The Daily Bulletin Archive

At the February 10, 2023, meeting of the Buffalo State Senate, the Academic Plan Committee presented its General Education 2023 (GE23) resolution for adoption. The Senate voted in favor of adopting the following resolution as a formal recommendation to the president:

Academic Plan Committee General Education 2023 (GE23) Motion

WHEREAS, a May 2017 Senate resolution recommended to the president that Buffalo State adopt the following Institutional Learning Outcomes:

• Cultural fluency,
• Urban engagement,
• Scholarship and creative activity,
• Ethical reasoning; and

WHEREAS, that same May 2017 resolution requested that the implementation of those Institutional Learning Outcomes be delayed until such time as the Buffalo State General Education requirements could be revised; and

WHEREAS, choice among general education requirements is necessary to facilitate delivery of the Buffalo State Institutional Learning Outcomes of Urban Engagement, Cultural Fluency, or Ethical Reasoning; and

WHEREAS, choice among general education requirements will allow sufficient flexibility for Institutional Learning Outcomes to be delivered in a coherent fashion; and

WHEREAS, choice among general education requirements will greater flexibility for a diverse student body seeking ever-greater value from their degrees; and

WHEREAS, the SUNY requirements allow both for multiple courses to come from some categories, and for general education requirements to be satisfied without taking a course from every category, they support this flexibility,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Buffalo State’s new general education program consist of the following requirements:

Each student must complete a minimum of 33 credit hours of courses approved as GE23 courses. Those 33 credit hours must be distributed as follows:

1. Two courses of at least 3 credits each from the Communication category (e.g., CWP 101 and 102) (SUNY Requires at least one course)

2. One course of at least 3 credits from the Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning category (SUNY requirement)

3. One course of at least 3 credits from the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice category (SUNY requirement)

4. One course of at least 3 credits from the Natural Sciences and Scientific Reasoning category (SUNY Requirement)

5. Three courses of at least 3 credits each (9 total) from three different categories of the following (SUNY requirement):

• Humanities

• The Arts

• U.S. History and Civic Engagement

• Social Sciences

• World History and Global Awareness

• World Languages

6. Nine additional credits from any combination of courses appearing in one or more general education categories

7. The SUNY required “core competencies” of Critical Thinking and Reasoning and Information Literacy are to be infused in every academic major

To ensure sufficient breadth across general education, the following restrictions will apply:

I. A course may satisfy two distinct general education categories, provided it delivers all the outcomes required in each.

II. For courses satisfying more than one general education category, the student will choose which general education requirement that course will satisfy (i.e., the student may choose which box the course checks in Degree Works).

III. No more than two courses with the student’s major (primary major) prefix may be counted toward general education requirements.

IV. Other than the restrictions above, courses taken within the general education program may be used to satisfy major (secondary major), minor, or certificate requirements.

The structure above allows for the curation of general education course bundles designed to provide students with a uniquely Buffalo State experience that is high impact and inherently interdisciplinary. These bundles should emphasize one or more Buffalo State Institutional Learning Outcomes, complement specific majors, serve as pathways to minors or certificates, or otherwise meet student needs and interests.

Departments and interdisciplinary units are strongly encouraged to identify and recommend one or more curated bundles for their majors by fall 2024.

Students entering Buffalo State in fall 2024 or later shall be advised and strongly encouraged to adopt and pursue a curated bundle as a coherent, relevant, and efficient means of satisfying general education requirements.

The Academic Plan Committee will continue to review and evaluate the Buffalo State Institutional Learning Outcomes and GE23 requirements and encourage collaboration among faculty in the pursuit of rich and meaningful general education experience for all our students.

I hereby accept the recommendation of the Buffalo State Senate and charge the provost with responsibility for overseeing the implementation of these changes and for communicating the changes to the campus community.