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Charter of

THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM

COMMITTEE (GECC)

Revised by the GECC, April 6, 2023

Approved April 20, 2023 by the Undergraduate Council

Purpose

The General Education Curriculum Committee (GECC) is established as a policy

recommendation and review body for the General Education (GE) and Baccalaureate Degree (BD)

curriculum. The GECC is the body charged by the Undergraduate Council (UGC) for evaluating and

approving courses that carry GE and BD designations. The purpose of the GECC is to manage the GE

and BD curriculum and provide guidance to the UGC and the institution.

Responsibilities

The GECC is charged with the responsibility to:

1. establish procedures for the evaluation and approval of all courses seeking new GE or BD

requirement designations,

2. regularly re-evaluate individual courses to determine whether they should continue to carry GE

and BD requirement designations,

3. regularly evaluate college and department-level GE and BD curriculum to ensure and establish

functional student pathways into and through the GE and BD curriculum,

4. conduct a regular and systematic assessment of the GE and BD curriculum using the GE

Learning Outcomes, per the expectations of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and

Universities (NWCCU),

5. ensure the GE curriculum is in alignment with USHE and Utah Code R470,

6. establish and manage curricular guidelines and criteria for GE and BD-designated courses and

curriculum,

7. administer grants and awards to promote and/ or recognize outstanding teaching in GE, and

8. periodically review the general education curriculum as a whole and make policy

recommendations to the Undergraduate Council.

GECC Charter 2

Membership

The GECC shall consist of appointed faculty from colleges offering undergraduate degrees or with

significant undergraduate GE and BD curriculum:

At least one career, tenure-line, or tenured faculty member from Architecture,

Business, Cultural and Social Transformation, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts,

Health, Honors, Humanities, Medicine (Medical Laboratory Sciences), Nursing,

Science (Mines and Earth Science), and Social and Behavioral Science as

appointed by their representative college will serve on the GECC at all times.

Additional representation will be required to manage the workload of the

committee and will depend on the size of the college’s presence in the General

Education and Baccalaureate Degree curriculum. Determinations will be made by

the Executive Committee (described below).

The committee Chair shall be the Assistant Dean for General Education or a person

designated by the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs in Undergraduate

Studies.

The committee Co-Chair shall be a career, tenure-line, or tenured faculty member

appointed by the Chair. The Co-Chair may have previous GECC experience to assure

continuity from year to year.

The committee members shall be appointed for three-year rotating terms with the

possibility of reappointment. Members shall serve as active liaisons with their respective

colleges and departments to ensure effective communication with and from the GECC,

Every effort shall be made to ensure that the voting members of the GECC reflect the diversity

of the campus community. This responsibility falls on the different individuals or groups who appoint

or recommend members of the committee. The GECC Chair will advise the participating Colleges of

the need for diversity on the committee. This will be accomplished in writing during the appointment

process.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chair, Co-Chair, and five committee

members who must have served at least one term on the GECC prior to appointment. The

Chair will solicit nominations and self-nominations among current GECC members for open

positions on the Executive Committee at the beginning of each academic year. Executive

Committee members shall be appointed for three-year rotating terms with the possibility of

reappointment. Membership of the Executive Committee shall be approved by a vote of the

full committee.

The purpose of the Executive Committee is to assist and advise the Chair and Co-

Chair (described below) outside the scope of the committee's regular agenda and meetings.

The Executive Committee is empowered to solicit input and feedback from campus

community members as appropriate.

The Executive Committee is authorized to act on behalf of the full committee on

urgent matters, which cannot wait for action by the full committee in regularly scheduled

meetings and during the summer recess of the University.

GECC Charter 3

Ex officio non-voting members of the GECC, with the right to the floor and to introduce motions,

shall include:

-A representative from the Advising Council;

-A representative from the Office of the Registrar;

-A representative from the University Libraries (as appropriate);

-Student representatives recommended by ASUU.

Responsibilities of the GECC Chair and Co-Chair

The GECC Chair shall have the following responsibilities:

-Prepare agendas and conduct all meetings of the GECC.

-Schedule regular meetings of the GECC and facilitate information exchange with

various units across campus.

-Invite the Co-Chair, with input from the Executive Committee, and work with college

leadership to appoint members of the GECC as needed.

-Report to the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs on all actions taken by the

GECC.

-Submit a written annual report to the Undergraduate Council each academic

year. Attend Undergraduate Council and Academic Senate meetings as needed/

requested.

-Maintain regular contact with the chair of the Undergraduate Council to facilitate

and ensure effective communication between the GECC and UGC.

-Represent the University of Utah on the USHE General Education Task Force.

The Co-Chair shall work with the Chair on all the above responsibilities and represent the Chair

in their absence.

Meetings

Regular meetings of the GECC shall be held each month from August to May. The Executive

Committee may also meet in June and July. Meetings will be held on the first Thursday of

each month from 1:30-3:30 p.m. If the regular meeting falls during a University recess day, it

will be moved to the next available Thursday. Additional meetings may be called as

necessary. Consistent attendance and participation are expected. In addition, GECC members

are expected to serve as liaisons with their respective colleges and participate in college and

department-level meetings as necessary.

A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the GECC voting membership.