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CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA
ACADEMIC SENATE
GENERAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE
REPORT TO
THE ACADEMIC SENATE
GE-015-056
GE NUMBERING
General Education Committee Date:
Executive Committee
Received and Forwarded Date: 1/17/07
Academic Senate Date: 1/24/07
First Reading
BACKGROUND:
From the original referral: “For many years now, Cal Poly’s GE numbering has been inconsistent with the statewide system. This is especially true in Areas A and B, where;
Area A1 (Written Communication) at Cal Poly is Area A2 statewide
Area A2 (Oral Communication) at Cal Poly is Area A1 statewide
Area B1 (Quantitative reasoning) at Cal Poly is Area B4 statewide
Area B2 (Physical Science) at Cal Poly is Area B1 statewide
Area B3 (Life Science) at Cal Poly is Area B2 statewide
Also, the statewide Area B3 is the science lab requirement.”
The GE Committee was asked to consider the numbering of Areas A and B to reflect the statewide numbers.
RESOURCES:
Steve Bryant, Liberal Studies; Jose Lozano, Articulation Officer; Claudia Pinter-Lucke, Rochelle Kellner, College Curriculum Coordinators
DISCUSSION:
An initial question that we discussed was why this discrepancy with EO 595 is an issue. Advising was an obvious answer, yet the numbers of students who transfer within the Cal State system is extremely low. The other question that we considered was whether other campuses indeed had their GE numbering system perfectly aligned with EO 595 (EO 595 is attached below).
The GE Committee requested copies of the GE curriculum data from all of the CSU campuses. With the exception of Cal State Sacramento, none of the school’s GE numbering systems corresponded to Executive Order 595. Based on reviewing all campus GE numbering systems, the GE committee thought it impractical to change the C and D numbering systems to correspond to EO 595; we did, however, proceed with a thorough comparison of the A and B area numberings for all CSUs, and compared those with EO 595.
Several of the campuses did have numbering systems that were consistent with EO 595 in area A and B, though it also was definitely not consistent from campus to campus statewide (see table below).
How Selected CSU Campuses Number GE Offerings
A1 (Oral Communications) / A2 / A2 / A1 / A3 / § (Speech)
A2 (Written Communications) / A1 / A1 / A2 / A1 / § (Writing)
A3 (Critical Thinking) / A3 / A3 / A3 / A2 / § (Critical Thinking)
B1 (Physical Science) / B2 / B3 / B1 / B1a / § (Life Forms)
B2 (Life Science) / B3∞ / B2 / B2 / B1b / § (Mathematical Concepts & Quantitative Reasoning)
B3 (Laboratory Activity) / B4= “Synthesis” / B4= “Special Topics” / B4 = “Computers & IT” / -- / --
B4 (Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning) / B1 / B1 / B3 / B2* / §(Physical Universe)
* Called “Mathematics and/or Statistics”
§ GE numbering system not used at Humboldt State.
∞ Laboratory Activity is folded into B3 at Cal Poly.
Note: the disparity in C and D offerings is extremely wide-ranging from campus to campus with almost no consistency or numbering.
RECOMMENDATION:
Based on our findings, and after consulting with V.P. Claudia Pinter-Lucke, who’s office would be responsible for making changes online and in the printed catalog, we saw little harm in bringing our A and B GE course numbering in line with EO 595 and therefore we recommend changing the A and B areas to correspond directly to the EO.
ATTACHMENT A
Designations for Subject Areas and Objectives Executive Order No. 595
Area A: Communication in the English Language and Critical Thinking
References: Sections V-A, VIII-C-1-a, VIII-C-2-a
Oral Communication A1
Written Communication A2
Critical Thinking A3
Area B: Physical Universe and Its Life Forms
References: Sections V-B, VIII-C-1-b, VIII-C-2-b
Physical Science B1
Life Science B2
Laboratory Activity B3
Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning B4
Area C: Arts, Literature, Philosophy and Foreign Languages
References: Sections V-C, VIII-C-1-c, VIII-C-2-c
Arts (Art, Dance, Music, Theatre) C1
Humanities (Literature, Philosophy, Foreign Languages) C2
Area D: Social, Political, and Economic Institutions and Behavior;
Historical Background
References: Sections V-D, VIII-C-1-d, VIII-C-2-d
Anthropology and Archeology D1
Economics D2
Ethnic Studies* D3
Gender Studies* D4
Geography D5
History D6
Interdisciplinary Social or Behavioral Science D7
Political Science, Government and Legal Institutions D8
Psychology D9
Sociology and Criminology D0
Area E: Lifelong Understanding and Self-Development E
References: Sections V-E, VIII-C-1-e, VIII-C-2-e
*Ethnic Studies or Gender Studies courses emphasizing artistic or humanistic perspectives may be categorized in Area C.