Why General Education?

General Education is the University’s curriculum that reaches every undergraduate student.

It is guided by the requirements and expectations of NWCCU, USHE, and our own institutional goals.

The GE & BD curriculum is structured to facilitate clear and efficient curricular pathways for all undergraduate students.

The University's curriculum includes the General Education Core and Breadth areas and Baccalaureate Degree Requirements. Taken together, the courses that fulfill these requirements function as one curriculum focused on disciplinary ways of thinking and knowing.

The GE & BD requirements are codified by designations placed on courses that meet the content criteria and serve a curricular need.

Courses carrying GE & BD requirement designations should be situated in the curriculum to ensure students have access to the courses they need to make progress towards completion and should provide exceptional classroom experiences.

The goal of the General Education curriculum is to facilitate the development of skills and aptitudes that support student success to completion and long after graduation.

This goal is operationalized through the five General Education Learning Outcomes.

All GE & BD designated courses are aligned with a General Education Learning Outcome to support the goals of the curriculum and facilitate holistic assessment.

Learn more about learning outcomes.

Our accrediting body, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), requires holistic assessment of the GE and BD curriculum using a common set of learning outcomes.

The GE and BD curriculum is aligned with institutional goals to increase persistence and completion rates for all students.

The General Education Core and Breadth area requirements are articulated by Utah Code R470 and administered by the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).

The GE & BD curriculum is structured to facilitate clear and efficient curricular pathways for all undergraduate students.

All GE & BD designated courses are aligned with a General Education Learning Outcome to support the goals of the curriculum and facilitate holistic assessment.

Courses carrying GE & BD requirement designations should be situated in curriculum to ensure students have access to the courses they need to make progress towards completion and should provide exceptional classroom experiences.

Courses addressing this learning outcome target the collaborative skills necessary to work and live effectively in a community of people who have different backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and beliefs.

VIEW COLLABORATE EFFECTIVELY RUBRIC

Courses addressing this learning outcome focus on developing the capacity to persist and remain engaged in complex problems, especially when an immediate solution seems elusive.

VIEWPERSIST RUBRIC

Courses addressing this Learning Outcome focus on opportunities to explore, create, engage, and transform.

VIEWRESPOND CREATIVELY RUBRIC

Courses addressing this learning outcome provide opportunities to grapple with the ethical dimensions of problem solving and action.

VIEWREASON AND ACT ETHICALLY Rubric

Courses addressing this learning outcome focus on growth, personal development and peak experiences.

VIEWACTUALIZE AND CONTRIBUTE RUBRIC

The General Education Core and Breadth areas are articulated in Utah Code R470.

The Baccalaureate Degree Requirements are unique to the University of Utah and represent institutional values and goals.

The American Institutions requirement is designed to ensure students develop skills and attitudes related to responsible citizenship.

Lower Division Writing ensures that students develop the rhetorical skills necessary for success in the writing assignments intrinsic in college courses.

Applying equations of different types to solve many different real-world problems in order to use and to evaluate information critically.

Life science courses acquaint students with fundamental concepts, theories, and methods of analysis used in the life sciences.

Physical science courses acquaint students with fundamental concepts, theories, and methods of analysis used in physical sciences.

Courses in the social and behavioral sciences introduce students to societal institutions, cultures, and behaviors.

Courses in the humanities focus on developing a critical understanding of human thought, culture, and society through the study of big questions, both contemporary and enduring.

Courses in the fine arts introduce students to a variety of artistic concepts, structures and forms, and develop their own forms of expression.

Experiential learning courses provide students the opportunities to engage deeply, reflect critically and connect with broader systems.

Provides students advanced instruction in communication and writing to enhance success in the major and in a career after graduation.

Reflects the University’s commitment to proactively support a positive campus climate in regard to diversity, equity, ability status, and inclusion.

Supports students in developing analytical skills and the ability to address questions and issues within their academic disciplines.

Supports students to fourth semester (2020 level) competency in either a foreign language or sign language.

Exposes students to a broad base of knowledge about global issues and views in a comparative context by exploring big questions both contemporary and enduring.

Supports students in developing analytic reasoning skills and deepening knowledge of quantitative methods that are specific to a particular discipline and a career after graduation.