GE Proposed Changes

CHANGES TO DE ANZA'S GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Effective Fall 2025

The proposal for the new De Anza GE pattern summarized the discussion from the special Academic Senate meeting on 9/23/2024. The goal was to create an accessible pathway for students seeking a Local Associate Degree. The proposal reduced the General Education requirements for local degrees to the Title V minimums while maintaining Area 7, Physical/Mental Wellness and Personal Development.

• New De Anza GE Proposal approved by the Academic Senate on 9/30/2024, effective Fall 2025.
• Previous Reference Documents:
  • Updating the De Anza GE Pattern
  • Proposal Presentation
  • Revised GE Advisement Sheet

Effective Fall 2016

Effective Fall 2015

In November of 2014, after two years of thoughtful discussion by the faculty in the Academic Senate Executive Committee, Academic Divisions, and brought together by the General Education Review Steering Committee, comprised of members of the Academic Senate Executive Committee and the Curriculum Committee, the faculty, in an all-faculty vote, approved three substantive changes to General Education.  Two of the three were approved for implementation in Fall 2015.  The third was approved conditionally.  As of April 2015, the conditions had not been met, meaning that implementation would be Fall 2016 at the earliest.

• Proposal 1: Approved for implementation Fall 2015
• Proposal 2:  Approved for implementation Fall 2015
• Proposal 3:  Approved contingent on conditions listed

Effective Fall 2011

On April 25th, 2011, after years of engaged and thoughtful discussion by hundreds of faculty in many different venues and modes, the Executive Committee finally agreed to the following on the three proposals below:

• Proposal 1:  Approved
• Proposal 2:  Approved
• Proposal 3:  Not-Approved

History of 2011 Changes

A Committee appointed by the Academic Senate Executive Committee (i.e., senators and officers) reviewed De Anza College’s GE pattern and requirements, with consideration of the college’s newly approved Core Competencies. The committee reviewed the GE pattern, focusing on issues such as alignment with Title 5 and CSU/IGETC requirements; Core Competencies and Mission; graduation requirements versus GE requirements; the appropriateness of unit values; and the inclusiveness of disciplines within the overall pattern.

The committees’ proposals were reviewed and modified by the Executive Committee in June 2009, leaving the following three proposals as the final recommendations for modification of De Anza’s GE pattern:

• Recommendation I:  Clarify Area E with a new name and clearer criteria  
• Recommendation II:  Add a new requirement for Information Literacy
• Recommendation III:  Revise the GE Philosophy Statement
• Feedback form 

• • Recommendation I: Clarify Area E with a new name and clearer criteria  
    • Rename Area E from Physical Education, Development, and Performance to Physical/Mental Wellness and Personal Development.
    • Primary Definition of this area:  Courses in this area will promote in the student the skills and attitudes that will help him/her live a longer, healthier, and more productive life. In these courses, students will develop skills, knowledge, and abilities that lead to, or are necessary for, physical and/or mental well-being.
    • Divide the area into two sub-areas, and define the second sub-area with clear criteria:
      • Physical Education Activities (at least one unit must be completed from PE/DANC/PEA activities) and
      • Rename Non-PE Activity Courses Renamed as: Personal Development
    • For courses to qualify in this sub-area, the course outline content must show evidence that, through the course, the student will learn knowledge, skills, and abilities that enable him or her to:
      • Develop a personal plan with the objective (intent) to improve students’ own personal, physical,and mental wellness or health.
      • Engage in self-evaluation to determine what improvements are needed related to their own personal, physical, and mental wellness or health.
  • Recommendation II: Add a new requirement for Information Literacy
    • Add an additional requirement of “One course completed that meets the Information Literacy requirement”.
    • Courses will be certified/qualified as meeting the information literacy requirement when the following outcomes are embedded within the various areas of the course outline. Course outline content must show evidence that, through the course, the student will:
      • Develop effective research strategies by selecting appropriate resources (e.g., library catalogs, databases, indexes, search engines, librarians) and using effective search techniques to obtain desired information.
      • Locate and retrieve information in a variety of formats, such as books, reference materials, periodicals, databases, and websites.
      • Critically evaluate the quality and appropriateness of the information, using such factors as currency, reliability, accuracy, point of view/bias, credibility of author/sponsoring organization, and relevancy for the assignment.
      • Effectively communicate and document information by synthesizing information obtained, developing outlines and drafts in a format suitable for the audience and purpose of the assignment, properly attributing the information used in an assignment, and documenting sources using a standard citation format.
      • Effectively use computers and other information technology tools to search and retrieve information.
      • Apply legal and ethical principles related to information and its use.
    • Courses that certify/qualify as meeting the information literacy requirement include a research assignment with a library orientation.
  • Recommendation III: Revise the GE Philosophy Statement
    • Revise the General Education Philosophy Statement (see below).
    • Revise and remove redundancies in the General Education Criteria and Area Descriptions (see below).
    • General Education Statement of Philosophy - Approved by Faculty Referendum - June 9, 1999

GENERAL EDUCATION STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

Note: The revision below combines the first two paragraphs of the previous philosophy statement with further edits made for clarity, conciseness, and reflection of the college’s institutional core competencies.

The General Education Program reflects our conviction that students must have knowledge about certain basic principles, concepts, and methodologies both unique to and shared by the various disciplines. We are committed to helping students to: think critically; communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing; apply mathematical and scientific concepts; use technology effectively; achieve physical and mental wellness; experience and appreciate the creative arts; develop information literacy; understand multicultural and diverse perspectives; and gain insight into ethical and social issues. Through all these learning experiences, we encourage students to develop self-understanding and pursue life-long learning.

Criteria for All General Education Courses – Proposed Revisions (5/1/10)

(Note: The revisions below reflect the Steering Committee’s intent to state the criteria in a manner that is simple, concise, easily understood by both faculty and students, reduces redundancies, and is in alignment with Institutional Core Competencies that were approved by our college last year.)

Ensuring that the spirit and intent of the Philosophy Statement is satisfied, every General Education course:

• To qualify as a general education course, courses must satisfy the following general GE criteria, as well as demonstrating that they align with the expectations and outcomes as stated within each GE area:
  • Is designed to stimulate students to think critically
  •  Presents core concepts that define the discipline systematically
  •  Fosters the ability to think and to communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing.
  •  Teaches students how to access information in the discipline.
  •  Helps students achieve insights into ethical problems and develops the capacity for responsible decision making.
  •  Includes diverse perspectives and contributions in the discipline and comparative treatments of issues related to gender, culture - both majority and minority - values, and societal perspectives.
  •  Is placed within a global and historical context.
  •  Includes the scope of the established body of knowledge and methods/approaches within the discipline as well as knowledge and methods/approaches shared between disciplines.
  • And, in developing courses, those who propose General Education curriculum address and may include:
  • The use of “real-world” or “hands-on” applications, studio practice, performance, or artistic form as long as the concepts and theories that make up the core of the discipline remain the main focus. Multiple approaches appropriate to different sensory learning styles.
  •  Collaboration and teamwork within the culturally diverse context of the course

(Previous Version) - Area A

Revised Version - Area A

Area A - Communication, Expression, and Critical Thinking:  Includes introductory, broad-ranging courses that focus on communication, expression, critical thinking, and information literacy, with special attention to particular outcomes within those core competencies. Helps the student formulate and communicate ideas and analyze and solve problems in various symbol systems.

• Covers the principles and applications of language involving logical thought.
• Helps the student to understand and use clear and precise expression or computation.
• Develops the student’s ability to critically evaluate types of communication.
• Teaches the student when to apply the appropriate technical, interpretive, or evaluative skills.
• Fosters an appreciation and an understanding of the modes of inquiry used in Language and Rationality.

Revised Version - Area B - Natural Sciences

Includes introductory, broad-ranging courses that focus on the physical universe, its life forms and its natural phenomena with special attention to outcomes within the Critical Thinking and Global, Cultural, Social, and Environmental Awareness core competencies.

• Develops in the student an appreciation and understanding of the scientific method.
• Encourages an understanding of the relationships between science and other human activities.
• Develops the student’s capacity to understand his or her relationship to the physical universe, its life forms, and its natural phenomena.
• Involves students actively in examining solutions to major problems and in projecting probable outcomes related to the natural sciences.

Revised Version - Area C

Area C - Arts and Humanities: Includes introductory, broad-ranging courses that focus on cultural and artistic expression and aesthetics, with special attention to particular outcomes within the Communication and Expression, Critical Thinking, and Global, Cultural, and Social and Environmental Awareness core competencies.

• Develops in the student an awareness of the ways in which people through the ages have responded to themselves and the world around them in artistic and cultural creation.
• Helps the student develop aesthetic and cultural understanding, ethical values, and an ability to make value judgments.
• Promotes an appreciation and an understanding of the modes of inquiry used in the Humanities.
• Teaches students how to examine values and issues in the arts and humanities and to project probable outcomes to problems related to the discipline.
• Teaches students through theory and practice to express themselves through artistic forms.

Revised Version - Area D

Area D: Social and Behavioral Sciences: Includes introductory, broad-ranging courses that focus on people as members of society and their individual and social behavior with special attention to particular outcomes in the Critical Thinking and Global, Cultural, Social, and Environmental Awareness core competencies.

• Encourages the student to study the methods of inquiry and the theories used by the social and behavioral sciences.
• Helps the student to understand how diverse peoples interact in response to their histories, societies, and cultural traditions.
• Promotes the understanding of human history, society, cultures, organizations, and various social groups.
• Develops the student’s understanding of how she or he relates to historical processes, social structures, institutions, and cultural traditions.
• Teaches the student to examine ideologies and practices from multiple perspectives.

 Revised Version - Area E

Area E - Physical/Mental Wellness and Personal Development: Includes introductory, broad-ranging courses that focus on personal well-being and development, with special attention to particular outcomes within the Physical/Mental Wellness and Personal Responsibility, the Critical Thinking, and the Global, Cultural, Social, and Environmental Awareness core competencies.

• Teaches the student skills and attitudes that will help him or her live a longer, healthier, and more productive life. Helps the student to move more effectively and efficiently.
• Fosters an awareness of the ways that people through the ages and in different cultures have developed exercise and movement experience.
• Includes introductory or integrative courses in astronomy, biology, chemistry, general and physical science, geology, meteorology, oceanography, physical geography, physics, and other scientific disciplines