, the president or his/her designee shall establish a General Education Oversight Committee (GEOC) for the purpose of making recommendations to the President on the implementation, review, assessment, and revision of the General Education Program curriculum. Recommendations to modify the General Education Program adopted by the president or his/her designee shall be published in the University Bulletin. On a regular basis, the GEOC shall issue a report on its actions and recommendations to the president or his/her designee.
2.43.03.240	The GEOC will be representative of the University community as a whole as follows: One (1) representative each from the colleges of Business, Education, Engineering, Nursing, Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Social Work; two (2) representatives from the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts; six (6) representatives from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; two (2) representatives selected by the Academic Senate (one (1) tenured faculty member and one (1) ESS Academic Staff member); one (1) student representative selected by the Student Senate; and one (1) representative, ex officio, from the University Libraries. The committee shall elect a co-chair from amongst the voting members, and the Associate Provost shall serve, ex officio, as a co-chair.
2.43.03.250	The president or her/his designee shall appoint the committee chair
2.43.03.260	Effective Date and Publication in the University Bulletin:
	The General Education Program, as revised herein, shall become effective fall semester 2018 and shall be published in the University Bulletin. Future revisions to the curriculum adopted by the president or her/his designee in consultation with GEOC shall go into effect upon publication in the University Bulletin.

Legislative History

Adopted ____; Official Proceedings ___; Prior Acts: Official Proceedings 49: (2 March 2005); 30:4116 (9 May 1986); (10 November 2017); (7 December 2018) (1 May 2020); (Revised 29 April 2022)