Excerpt of the GE Policy relevant to Upper Division in Social Sciences (D-UD)

For the complete GE policy, please visit the Academic Senate website

STRUCTURE OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM

2.4         The final stage of the GE Program encompasses nine upper-division GE units. All students, including transfer students who have completed a certified lower-division GE Program, must complete nine units of Upper-Division GE Courses in Areas B, C, and D (one three-unit course in each Area). Upper-division GE Courses should be restricted to students who have completed 60 semester units or more. This protects the integrity of the increasing complexity of degree requirements, and it conserves upper- division courses for the graduating seniors whose degree completion could be slowed without access to required upper-division GE Courses. At the same time, the CSU is committed to providing the courses students need, when they need them. In exceptional cases only, a student may enroll in upper division GE courses after they have attained sophomore standing, completed the entire Foundation (aka the Golden Four: oral communication, written communication, critical thinking and mathematics/quantitative reasoning), and completed at least one GE Course from the Explorations stage.

UPPER DIVISION REQUIREMENTS

3.3          All Upper-Division GE Courses must require students to demonstrate advanced college skills and knowledge such as synthesis and application of knowledge, analysis, critique, and research. While Upper-Division GE Courses will only be classified as category B, C, or D, it is understood that at the upper-division level, such courses might involve the integration of these skills in a student’s major.  Project-based, interdisciplinary, and service learning courses are some examples where the emphasis on these skills will contribute to student success. Upper-Division GE Courses are intended to help students integrate knowledge and skills developed earlier in the GE Program, working at a more advanced level than Foundation and Explorations courses. For a list of prerequisites for upper division GE classes, please see section 2.4.

3.3.1      Courses requesting certification at the upper-division level must meet the general criteria for GE Courses articulated in Section 3.1, the content criteria of at least one of the Subareas, and the general upper-division criteria for GE Courses articulated (…). However, these courses will only be categorized as B-UD, C-UD, and D-UD.

3.3.2      Each UD GE category must offer courses intended for students without prior experience in the discipline beyond an introductory course.

3.3.2      Upper-division course may have prerequisites that are not on the General Education Master Course List (i.e., discipline-specific prerequisites).

GENERAL CRITERIA

3.1         In order to be approved for a specific GE Area or Subarea, the course must include:

  • for all GE courses: textbooks/readings and bibliography items that clearly address the Area or Subarea being requested;
  • for all GE courses: Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) dedicated to the Area or Subarea being requested and taken or adapted from the implementation document defining GE SLOs approved by the Academic Senate and maintained by the GEGC;
  • for all GE courses: scheduled class topics that directly address the GE SLOs dedicated to the Area or Subarea being requested;
  • at least one third of the SLOs, assignments, assessments, evaluative criteria, and final course grade dedicated to the Area or Subarea being requested.

GENERAL EDUCATION COURSE CONTENT CRITERIA

3.2.4.2.1              Across the disciplines in Area D, students will learn how human social, political and economic institutions and behavior are inextricably interwoven. Through fulfillment of the Area D requirement, students will develop an understanding of problems and issues from the respective disciplinary perspectives and will examine issues in their contemporary as well as historical settings and in a variety of cultural contexts. Ӱ will explore the principles, methodologies, value systems, and ethics employed in social scientific inquiry. Area D excludes courses that emphasize skills development and professional preparation.

3.2.4.2.1.1           Criteria for Subarea D1, US History

Courses in fulfillment of Area D1 will foster in students an awareness of United States history, as provided for in Title 5, Article 40404 of the ӰCode of Regulations. This requirement is intended to enable students to function as responsible and constructive citizens through exposure to the respective and collective experiences of the United States’ diverse population, the development and functioning of its institutions, and the events and circumstances that have shaped United States history. These larger themes will be explored by interrogating multiple perspectives, assessing causes and consequences, understanding patterns of change and continuity, and evaluating historical and contemporary significance. Courses in fulfillment of Subarea D1 will, at a minimum, include the following:

  • an analysis of the significant events occurring within the entire territory of the US, including the relationships among regions within that area and relationships with external regions and powers, as appropriate;
  • a chronological span of not less than one hundred (100) years;
  • an examination of the nature and extent of the continuity of the US experience within itself and with the diverse ethnic, racial, national, and religious cultures from which it is derived;
  • consideration of the relationship of such factors as geography, religion, natural resources, economics, cultural diversity, and politics to the development of the nation during the time period covered;
  • coverage of the role of ethnic, racial, national, religious, gender, and socioeconomic groups in the events described;
  • introduction to diverse groups and individual leaders who have been instrumental in the development of the US;
    • attention to the phenomenon of conflict (or change) as a variable in the US national experience.

3.2.4.2.1.2           Criteria for Subarea D2, Constitution and American Ideals

Courses in fulfillment of Area D2 will give students a comprehensive understanding of and appreciation for American political institutions and processes established by the US Constitution and the Ӱstate constitutions, as provided for in Title 5, Article 40404 of the ӰCode of Regulations. Ӱ will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for effective political participation and citizenship. Courses in fulfillment of Subarea D2 will, at a minimum, include the following course content:

  • a comparison of different forms of government, including democracy, oligarchy and autocracy, with attention to how these are represented in the “mixed” American constitutional system;
  • the political philosophy of the framers of the Constitution and the nature and operation of US political institutions and processes that operate under the Constitution as amended and interpreted;
  • the rights and obligations of citizens in the political system established under that Constitution;
  • the principles and practices of political organization, including political parties, interest groups, social movements and the news media;
  • an examination of the interactions between and the evolution, development and contemporary dynamics of the American presidency, the United States Congress and the federal judiciary;
  • an introduction to constitutionally and legislatively established administrative and regulatory institutions;
  • an analysis of bureaucracies and their impact on citizens at the national, state, and local levels;
  • an analysis of the US citizenry, including demography, political culture, public opinion and political behavior;
  • the constitution of the state of Ӱwithin a framework of the historical evolution of the state and the nature of the processes of state and local government under that constitution;
  • the nature of federalism, including the relationship of federal to state and local practices, the resolution of jurisdictional conflicts, and the political processes involved.

3.2.4.2.1.3           Criteria for Subarea D3, Social and Behavioral Sciences and History

Courses in fulfillment of Area D3 will foster in students an awareness that human social, political, and economic institutions and behavior are inextricably interwoven. Problems and issues in these areas may be examined in their contemporary as well as historical settings.

EFFECTIVE: Fall 2018

 

REQUIRED GENERAL EDUCATION LEARNING OUTCOMES

The following are the specific learning outcomes approved by the Academic Senate (General Education Learning Outcomes)and required for all classes seeking certification for this area. 

All required learning outcomes and at least one supplemental learning outcome listed below must be included in your proposal, and covered and assessed in your class.

Learning outcomes should NOT be copied and pasted into your GE Form. Rather, they should be adapted to the course content, maintaining their intent while showing how it applies to the course subject and criteria. 

Upper Division D:  Social Science 

Required Learning Outcomes

As measured by students being able to:

  1. Analyze the key theories, problems and issues at the core of at least one specific social science discipline.
  2. Employ the methodology of at least one social science discipline to analyze and understand relevant social phenomena in both contemporary and historical contexts.
  3. Use evidence to evaluate and analyze causal arguments, major assertions, assumptions, ethical considerations and value systems in one or more of the social science disciplines.

Supplemental Learning Outcomes 

Choose at least one:

a. Apply socially responsive knowledge and skills to contemporary issues confronting local or global communities in a variety of cultural contexts in support of social change.

b. Formulate conclusions by combining examples, facts, or theories from more than one field of study/perspective in the social sciences.