1. The General Education Program at Westmont
Its goals and vision

2. The Graduation Requirements
Complete at least 124 units with at least a 2.0 GPA.
Complete the general education requirements
Complete a major with
at least 2.0 average in the upper-division major courses
at least one half of the upper division major requirements taken “at Westmont”
Complete 68 units outside the major department
Meet the senior residence requirement

3. The Purpose of the GE Provide Foster
Support for the major area of study
Tools to relate specialized knowledge to other areas of learning, to life, and to the world
Foster
Intellectual vitality
Christian character
Commitment to service

4. The Components of General Education at Westmont
Common Contexts
Common Inquiries
Commons Skills
Competent and Compassionate Action

5. Common Contexts – Purpose
Provide contextual background, concepts, vocabulary to support exploration in other areas
Ground our pursuit of knowledge in the context of God’s revelation
Orient students to the idea of a Christian Liberal Arts education

6. Common Contexts – Content
Biblical and Theological Canons
Life and Literature of the New Testament
Introduction to Christian Doctrine
Life and Literature of the Old Testament
Introduction to the Christian Liberal Arts
Philosophical Reflections on Truth and Value
World Civilizations in Christian Perspective

7. Common Contexts Special Considerations
Common Contexts courses must be taken at Westmont
These courses should be taken early – if possible, by the end of the second year.

8. The Components of General Education at Westmont
Common Contexts
Common Inquiries
Commons Skills
Competent and Compassionate Action

9. Common Inquiries – Purpose
Provide an introduction to a range of methodological approaches to knowledge and ways of thinking
Provide a broad context within which to place the major discipline

10. Common Inquiries – Content
Reading Imaginative Literature
Exploring the Physical Sciences
Exploring the Life Sciences
Performing and Interpreting the Arts
Reasoning Abstractly
Thinking Globally
Thinking Historically
Understanding Society

11. Common Inquiries Special Considerations
These are method, not departmentally, based
You are encouraged to develop and submit courses from your discipline that address one of these categories
One time only, a student can use one course to satisfy two area requirements

12. The Components of General Education at Westmont
Common Contexts
Common Inquiries
Commons Skills
Competent and Compassionate Action

13. Common Skills – Purpose
Improve communication skills to support academic, professional and personal life
Enhance the capacity to work with numerical data and analytic models
Develop physical skills and habits of fitness to support a healthy and active life

14. Common Skills – Content
Three writing or speech intensive courses
Writing for the Liberal Arts
writing/speech-intensive course in the major
writing/speech-intensive course outside the major
Quantitative and Analytical Reasoning
Modern/Foreign Language
Physical Education (4)

15. Common Skills Special Considerations
The first two parts (A and B) are not assigned units – they should be done in the context of other GE or major courses

16. Common Skills Writing for the Liberal Arts
This course should be taken this during your first year
ENG 002: Composition is typically required
With a qualifying test score (ACT, SAT WR II, TSWE) a student may take an alternate writing-intensive course

17. Common Skills Writing/Speech-Intensive Courses
Take these in the context of another GE or major course
Writing/Speech-Intensive courses in the major are typically offered as upper division courses

18. Common Skills Modern/Foreign Language
Students must take a language course at their current level of expertise
Student placing into the fourth semester of a language or with an AP score of 4 or 5 are not required to take an additional language course. However, they are encouraged to do so.

19. Common Skills Physical Education
All students must take Fitness for Life (not necessarily first) and three additional activity courses
Since these courses are designed to establish a habit of life-long physical activity, only one PE Activity course per term will count toward the total unit count or the GE requirement
Athletes can use their sport one time

20. The Components of General Education at Westmont
Common Contexts
Common Inquiries
Commons Skills
Competent and Compassionate Action

21. Competent and Compassionate Action – Purpose
Provide an opportunity to integrate the entire educational experience
Put learning into practice
Initiate the practice of life-long, reflective service

22. Competent and Compassionate Action – Contents
One of
Productions and Presentations
Integrating the Major Discipline
Serving Society; Enacting Justice
Communicating Cross-Culturally

23. Competent and Compassionate Action – Details
These experiences are intended to be culminations of a student’s studies – they should be done in the junior or senior year
These must be done with the academic oversight, but need not be connected with a particular course
It is preferable, but not required, to satisfy these requirements in the context of the major

24. The Flow of a Westmont Education
Major
Competent & Compassionate Action
Common Inquiries
Common Skills
Common Contexts

25. A Bit of Historical Context
The GE is currently referred to as the “New GE”
This year’s incoming class is the first group that will graduate under the new GE curriculum
This program is the result of five years of work – three years of development and two years of review for implementation

26. More Historical Context
We are still in the process of developing and approving courses
Few courses in the area of Competent and Compassionate Action have been approved yet
This year will focus on developing courses for the Serving Society; Enacting Justice area

27. A Bit of Political Context
The new GE structure represents several significant shifts
Courses are oriented toward objectives and goals rather than being resources distributed to departments
The GE Committee reviews and approves courses for GE credit
Course syllabi are expected to explicitly address issues relevant to the GE area for which they are approved.
The GE areas and their courses will be reviewed on a rotating basis

28. A Call For Participation
Eventually, you will be involved in advising students in the new GE – Talk it up!
You are invited to develop and submit courses in any of the areas

29. The Course Submission Process
Review the specifications for the GE area
Consult as needed with experts in the area
Create/modify your syllabus in light of On the Role of the Syllabus
Complete the course submission form
Submit the proposal to the GE Committee via the Provost’s Office

30. Important Resources (Accessible through the curriculum link on the Provost’s web page or
The GE Document
The Supplemental Document
What Makes an Appropriate GE Course?
On the Role of the Syllabus
Syllabus Template
Course Submission Form
Lists of approved GE courses
This slide show

31. Competent & Compassionate Action
Questions?
Major
Competent & Compassionate Action
Common Inquiries
Common Skills
Common Contexts