The following principles, together with the revised statement of purpose and learning objectives, are intended to provide a framework for re-visioning General Education at Millersville and for guiding the development of changes to the curricular structure. They grow out of the recommendations of the General Education Task Force and have subsequently been reviewed and revised by Faculty Senate and the Gen Ed Review Committee. It is understood that the statement of purpose and learning objectives will continue to undergo refinement as work on the restructuring of Gen Ed continues.

Principles that guide the process of reform:

Principle A: Reform will reflect what the faculty believe in and can teach with passion, commitment, and purpose.
Principle B: Change will be incremental, based on campus-wide dialogue, and well understood by the University community.
Principle C: The reform will build on and maintain current MU strengths.
Principle D: Reform of Gen Ed will be balanced by the curricular needs of major programs of study, especially as they are impacted by State mandates and/or disciplinary accreditation.
Principle E: Reform will be accompanied by sufficient faculty, administrative, and resource support.
Principle F: The reform process will be guided by meaningful evaluation.


Principles A-F passed by Faculty Senate on 9/20/05.

Principle 1: Clear Purpose, that is well understood by all members of the university community and that is consistent with the MU mission and the specific learning needs of MU students.
Principle 2: Intentional Alignment of the objectives, curricular structure, and assessment with the purpose of Gen Ed, the mission of this University, and the learning needs of our students.
Principle 3: Coherence and connections between Gen Ed and majors.
Principle 4: Intellectual Richness, setting appropriately high expectations for students' engagement that develop as students progress through their academic programs.
Principle 5: Academic Community Reaching beyond the Classroom, fostering interactions between and among students, faculty, and the larger University community.
Principle 6: Simplicity and flexibility, promoting ease of understanding and greater choice in meeting the Gen Ed requirements.


Principles 1-6 to be voted on by Faculty Senate on 10/04/05

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