the Office of
General Education
supporting students, instructors, & staff
TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome A new approach How it works Our team Assessment Enrollment Management UNIV Course Coordination High-Impact Practices Instructor Support Communication 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 1
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WELCOME
How many M&Ms are inside the jar? If you come closest to the number, then you get to keep the jar (and all the M&Ms)! You might calculate a best guess by weight, or volume, or perhaps by extrapolation using the manufacturer’s serving size estimates on the sticker.
The answer is less important than the fact that you’re thinking critically.
This premise is fundamental to our vision for general education at the University of Arizona: We want students to ask questions, engage with different perspectives, and to combine disciplines to address questions both silly and profound.
To make this vision a reality, we have put together an office of professionals who have been just as creative and critically-minded as our students taking an Exploring Perspectives or Building Connections course.
After years of preparation and development, I am proud of the innovative and rigorous general education curriculum that we have helped to implement at the University of Arizona. In this brochure, you’ll discover some of the incredible work the Office of General Education has accomplished.
Sincerely,
Susan Miller-Cochran, Ph.D. Executive Director
The Office of General Education
A NEW APPROACH
There’s nothing generic about the University of Arizona’s redefined GenEd program. Guided by decades of research and input, the customizable curriculum better prepares today’s students for the challenges of tomorrow.
GenEd in Practice
The combination of classes that students create is up to them, based on their desired career. The goal: To take standardized education requirements to the next level.
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Engaging Environments
Dynamic, interactive education spaces disrupt the stereotypical setting. Students aren’t just talked to, they’re getting hands-on and putting lessons into practice immediately.
EXPLORE & BUILD
HOW IT WORKS
The new curriculum is 32 units and offers students hundreds of pathways to customomize their experience. Attributes provide both flexibility and opportunities for repeated encounters with content, skill sets, and perspectives.
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Exceeding Expectations
The new curriculum has been designed to help all students reach the four outcomes of General Education at the University of Arizona (communicate effectively, think critically, understand and value difference, use information effectively & ethically) and to accomplish the goals of ABOR content areas and skills as codified by policy 2-210.
Enrollment Management 9
Instructional Support
Because we serve students, instructors, and staff, our Office is organized into five major components: Assessment, Communications, Enrollment Management, Instructional Support, and UNIV Coordination.
UNIV Coordination
OUR TEAM Assessment
Communications
DISCOVER & IMPROVE ASSESSMENT
The Office of General Education partners with units across campus to discover new ways of improving student outcomes.
THE ASSESSORS EXTRAORDINAIRES
Elaine Marchello, Ph.D.
Director, Assessment
I have been everything from an Undergraduate Advisor to Assistant Dean of Academic programs. My involvement in Gen Ed started in 2004, the first time I taught a new gen ed course and has increased ever since. I have been on UWGEC for many years and have a passion for assessment of student learning.
Stephanie Millet, Ph.D.
Director, Assessment
My experience teaching writing-intensive classes at a university and community college, working in university and community college writing centers as a consultant and administrator, and helping K-12 administrators make data-driven decisions to improve student learning outcomes havesparked in me an interest about assessing student learning as a means to provide accountability while also discovering opportunities to improve student outcomes.
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Best in Show
Elaine Marchello and Susan Miller-Cochran from UArizona’s Office of General Education share the discoveries from the Tri-University Writing Assessment at the AAC&U General Education Assessment and Pedagogy conference (February 2023).
FACILITATE & ENACT ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT
The new curriculum could never happen without enrollment managers. These professionals work closely with faculty review bodies, departmnts, and curricular affairs to make sure there are courses--and seats--for all students.
OUR ENROLLMENT PROS
Mónica De Soto Vega, M.Ed. Senior Manager, General Education Planning
As Senior Manager for General Education Planning, I will collaborate with campus colleagues on enrollment management efforts and work closely with the GE Executive Director to strategize and plan for annual GE course offerings and project seat demands. As someone who is dedicated to supporting efforts that lead to student success, the student-centered approaches and interdisciplinarity of the new curriculum are why I’m thrilled to be part of the GE Refresh.
Itzel Íñiguez, M.A. Administrative Program Coordinator
I am a two-time alumnus of the University of Arizona with a B.A. in Spanish Literature and an M.A. in Human Rights Practice. My passions are student success, higher education, and being involved in my community. I enjoy advocating for and working with students and hope to bring my knowledge of human rights education and experiential learning to my new role.
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CPF Rock
A course proposal form becomes a course only after a long process: Proposers must get Deparmental and College approval; complete the Quick Start; incorporate revisions from the University-wide General Education Committee; and receive the OK from Curricular Affairs. Fortunately, the Enrollment Management team is with instructors and staff at every step to ensure as smooth a process as possible.
Course Proposal Tracker
The Tracker is just one of many projects designed to facilitate the course proposal process. The Tracker enables users to quickly look up courses and view the status of the course on its way to approval.
INTRODUCE, REFLECT UNIV COURSE COORDINATION
The UNIV course coordinators oversee the implementation of UNIV 101 and 301 and work closely with a team of Professors of Practice to ensure that students are able to make the most of their GenEd experience.
OUR DIRECTORS
Tom Murray, M.A. Director of UNIV 101
My very first time teaching was for a first-year seminar in 2003 and since then I have been passionate about the role these courses can have in the academic lives of students. My own undergraduate experience was deeply rooted in a rich general education curriculum, so I am excited to be working on a course that will help UA students make the most of their GenEd experience.
Devon Thomas Jones, Ph.D. Director of UNIV 301
My professional experience is in experiential learning with formal and informal learning environments, which I bring with an excitement to the Gen Ed team. I believe the general education program has an opportunity to remove barriers to college success by connecting students to faculty, staff, and each other through meaningful learning opportunities within the classroom.
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Empowering Students
By providing students with resources, guidance, and projects connecting their learning and experiences, UNIV 101 and 301 empower students to embrace their identities as lifelong learners.
Wildcat Perspectives
This UNIV 101 reader brings together narratives and essays from faculty, staff, administrators, and students from across the University of Arizona. It is an Open Educational Resource that adds no cost to students.
PARTNER & SUPPORT INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT
Instructional support helps to provide instructors with the information, best practices, and conversations that create great courses and great learning experiences for students.
OUR DIRECTOR
Katie Southard, Ph.D.
Director of Instructional Support
My Ph.D. is in Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER), spanning Molecular and Cellular Biology and Science Education Research, with postdoctoral work focusing on instructor change and innovative instructional team models. My interest in General Education sparked from working closely with Gen Ed instructors in professional learning communities and partnering on education research projects in Gen Ed classrooms. My interest and investment in Gen Ed, particularly instructional support for Gen Ed instructors, has grown exponentially from there.
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Assisting Instructional Excellence
Whether it’s educating instructors about the new GenEd curriculum through Q&As like the Deep Dive Sessions (opposite), developing mini-courses like the GenEd Quick Start for proposers of general education courses (below), or designing training modules to help instructors new to the curriculum catch up to speed (like the GenEd Instructional Toolkit, above), Instructional Support will be sure that instructors have all the information and resources needed to put forward innovative, rigorous, and exciting courses for students.
MAXIMIZE, OPTIMIZE
HIGH-IMPACT PRACTICES
We are excited to announce that we will be hiring a new coordinator of high-impact practices this year. This coordinator role will enable our Office to better enhance the GenEd experience for students. Below and to the right is Destination Imagination, an event celebrating Quantitative Reasoning. Destination Imagination is just one of many events that we look forward to developing with partners like the Libraries and the University Center for Assessment, Teaching and Technology.
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Our Partners
The Libraries have been essential partners with our Office, providing space, coordinating events, developing ideas, and lending expertise to events that make a difference for students.
INFORM & CLARIFY COMMUNICATIONS
To ensure that our many stakeholders get the information they need quickly, the Office of General Education has integrated its communications with the most advanced campus tools, including Trellis Marketing Cloud and UA Sites.
OUR DIRECTOR
Ryan Winet, Ph.D. Director of Communications
I have long been interested in developing institutional memory and faculty support by participating in University-wide initiatives focused on teaching excellence, interdisciplinary assignments, and new curricula. In my current role directing communications for the General Education Refresh, I am excited to be able to draw not only on my teaching experience but also upon my visual artist alter-ego.
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Getting the Word Out
Through Trellis Marketing Cloud, our Office is able to craft messaging that goes out to different stakeholders who need to know about important updates, resources, and opportunities associated with general education.
A Thousand Words
Sometimes it takes a picture to help stakeholders understand a component of the curriculum. This illustration of Wilbur Wildcat performing Shakespeare was created to suggest a humanist perspective (Exploring Perspectives).
