General Education Procedures Guide

The General Education Procedures Guide includes the following four main sections:

General Education Information
Introduction
MCCCD Definition of General Education
Factors that Affect General Education

General Education, Curriculum, and Transfer Articulation

Guiding Principles - Transfer Programs

MCCCD Degrees and General Education

General Education Alignment with ASU

External General Education Action, MCCCD Flow of Information, College Action

Development of Proposals for General Education Requirements
General Education Flowchart
Processes

Steps for Completing MCCCD General Education Cover Form and Criteria Checklists

MCCCD General Education Proposal – District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation Processing

MCCCD General Education Course Proposal Cover Form Template (Includes Blank Cover Form, MCCCD Instructional Council Evaluation form, and Criteria Checklists)

Steps for Completing the ASU General Studies Cover Form and Criteria Checklists

ASU General Studies Proposal – MCCCD General Studies Faculty Representative Processing

ASU Action on General Studies Proposal Submitted by MCCCD and MCCCD Follow-up

General Studies Proposal Status (Includes information from the General Studies Faculty Representative on general studies proposals processed for ASU review)

Development of an MCCCD General Education Waiver
Request for Waiver of General Education Requirements For AAS Degree
MCCCD Request for General Education Waiver Form (AAS) Template

Introduction (Back to Top)

The General Education Procedures Guide provides an explanation of the MCCCD’s general education activity and explains the processes that support the development of general education requirements for the MCCCD degrees.

The Guide is developed and updated by the District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation (CCTA) with support from an ad hoc workgroup comprised of faculty and appropriate administrators and CCTA staff. The Guide is intended for use by the college Curriculum Development Facilitators, Curriculum Technicians, and initiators of general education proposals as well as District resource personnel who support the general education processes.

Curriculum and transfer articulation efforts have a major effect on the MCCCD general education requirements. This effort allows for the approval of general education requirements for all MCCCD colleges by the MCCCD Governing Board in the spring of each year.

The development of general education requirements involves a number of internal and external individuals and groups. Please refer to the General Education Flowchart for additional information on processes and responsible parties. The Flowchart can be found in the section entitled, Development of General Education Proposals.


MCCCD General Education Statement (Back to Top)

The general education core of the program of study for an associate degree or a certificate helps students develop a greater understanding of themselves, of their relationship with others, and of the richly diverse world in which they live. The general education experience provides students with opportunities to explore broad areas of commonly held knowledge and prepares them to contribute to society through personal, social, and professional interactions with others. General education fosters students’ personal development by opening them to new directions, perspectives, and processes.

Through its general education requirements, the Maricopa County Community College District is committed to helping students develop qualities and skills that will serve them throughout their lives. General education opportunities encourage students to:

Build self-awareness, self-respect, and self-confidence

Recognize and respect the beliefs, traditions, abilities, and customs of all people and all cultures

Consider the local, global, and environmental impacts of personal, professional, and social decisions and actions

Access, evaluate, analyze, synthesize, and use information wisely

Communicate effectively personally, socially, and professionally

Think critically, make informed decisions, solve problems, and implement decisions

Consider the ethical implications of their choices

Value the learning process throughout their lives

Integrate and connect ideas and events in a historical perspective, and see relationships among the past, the present, and the future

Develop a personal sense of aesthetics

Use technological resources appropriately and productively

Work cooperatively and respectfully with others to serve their communities

The general education experience at MCCCD is composed of specific elements across the curriculum designed to provide the learner with essential knowledge and skills:

Communication

Arts and Humanities

Numeracy

Scientific Inquiry in the Natural and Social Sciences

Information Literacy

Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking

Cultural Diversity

Factors that Affect General Education

General Education, Curriculum, and Transfer Articulation (Back to Top)

Curriculum and transfer articulation in the broadest sense are key factors in the development of general education programs. Curriculum and transfer articulation are interrelated and interdependent processes. It is the collaborative efforts between these areas that provide for the development of efficient, student-centered, general education programs. At the MCCCD level the District CCTA supports the curriculum articulation areas.

Historically MCCCD has developed strong and effective general education programs for their diverse student populations with the programs serving different needs. More recently the introduction of the Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC) has moved MCCCD to different transfer programs and a revised set of general education requirements beginning fall, 1998. The new transfer programs allow MCCCD students to progress among Arizona public post-secondary institutions without duplication of time, effort or expense. The Associate in Transfer Partnership (ATP) is another MCCCD transfer program and the general education requirements for the ATPs are developed per the processes defined in the ATP Procedures Guide available from the District CCTA.

In addition to transfer programs MCCCD also has the Associate in General Education (AGS) and Associate in Applied Sciences degrees (AAS). General education is an important component in the AGS and AAS degrees, and it is designed to complement the requirements of specific majors and meet the needs of students.

Guiding Principles - Transfer Programs (Back to Top)

MCCCD’s transfer needs are guided by the following principles:

Best interests of MCCCD students

Simplicity for MCCCD degrees

Responsiveness to the new statewide transfer model

Alignment with the general education of Arizona State University (ASU)

MCCCD Degrees and General Education (Back to Top)

MCCCD’s general education transfer programs include three degrees and two pathways with each degree having its own AGEC as follows:

The AA and the AS degree include other general education requirements in addition to the 35-credit hour AGEC. MCCCD courses that satisfy AGEC are located in the MCCCD Courses That Can Be Used to Satisfy MCCCD AGEC A, AGEC B and/or AGEC S list. Other MCCCD General Education requirements are located in the individual degrees.

MCCCD sustains its Associate in General Education (AGS) and Associate in Applied Sciences (AAS) degrees with their own distinct set of general education requirements.

The following url/link provides information on how courses with general education designations apply to the MCCCD academic programs as well as to the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) General Education Requirements used by the MCCCD occupational AAS degrees.

http://www.dist.maricopa.edu/academic/curric/programsbycollege.php

General Education Alignment with ASU (Back to Top)

MCCCD aligned its AGEC general education with the general education of ASU with the following exceptions:

Policies of the statewide AGECs prevailed,

ASU general education designation is affiliated with a specific ASU major or is specific to an ASU campus

Therefore, the general education or general education designation of a MCCCD course can be influenced by one or more of the following:

ASU general education designation for an MCCCD course (gain),

ASU general education designation for an MCCCD course (loss),

Course Equivalency Guide (CEG) Forms

New Course (gain)

Modified Course (retain, gain, or loss)

CEG course deletions

ASU General Education Re-Evaluation

University curriculum, statewide ATF recommendations

With regard to the MCCCD general education processes with ASU,

Approval of a university general education designation is defined as a gain.

A loss of general education designation may be due to course deletions or the removalby ASUof the actual general education designation from a course, or loss of equivalency.

When an MCCCD course gains/loses an ASU general education designation as a result of any of the above influences, the gains/losses will be reflected in all appropriate general education areas of all appropriate MCCCD degrees including the AA, ABus GR, ABus SR, AS, AGS, AAS, as well as the AGEC A, AGEC B, and AGEC S. A graphic providing additional information on gains/losses is included in the section, External General Education Action, MCCCD Flow of Information, College Action

The Arizona Course Equivalency Guide (CEG) within the Arizona Course Applicability System (AZCAS) indicates how Arizona public universities will accept courses transferred from Arizona public community college districts. The Arizona Transfer Articulation Support System (ATASS) has information on deadlines for submission of course equivalencies, general education designations, ATFs (Articulation Task Forces) and Arizona Transfer Articulation Coordinators (ATAC). This information is useful for curriculum developers as the processes and deadlines affect MCCCD general education. Thus, the information is included as Addendum A at the end of the General Education Procedures Guide. That ATASS url is,

http://az.transfer.org/cas/atass/

MCCCD has a clearly developed general education process with Arizona State University (ASU).  For Northern Arizona University and University of Arizona these processes continue to be discussed and refined.  The processes will be added to the MCCCD General Education Procedures Guide in the future.


External General Education Action, MCCCD Flow of Information, College Action (Back to Top)

The following information describes the course status with regard to general education, the action on general education by external groups, and the responses to that action from MCCCD individuals/groups. MCCCD curriculum developers may find the following information useful in understanding when general education proposals are necessary.

In all actions by external groups the MCCCD General Studies Faculty Representative notifies the individuals below of the action and effective begin year/term. The District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation under separate cover following established processes and timelines communicates external action affecting MCCCD degrees.

Appropriate instructional council(s)

All college Curriculum Development Facilitators

All college Curriculum Technicians

District Curriculum Committee members

District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation

Where college action suggests the development of a proposal, please refer to the section entitled, Development of General Education Proposals.

Development of Proposals for General Education Requirements (Back to Top)

There are many individuals involved in the development of general education proposals. The initial development of the proposals includes interaction between and among college administration, faculty and college curriculum personnel as indicated by the flowchart that follows.

Because courses are approved for general education on a district wide basis, the college initiator should involve the appropriate instructional council(s) in the earliest stages of proposal development. It is the role of the instructional council to guide and approve the development of general education proposals. The instructional council also has the authority to approve or decline a general education proposal.

District resource personnel are available to provide assistance during the development stage, and they continue to provide support throughout the different stages of the processes. Routing of the proposal for review and action by the District Curriculum Committee is dependent on the associate degree the course proposal is targeting.

General Education Flowchart (Back to Top)

General Education Flowchart for Proposal Development and Processing

Processes (Back to Top)

The processes that support the development of general education requirements for the diverse MCCCD degrees follow. Since the associate degrees meet different needs, the processes vary. Particular attention should be paid to the type of degree the general education proposal is targeting and every effort should be made to follow the directions provided for that particular degree. MCCCD General Education proposals may be submitted at any time to the MCCCD Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation and will be processed to become effective for the earliest effective year/term.


Steps for Completing the MCCCD General Education Cover Form and Criteria Checklists(Back to Top)

Process Flowchart for MCCCD Proposal - General Education (AGS Degree and AAS General Education Requirements)

College initiator:

Consult with the college representative(s) to the appropriate instructional council(s) to determine whether there is support for developing a proposal for the course. Since the council has the authority to approve or decline a general education proposal, it is advisable to involve the council in the earliest possible stages of proposal development. The council can also determine whether another college is already developing a similar proposal.

Consult with the Curriculum Development Facilitator for guidance on the development and processing of the proposal.

Complete the Cover Form and the appropriate Criteria Checklists. For Literacy and Critical Inquiry [L], access the ASU web site for the current cover form and checklist.

ASU web site: http://www.asu.edu/provost/articulation/

Click on: Tools for AZ Community Colleges

Click on Guidelines for Community Colleges to Request General Studies Designations at ASU. Navigate as needed. The link to the Course Proposal Cover Form and other related information is located in the above link.

Note: reformatting of the forms may be necessary when the information is downloaded.

Obtain required signature(s), and route the proposal through the Curriculum Development Facilitator and/or Curriculum Technician who will forward the proposal to the appropriate instructional council(s) for evaluation and recommendation. All appropriate instructional councils must evaluate cross-referenced courses. Councils are given ten working days to respond. An email message from the instructional council chair indicating approval or disapproval will suffice. Disapproval of the proposal or lack of response by council terminates the proposal.

If council approves the proposal, the College Curriculum Technician routes the proposal to the District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulaiton. An electronic mail message must also be sent to the District CCTA stating that the proposal has been processed internally and that the proposal is ready to be placed on the subcommittee’s agenda for review and recommendation. The electronic mail message is treated as the college administrative sign-off on the proposal for inclusion on required subcommittee and District Curriculum Committee future agenda(s).

MCCCD General Education Proposal – District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation (CCTA) Processing (Back to Top)

Upon receipt of the proposals, the District Director of CCTA places the proposal on the District Curriculum Committee's General Agendaso they can review the proposal and recommend action.

Recommended action by the District Curriculum Committee is included in the proposed degrees by the District CCTA and submitted to the MCCCD Governing Board for approval following established timeline.

MCCCD General Education Course Proposal Cover Form Template

MCCCD Instructional Council Evaluation of General Education Course Proposal Template

MCCCD General Education Criteria Checklist for First-Year Composition (AA, AS, ABUS, AGS, AAS) Template

MCCCD General Education Criteria Checklist for Oral Communication (AA, AS, AGS, AAS) Template

MCCCD General Education Criteria Checklist for Critical Reading (AA, AS, AGS, AAS) Template

MCCCD General Education Criteria Checklist for Mathematics (AGS, AAS) Template

MCCCD General Education Criteria Checklist for Computer Usage (AGS) Template

MCCCD General Education Criteria Checklist for Humanities and Fine Arts (AGS, AAS) Template

MCCCD General Education Criteria Checklist for Social and Behavioral Sciences (AGS, AAS) Template

MCCCD General Education Criteria Checklist for Natural Sciences (AGS, AAS) Template

Steps for Completing the ASU General Studies Cover Form and Criteria Checklists (Back to Top)

Even though general education proposal and the new course or course modification proposal may be processed simultaneously, ASU General Studies Proposals for new courses will not be submitted to ASU Tempe Campus for processing until an ASU equivalency has been received through the course equivalency update process. An ASU General Studies proposal may be submitted at any time to the MCCCD General Studies Faculty Representative and will be processed to become effective for the earliest effective year/time.

Process Flowchart for ASU General Studies Proposal

College initiator:

Consult with the college representative(s) to the appropriate instructional council(s) to determine whether there is support for developing a proposal for the course. Since the council has the authority to approve or decline a general education proposal, it is advisable to involve the council in the earliest possible stages of proposal development. The council can also determine whether a similar proposal is already being developed by another college.

Consult with the college Curriculum Development Facilitator for guidance on the development and processing of the proposal.

Access the Cover Form and the Criteria Checklists on the ASU Tempe Campus web site for all areas (Literacy and Critical Inquiry [L], Mathematics [MA], Computer/Statistics/Quantitative Applications [CS], Humanities and Fine Arts [HU], Social & Behavioral Sciences [SB], Natural Sciences [SQ/SG], Cultural Awareness [C], Global Awareness [G], Historical Awareness [H]).

ASU Web Site: http://www.asu.edu/provost/articulation/

Click on: Tools for AZ Community Colleges

Click on Guidelines for Community Colleges to Request General Studies Designations at ASU. Navigate as needed. The link to the Course Proposal Cover Form and other related information is located in the above link.

NOTE: The Cover Form and the Criteria Checklists are subject to change. Please consult with the General Studies Faculty Representative to determine if the forms are current prior to developing proposals.

The initiator of the proposal should attach other proposed (if course not yet taught) or actual (if course taught) items that would enhance chances of ASU approving the course, e.g.,

Reading Assignments
Tests
Writing Assignments (especially for L)
Lab manuals (for SQ/SG)
Syllabus
Table of Contents of required textbook(s)

Obtain required signatures, and route the proposal through the college Curriculum Development Facilitator and/or Curriculum Technician who will forward the proposal to the appropriate instructional council(s) for evaluation and recommendation. All appropriate instructional councils must evaluate cross-referenced courses. Councils are given ten working days to respond. An email message from the instructional council chair indicating approval or disapproval will suffice. Disapproval of the proposal or lack of response by council terminates the proposal. If council approves the proposal, the College Curriculum Technician routes the proposal to the MCCCD General Studies Faculty Representative.

ASU General Studies Proposal – MCCCD General Studies Faculty Representative Processing (Back to Top)

The MCCCD General Studies Faculty Representative:

Receives and reviews the ASU General Studies Proposal and attachments from the college Curriculum Technician or the Curriculum Development Facilitator. Proposal should include:

Course description (including competencies and outline)
Course syllabus (and lab manual for [SQ/SG] courses)
Criteria checklist for the area
Table of contents from the textbook and/or list of required readings/books
Description of how the course meets the specific criteria in the area for which the course is being proposed

Checks the current CEG printout to determine whether the course has a current equivalency at ASU; if for any reason the course is under evaluation, the general studies proposal will not be submitted until an equivalency is received from ASU.

Notifies the college Curriculum Technician or the Curriculum Development Facilitator of the initiating college that additional copies are required and after receiving the copies, submits them to the office of Academic Articulation at the ASU Tempe Campus(retaining one copy of each proposal) and notifies the initiator.

Submits request to the District CCTA for inclusion of the course on the next District Curriculum Committee (DCC) general meeting agenda as an informational item.

ASU Action on General Studies Proposals Submitted by MCCCD and MCCCD Follow up (Back to Top)

The following information describes action by the ASU General Studies Council on general studies proposals submitted by MCCCD and additional MCCCD follow up required.

In all actions by ASU, the MCCCD General Studies Faculty Representative notifies the individuals below of the action and its impact on MCCCD degrees, including an effective year/term. The District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation under separate cover following established processes and timelines communicates external action affecting MCCCD degrees.

Appropriate instructional council(s)

All College Curriculum Technicians

All College Curriculum Development Facilitators

District Curriculum Committee members

District Center for Curriculum Transfer Articulation

Approved courses and their general education designation, as a result of the above action, will be reflected in all appropriate general education areas of all appropriate MCCCD degrees including the AA, ABus, AS, AGS, AAS as well as the AGEC A, AGEC B, AGEC S. The District Center for Curriculum and Transfer is responsible for these updates and will submit the updated degrees, general education requirements to the MCCCD Governing Board for approval following established processes and timeline.

General Studies Proposal Status (Back to Top)

The General Studies Faculty Representative provides information on the following website related to MCCCD faculty development of general studies proposals. This includes information on general studies proposals processed for ASU review. The url is,

http://www.maricopa.edu/academic/ccta/artic/faculty.php

DEVELOPMENT OF AN MCCCD GENERAL EDUCATION WAIVER (Back to Top)

The following information describes the processes for development and submission of a waiver for a General Education area within an MCCCD occupational program.

Request for Waiver of General Education Requirements For AAS Degree (Back to Top)

Core Competencies Embedded in Occupational Program:

Criterion

The following criterion will be used for an occupational program to satisfy the skills in any one of the Core areas:

The skills of the Core area must be evident in the program competencies submitted.

Distribution Categories - waiver of requirements in one category

The curriculum review process for occupational programs will be followed by those colleges seeking waiver for any occupational program of the General Education in one of the Distribution categories. Evidence must be presented that the occupational program meets the criteria and rationale for the area to be waived.

Distribution Categories - waiver of requirements in a second category:

The curriculum review process for occupational programs will be followed by those colleges seeking a second waiver for any occupational program of the General Education of the Distribution categories by presenting evidence that the occupational program meets the criteria and rationale for the area to be waived. Other reasons must be presented to include, but not limited to the following:

a. Outside accreditation demands,

b. Program would have an excessive number of hours and reduction of occupational courses would diminish the quality of the program or the employability of graduates,

c. Program has embedded requirements in two areas.

The waiver form follows.

MCCCD Request for General Education Waiver Form (AAS) Template

MCCCD Degrees/General Education Requirements (Back to Top)

The general education activity culminates in the MCCCD Governing Board approval of the proposed degrees. The approved degrees are included in Monitoring Academic Progress System (MCCCD’s degree audit system), and the degrees are also placed on the District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation website for user access. The URL is:

http://www.maricopa.edu/academic/ccta/curric/cphb/hb_academic.php

ADDENDUM A: CEG: Timelines, Processes and Rules (Back to Top)

To access information on CEG timelines, processes and rules, the url is,

http://az.transfer.org/cas/atass/

Click on Arizona Transfer Articulation Committee,

Click on Statewide Timelines, Rules and Processes,

Click on General Processing Timelines for Guaranteed Effective year/term.

The Curriculum Procedures Handbook is a product of the Maricopa County Community Colleges District. Any and all changes to the Handbook are monitored and coordinated through the District Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation. Please give credit to the Maricopa County Community College District if the Handbook or sections of the Handbook are duplicated.