FAQ

Your academic advisor is also your General Education advisor. Since General Education is meant to complement and support your major, and many General Education requirements also fulfill major requirements, you should be working through your degree holistically.

First, check in with your academic advisor. They are there to help you navigate all of your degree requirements and may have some recommendations. If your advisor can’t fully answer your question, the next step is to request an appointment with the General Education office. You can do this using the WCS button in your portal.

You can find all of the available courses in each requirement by searching the WOU course catalog (you can access this catalog for each requirement through our “Requirements & Courses” page at www.wou.edu/gened/requirements. If you are looking for specific General Education options for an upcoming term, you can use the Attribute search feature in the WolfWeb scheduler tool to find the available General Education classes for a particular requirement.

Many majors have specific mathematics requirements, which also meet Foundations: Mathematics requirements for General Education. Check with your academic advisor. If you are not in a major that has a specific mathematics requirement, the ALEKS placement test is the best way to determine the right course for you. An ALEKS score of 61 or higher in a timed and proctored environment will meet your Foundations: Mathematics requirement.

Any Study Abroad courses that articulate as existing WOU General Education courses will meet the relevant requirement. For courses that do not articulate, contact the General Education office for a review of the possible options.

WOU courses that have not been reviewed and approved by the General Education Committee for inclusion in the program are not eligible as substitute courses.

If you’ve taken a look at the brief requirement overviews for General Education at https://www.wou.edu/gened/requirements and think you have a transfer course that may meet a requirement, you can submit a petition by using the petition form at https://www.wou.edu/gened/petitions-form. You can submit multiple courses on the same form. Make sure you have course descriptions and other documentation prepared to be included.

Students with completed AAOT degrees do not need to take General Education requirements at WOU.

Many AA degrees are already articulated with WOU’s Gen Ed requirements. You can see the current list at https://dev.wou.edu/gened/transfer-students/transfer-student-resources/. If you have an AA degree that is not articulated, you should complete a petition (https://www.wou.edu/gened/petitions-form) to request review of your AA degree as it may meet our requirements.

If you’ve taken a look at the brief requirement overviews for General Education at https://www.wou.edu/gened/requirements and think you have a transfer course that may meet a requirement you can submit a petition by using the petition form at https://www.wou.edu/gened/petitions-form. You can submit multiple courses on the same form. Make sure you have course descriptions and other documentation prepared to include.

No. Under new guidelines developed as part of the state of Oregon’s common course numbering WR 227 fulfills the Critical Thinking requirement at WOU. Depending on when you transferred and your catalog year, you may need to submit a petition to have the course applied correctly.

I took a class at WOU that is not a General Education class. Can I substitute it for one of my requirements?

WOU courses that have not been reviewed and approved by the General Education Committee for inclusion in the program are not eligible as substitute courses.

Your academic advisor is also your General Education advisor. Since General Education is meant to complement and support your major, and many General Education requirements also fulfill major requirements, you should be working through your degree holistically.

First, check in with your academic advisor. They are there to help you navigate all of your degree requirements and may have some recommendations. If your advisor can’t fully answer your question, the next step is to contact the General Education office (gened@wou.edu).

You can find all of the available courses in each requirement by searching the WOU course catalog (you can access this catalog for each requirement through our “Requirements & Courses” page at https://www.wou.edu/gened/requirements). If you are looking for specific General Education options for an upcoming term, you can use the Attribute search feature in the WolfWeb scheduler tool to find the available General Education classes for a particular requirement.

Many majors have specific mathematics requirements, which also meet Foundations: Mathematics requirements for General Education. Check with your academic advisor. If you are not in a major that has a specific mathematics requirement, the ALEKS placement test is the best way to determine the right course for you. An ALEKS score of 61 or higher in a timed and proctored environment will meet your Foundations: Mathematics requirement.

General Education requirements include the following broad categories: First Year Seminars (joining the WOU community of learners), Foundations (establishing knowledge and skills needed across the curriculum), Exploring Knowledge (building a broad disciplinary base) and Integrating Knowledge (synthesizing and applying learning through high impact practices). You can learn more about each of the General Education requirements at https://www.wou.edu/gened/requirements.

Beginning with the 2019-20 academic year, all BA and BS requirements are included in the major program and are not additional graduation requirements. Thus, the General Education requirements are the same for all students whether they are in a BA or a BS degree track.

A teaching and learning practice that has been widely assessed and found to be highly beneficial for an inclusive group of college students in multiple contexts is a High Impact Practice. First Year Seminars are a High Impact Practice and all Integrating Knowledge courses are required to feature at least one High Impact Practice. You can learn more about the High Impact Practices featured in WOU General Education at https://dev.wou.edu/gened/faculty-resources/high-impact-practices/

It is not required to take Integrating Knowledge Courses that feature different High Impact Practices.

During Spring 2020 all classes are available remotely. Most requirements do include at least one online or hybrid option (use the attributes search feature in the scheduler tool to find Gen. Ed. courses that are delivered remotely to find options available each term). We’re working on building a cohesive fully online pathway to meet the needs of students off campus.

Most General Education courses do not have prerequisites. While some Integrating Knowledge courses do have prerequisites, those are limited to courses that meet other General Education requirements. Some courses in Foundations: Communication and Language allow students to test into higher levels if they have language experience already.

Petitions go to the Director of General Education for review. Most petitions will be decided by the Director, but may also be forwarded to the full General Education Committee for guidance. Petitions related to the Foundations Writing requirement may be forwarded to the Director of First Year Writing for review and guidance. For additional information about petitions: https://dev.wou.edu/gened/petitions/

The General Education requirements align to the General Education Learning Outcomes, not to individual disciplinary fields. All academic divisions are represented on the General Education Committee to provide their input on decision-making around General Education requirements.

WOU courses that have not been reviewed and approved via the Faculty Senate curriculum process for inclusion in General Education should not be considered as available to meet General Education requirements.

If the major program determines that a course should permanently articulate as a WOU course, then it will articulate to the same General Education requirement as well. Thus, the student should first confer with the major program. If it is determined that the course does not articulate, the student can still request review to meet General Education requirements. If the student is unsure, they can consult with the General Education Director, who will facilitate review of the course by the necessary academic units.

You can submit a petition to have the degree reviewed: https://dev.wou.edu/gened/petitions/

What General Education Requirements should students try to complete in their first year?

Students should complete their First Year Seminars in their first year, along with their Foundations: Writing and Foundations: Mathematics requirements.

Can CS 121 be used for Critical Thinking?

CS 121 does not align to any General Education content criteria or learning outcomes. This course is not eligible for General Education credit.

Can General Education requirements also fulfill program requirements?

Students can fulfill requirements in General Education and in other academic programs with the same course. However, major and minor programs may not require specific General Education courses to be taken as “hidden requirements” to maintain a program under 90 credits.

Is the Biology 234-5-6 for Human Anatomy & Physiology sequence allowable for Scientific Perspectives?

BI 234-5-6 at WOU are not currently approved for General Education in Science Perspectives. You may take BIO 134 and BIO 135 if you would like an anatomy and physiology course.

How do the new General Education requirements integrate with B.A./B.S. requirements?

Beginning with the 2019-20 academic year, B.A. and B.S. requirements are built into each academic major program. There are no additional graduation requirements for baccalaureate degrees beyond the General Education requirements and the University requirements (180 total credits, 60 upper division credits, 45 of most recent 60 taken at WOU).

If a student demonstrates Writing or Mathematics proficiency (through a placement test, for example) to meet a General Education requirement do they also earn credit?

A student who demonstrates proficiency via a timed and proctored version of the ALEKS placement test (https://dev.wou.edu/math/aleks/aleks-gen-ed/), or writing proficiency through the WOU writing placement challenge exam (https://dev.wou.edu/english/first-year-writing/) may meet the requirement, but not earn credit.

Can a student complete their Foundations: Communication and Language requirement with a successful TOEFL or IELETS score?

No. There are many different courses that align to the learning outcomes and content criteria for the Foundations: Communication and Language category. Foreign-language proficiency does not meet this requirement.

These small (no more than 25 students) classes bring together students in a community of learners to explore engaging topics. In First Year Seminars, you will have the chance to practice skills and habits regularly used by successful college students while becoming familiar with the WOU campus and community. Each student takes a writing-focused seminar (FYS 107) and a quantitative-focused seminar (FYS 207). These can be taken in any order.

You can choose any topic that interests you and fits your schedule. Each student takes a writing-focused seminar (FYS 107) and a quantitative-focused seminar (FYS 207). These can be taken in any order.

You will still need to complete the requirement. It’s in your best interest to complete the seminar during your first year to gain the most from it and you’ll likely enjoy working with other students who are in similar situations. First Year Seminar enrollment remains available to students through their sophomore year and after that will require an override to add an FYS course.

You do not need to take the same topic to repeat an FYS course and replace a grade; just make sure you are taking a topic in the same FYS course (either FYS 107 or FYS 207) to replace the topic with the unsatisfactory grade.

FYS 107 is Writing-Focused Seminar and FYS 207 is Quantitative-Focused Seminar. Students can take their First Year Seminars in any order. Neither is a prerequisite for the other.

Sophomores may also register for First Year Seminars, if for some reason they are unable to complete this requirement on time.

Students are able to retake First Year Seminars. Even if the theme or topic is different, they can replace a low or failing grade in either FYS 107 or 207 with another term of the same FYS course.

Students can take their First Year Seminars in the same term; in some cases- as when the First Year Seminars are part of a learning community – they will have to take them in the same term.

Students who change catalog years from the LACCs to the new General Education program with more than 30 credits do not need to take First Year Seminars. This requirement does not automatically waive if the student started with us as a First Time Freshman to prevent new students with lots of high school dual credit from mistakenly opting out of First Year Seminars. Contact the General Education program at gened@wou.edu to get this exception applied for a catalog changing student.

Students who transfer in with 30 or more credits of college-level work have sufficient experience with collegiate expectations to have met the spirit of the First Year Seminars. They will meet the requirement, but will not earn those 8 credits, which may be applied as electives.

The goal of First Year Seminars in the General Education program is to help students who are new to college gain a sense of community and agency in supporting their own success. For this reason, students with running start and other high school to college credits must take First Year Seminars.

The First-Year Seminars at Western are topical/integrative seminars designed to incorporate the development of a subset of foundational skills (reading, information literacy, creative and critical thinking, technological literacy, and either writing or quantitative literacy) into topical coursework. Seminar enrollment is limited to no more than 25 students.

All Writing-focused seminars are FYS 107 and all Quantitative-focused seminars are FYS 207. Students will be provided during registration with section descriptions for each FYS topic theme from which to choose.

We welcome proposals from TT and NTT faculty and staff who are interested in presenting a topic about which they have expertise and passion and provide an opportunity for exploration. FYS courses that are team taught are encouraged.

Students who started at WOU prior to 2019-20 Academic Year and completed 30 or more credits of college-level work before changing catalog years have sufficient experience with collegiate expectations to have met the spirit of the First Year Seminars. They will meet the requirement, but will not earn those 8 credits, which may be applied as electives. This requirement does not automatically waive if the student started with us as a First Time Freshman to prevent new students with a lot of high school dual credits from mistakenly opting out of First Year Seminars. Contact the General Education program at gened@wou.edu to get this exception applied for a catalog changing student.

Yes. If a student changes their catalog year to 2019-20 or later for the General Education requirements they do not have to change their catalog year for major or minor program requirements. They will meet their baccalaureate requirements by completing General Education and their major coursework.

Yes. If a student changes their catalog year to 2019-20 or later for their major they can complete the LACC requirements, but will also need to meet the additional graduation requirements for a B.A. or B.S. as part of the pre-2019 General Education.

General Education requirements are part of the larger suite of degree requirements. Your major emphasizes a particular course of study, but General Education provides the opportunity to build a broad knowledge and skills base and emphasize habits of mind that will help you be successful with your college courses and beyond.

As adopted by the WOU Faculty Senate July 11, 2017:

General Education is a crucial component of the learning experience at Western Oregon University, providing students with fundamental skills for lifelong learning. Students apply, communicate, and integrate ideas from a variety of disciplines. They gain abilities to think and act critically as citizens of a complex and ever-changing world. The curriculum empowers students to pursue diverse interests and perform varying roles in their personal, social, and professional lives.

As adopted by the WOU Faculty Senate July 11, 2017:

1. Put into practice different and varied forms of knowledge, inquiry, and expression that frame academic and applied learning. (Intellectual foundations and breadth of exposure)
2. Demonstrate the ability to evaluate information and develop well-reasoned and evidence-based conclusions. (Critical thinking) (ULO: Inquiry & Analysis)
3. Articulate the challenges, responsibilities, and privileges of belonging in a complex, diverse, interconnected world. (Citizenship) (ULO: Diversity)
4. Integrate knowledge, perspectives, and strategies across disciplines to answer questions and solve problems. (Multidisciplinary learning) (ULO: Integrative Learning)

A key difference between this curriculum and the previous model of the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum (LACCs) is that this framework creates a General Education Program, which can be assessed holistically and modified, like other programs, at any time. A second key difference is that rather than categorizing courses by disciplinary prefixes, we are categorizing them by their alignment to key skills and concepts aligned to the General Education Learning Outcomes. Individual Divisions and Departments no longer “own” requirements; courses can be proposed by any Academic Unit, provided those courses align appropriately to the course criteria for the category.

General Education Requirements are:

• Foundations (Mathematics, Writing, Communication and Language, Critical Thinking, and Health Promotion.
• First Year Seminars (Quantitative- and Writing-Focused)
• Exploring Knowledge (Literary and Aesthetic Perspectives; Scientific Perspectives; Social, Historical and Civic Perspectives)
• Integrating Knowledge (Citizenship, Social Responsibility, and Global Awareness; Science, Technology, and Society)