Curriculum Office

Gen Ed Course Approval Process

Getting Started

This page will help you understand the processes for adding and removing a Gen Ed designation for your course. Before beginning either process, you might want to look over the following resources. They can help you better understand the PCC Gen Ed outcomes and requirements.

Process for Adding a Primary Gen Ed Designation to a Course

To acquire a Gen Ed designation for a course, follow these steps:

  1. Identify which course(s) should carry the Gen Ed designation.
  2. Identify which primary Gen Ed designation works best for your course and discipline.
    • There are three primary designations
      • Arts & Letters (integrative learning)
      • Social Science (social analysis & inquiry)
      • Math, Science, & Computer Science (quantitative reasoning)
    • There is one secondary designation
      • Social Justice (cultural literacy)
  3. Develop a Signature Assignment for each Gen Ed course.
    • You must give students a Signature Assignment each time a Gen Ed course is taught. They are expected to score at the benchmark Level 2 or better when using the Gen Ed rubric for the outcome.
    • You may adapt an assessment you are already using for the course or create a completely new assessment.
  4. Revise the CCOGs in CourseLeaf to add the new Gen Ed outcome to the course.
    • Check the box for the appropriate primary designation you are seeking.
    • Include a Gen Ed Philosophy Statement. (Check out these examples to learn more about this: History 203, English 265.)
  5. Identify a faculty member from your discipline to serve on the Discipline Studies Area Committee (DSAC) that maintains the rubric for your chosen Gen Ed outcome.
    • The faculty member should preferably be someone who currently teaches or will teach a Gen Ed course(s) in your discipline.
    • DSACs meet once each term of the academic year (not summer), and their work is facilitated by a DSAC Lead.
    • To learn more about DSACs, visit the DSAC Spaces page.
  6. Contact the DSAC Lead for your chosen outcome and send them your Signature Assignment and completed map for review.
  7. Once the DSAC Lead has approved your Signature Assignment and map, they will approve it in CourseLeaf queue. The course will also require the recommendation of your Program and Pathway Deans (does it? the table looks like the DSAC Lead approval is in lieu of the deans’ approvals for Gen Ed stuff?) and the Curriculum Committee. From there, it will advance for approval by PCC’s Academic Affairs administration and the State of Oregon.
Process for Removing a Gen Ed Designation from a Course

If your SAC decides that you no longer want a course to have Gen Ed designation, you can remove that designation using the process below:

  1. From the Faculty tab in MyPCC enter CourseLeaf and select Course Management.
  2. Enter the course you would like to revise into the search field and select Search.
  3. Select Revise Course and navigate to the General Education//Discipline Studies Designation area.
  4. Deselect (un-check) the box next to your Gen Ed designation (e.g., Arts & Letters, Math, Science & Computer Science, Social Science, etc.).
  5. Scroll to the bottom of that page and select the green Save & Submit button.

This is a PCC Curriculum process, but typically you and/or your SAC will not need to attend a Curriculum Committee meeting to discuss this change.

Keep in mind that removing the Gen Ed designation from a course requires recommendation from your SAC Chair and your Program and Pathway Deans through the CourseLeaf approval queue. Once it has received these recommendations, it will advance for approval by PCC’s Academic Affairs administration and the State of Oregon. See the Curriculum Timelines page for more information.

For Further Help