University General Education Committee – August 28, 2026
Action Items
Courses approved (see Minutes)
Minutes
University General Education Committee Meeting
Friday, August 28, 2026, 4:00pm
Jepson 425
Attended: Leanna Giancarlo (Chair), Karen Anewalt (Secretary), Andrew Dolby, Ashe Laughlin
Ex-officio: Debra Schleef (Associate Provost for Institutional Analysis and Effectiveness), Brian Ogle (Provost’s designee, Registrar’s Office), Melissa Yakabouski (Dean of Admissions)
Call to order: 4:00pm
1. Discussion of Fall Meeting Dates
We will meet on Monday, October 5 and Monday, November 2, both at 4:00pm. We will meet in Jepson and Leanna will update the committee members with a room number after consulting 25Live.
2. Course Proposals
MDFL 400 for After Mary Washington
The Gen Ed Committee members approved unanimously.
3. Individual Student Petitions
a. AP Human Geography for Diverse & Global Perspectives
The majority of Gen Ed Committee members did not approve. UMW does not accept AP credits toward any of the Connections categories. When the 2020 Gen Ed requirements were approved, the committee specifically discussed the intent not to accept AP credit for Connections category requirements. Additionally, the student’s AP score was a 3, and the committee had concerns about the level of mastery represented by that score. The request for DGP is denied.
b. HIS 280 from VCCS for Humanities
The majority of the Gen Ed Committee members approved.
4. New Business
a. Revision of Second Language Substitution Course for Students with ODR Accommodations
Later in the semester, Alex Ecklund will attend a Gen Ed Committee meeting to discuss a proposed revision to the list of courses approved as substitution for the second language requirement for students with approved accommodations. Approximately 40 of the 750 students registered with the Office of Disability Resources are approved for the second language substitution.
The current substitution requires that students take three courses: one related to understanding language, one in literature, and one in culture. A current challenge is that the language category has very few options available and often the assignments in such courses aren’t a good fit for students approved for the second language substitution.
b. SCHEV Competencies Update and General Education Assessment Plan for 2026-27
Debra Schleef shared an update from the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV), who requires all Virginia universities to report student assessment data in a variety of competency categories. The current UMW General Education categories map to the SCHEV categories well, which streamlines assessment and reporting. SCHEV has proposed revising their competency categories. Debra has been involved in the discussions and will keep the committee updated as the discussions continue.
Debra will also share the UMW general education assessment plan for the year at a future committee meeting.
c. Connections Category Course Re-Evaluation Transparency
While Virginia Community College System (VCCS) courses are approved to automatically satisfy “Foundations” and “Methods of Investigation” requirements, there are no VCCS courses that automatically satisfy “Connections” requirements.
However, students have requested re-evaluation of VCCS and other transfer courses and made the case for Connections credit for courses taken outside of UMW, resulting in approval for credit in a Connections requirement.
To make the opportunity to request re-evaluation for Connections category requirements more equitable and transparent, the committee discussed adding a note to the Degree Evaluation stating that students with transfer credit that they believe meet the stated learning outcomes for a Connections category course should request re-evaluation of their transfer credit for the appropriate category and make their argument for how the transferred course satisfied the learning outcomes.
Brain Ogle will draft language for the addition to the Degree Evaluation and share it with the committee and Charles Tate (Academic Services).
d. Process to Remove a Course from a General Education Category
At a future meeting, the committee will discuss the process of removing a course from a General Education category in instances where the course does not meet the stated requirements for the category (for example, not including required assignments in a Writing Intensive course) and when the department offering the course is unwilling to revise the course to meet the stated requirements.
The meeting adjourned at 4:52pm.
The minutes were approved electronically on September 2, 2026.