Changing general education

When the SUNY system relaxed its General Education requirements for all SUNY campuses, we saw an opportunity to rethink and reimagine general education at SUNY Oswego. Over two years of concerted effort by faculty and staff led to a healthy discussion by the campus community of several possible general education models with the selected model being approved for implementation in fall 2013. This new general education program, known as GE21, has met several main objectives:

• Provides more flexibility in shaping campus and individual student courses of study;
• Maintains strength of current general education program;
• Addresses perceived areas where GE 2000 might be improved;
• Ensures a general education program that is more focused and efficient;
• Continues our leadership position in engaging other cultures, ethnicities, and communities via creation of a World Awareness category.

GE 21 simply and deftly maintains the important role of liberal education in preparing Oswego graduates to engage and contribute to the world while enabling each student to have choice in shaping their general education program.