General Education Syllabi

Syllabus Checklist

As a provision of SB 7044 (2022), all General Education syllabi must be posted and searchable at least 45 days before the first day of class each semester and contain certain elements. Please check the Simple Syllabus page in Confluence for current guidance regarding required core elements for all syllabi.

General Education CORE course description

As of Fall 2024 The Board of Governors updated Regulation 8.005 General Course Options and any core course must follow the statewide course description provided by the Statewide Course Numbering System.

Visit the General Education Curriculum webpage to learn more about the general education requirements at UWF.

General Education Student Learning Outcomes

General Education Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) must be listed on the syllabi of all sections of General Education courses .Departments offering General Education courses are required to report on the General Education SLOs listed below:

Composition I: Compose and revise a researched academic paper that adheres to discipline-specific conventions.
Composition II: Produce (through revision) effective written communications that support author intent and address a specific audience.
Communication: Produce (through scaffolded feedback) effective oral communications that support author intent and address a specific audience.

Mathematics: Apply mathematical principles to determine a strategy for solving a problem.
Mathematics: Execute appropriate mathematical techniques for solving a problem and interpret results of a solution.
Humanities: Interpret and analyze tools and techniques of communication within cultural forms or cultural contexts.
Social Sciences: Solve problems using social science methods.
Natural Sciences: Evaluate scientific information using appropriate tools and strategies of the discipline.

Humanities: Identify the intrinsic value of culture and cultural artifacts.
Social Sciences: Reason ethically in an appropriate disciplinary context.

General Education Syllabus Statement

All sections of General Education courses are required to include in their syllabi a variation of the following statement, amended to reflect their particular courses and the student learning outcomes selected.

[Course Name] is designated as a General Education Social Sciences course. The General Education curriculum at the University of West Florida is designed to provide a cohesive program of study that promotes the development of a broadly educated person and provides the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in university studies. This course has been approved as meeting your requirement in the [Distribution Area] area. The major General Education learning outcomes for this course are [Learning Outcome 1] and [Learning Outcome 2]. Students will learn and practice [Learning Outcome 1] through a [quiz, exam, etc.] and [Learning Outcome 1] through a [quiz, exam, etc.], which will be used, during the assessment cycle, to assess the General Education curriculum.

If you are interested in a major in [Academic Program] you should contact the [Academic Department] at [Department Phone Number]. If you are undecided about your major, you should contact your academic advisor or Career Services at 850-474-2254.

A section of the textbook(s) may contain concepts that do not comply with Florida Statutes covering content in General Education courses as determined by the Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida. Those pages are not required reading, nor are there graded assignments associated with those concepts.

General Psychology is designated as a General Education Social Sciences course. The General Education curriculum at the University of West Florida is designed to provide a cohesive program of study that promotes the development of a broadly educated person and provides the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in university studies. This course has been approved as meeting your requirement in the Social Sciences area. The major General Education learning outcomes for this course are to solve problems using social science methods (critical thinking) and to reason ethically in an appropriate disciplinary context (integrity/values). Students will learn and practice critical thinking through a [quiz, exam, etc.] and integrity/values through a [quiz, exam, etc.], which will be used, during the assessment cycle, to assess the General Education curriculum.

If you are interested in a major in Psychology you should contact the Department of Psychology at 850-474-6060. If you are undecided about your major, you should contact your academic advisor or Career Services at 850-474-2254.

General Education FTIC Attendance Policy

As a provision of UWF AC-33.01-12/14, each General Education course syllabus should include an attendance policy, which should include each of the following elements:

a statement that attendance is mandatory;
the method by which the instructor will document attendance;
criteria by which the instructor defines an excused or unexcused absence;
an explanation of how attendance affects a student’s grade and, if applicable, quantifiable consequences of absences; and
a statement about attendance for financial aid purposes.

The General Education Course Attendance Policy for First Time in College (FTIC) Students is designed to encourage engagement and supports efforts to improve student retention at UWF. This Policy is a subset of and acts in concert with the Class Attendance policy. This policy requires:

Regular attendance for FTIC students in General Education Courses is expected and will be documented.
Each General Education class to have a written attendance policy and requires the attendance policy to be included in the course syllabus.
The faculty member teaching a General Education Course is to record the last day of class attendance for all FTIC students enrolled in the course.