AA/58/AS/24/UEPC - Baccalaureate Degree Requirement: Skills for Student Success and Life-long Learning

Effective April 28, 2025

WHEREAS, after 2025, courses in General Education areas are prohibited from “exclusively emphasizing skills development” or “focusing solely on skills acquisition” or “professional preparation”; therefore, be it

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate of California State University, Stanislaus, approve the University Requirement: Skills for Student Success and Life-long Learning Baccalaureate Degree Requirement (minimum of one course from section I and one course from section II, and a minimum of 2 units in total)
 

I. Student Success Skills: (1-2 units)

These courses introduce students to university life, focusing on key areas for student success such as networking with faculty, nutrition, physical and mental health, social relationships, and ethical comportment. First-Year Experience courses that meet the FYE Goals for our university will count for the Student Success Skills requirement. The Student Success Skills course is capped at a 2-unit maximum and must be fulfilled at Stanislaus State.

Learning Outcomes (Choose one of the following at minimum):

• Equip students with the skills necessary for success at the university and beyond, such as information literacy, how to use the library to conduct research, time management, etc.

• Support students’ scholarly work and their academic success within the University and/or in their discipline, as well as in their personal and professional life beyond the academy.

II. Life-Long Learning Skills: (1-3 units):

Courses fulfilling this requirement will help students develop skills, methods, and experiences that enhance their engagement with creative, expressive, and interpretive practices. These may include performances, artistic works, and other forms of humanities and arts productions. The emphasis will be on cultivating lifelong skills that enable students to explore and connect with the ideas, perspectives, and imaginative worlds shaped by humanistic and artistic expression. The Life-long Learning course is capped at 3 units. This section may be completed at the Community College and is not required for transfer students.

Choose one of the following areas to fulfill this requirement:

2A: Artistic Practice: Students may complete a course in the Arts, which may include visual arts, music, theater, or creative writing.

• Learning Outcome: Foster creative expression and creative problem-solving skills through artistic engagement and practices such as productions, performances, writing, and exhibitions.

2B Language Acquisition: Students may complete a course in modern languages focusing on conversational skills and cultural understanding.

• Learning Outcome: Foster language skills needed for practical and professional applications, as well as offering connections between languages, deeper insight into the global community, one’s own culture, and self.

2C Humanistic Inquiry: Students may complete a course in the humanities, including Philosophy and Literature.

• Learning Outcome: Foster the skills for exploring the relationship between conceptual frameworks, imaginaries, and meaning-making practices, emphasizing the interpretive skills and methods developed by humanities disciplines for engaging with the texts and objects of humanistic inquiry.

Be it further,

RESOLVED: That these changes take effect upon approval by the President and Chancellor’s Office.

RATIONALE:

Beginning Fall 2025, the changes made to EO 1100 because of Cal-GETC will need to be implemented. Through these changes, elimination of GE area E and a reduction in 3 units of lower division C were made. These changes occurred from California Assembly Bill 928 requiring a singular lower division general education pathway that meets the academic requirements necessary for transfer admission to the CSU and the UC and the Chancellor’s office desire for GE equity among CSU and transfer students even though many faculty disagreed with the need.

The GE sub-committee during summer 2024 analyzed some options regarding the fiveunit reduction in required GE units (from 39 to 34). Five feasible options were brought to UEPC at the beginning of the fall semester. Central to this discussion was the impact on student success.

As shared governance is of the utmost importance, UEPC held three open fora and a survey to get feedback and ideas regarding the 5-unit reduction in GE and the five feasible options shared by the summer GE sub-committee. There were about 100 faculty and staff who attended the open fora, and 145 submitted feedback via the survey. Discussion in the open for a surrounded the desire to not decrease the breadth of learning by students, while not impacting high-unit majors and the need to support the learners who attend Stan State. Some of this discussion included whether a new requirement should be only lower division or both lower and upper. From the survey, 61 faculty and staff chose no action to be made regarding the 5-unit GE reduction. While eighty-four faculty and staff want to use the reduction in 5-units for a university requirement, with 49% supporting life-long learning and first-year experiences and 48% supporting an additional arts/humanities requirement. Three percent did support making the US History course a requirement.

During discussion in Academic Senate, it was decided that the initial resolution would return to UEPC for reflection on how to better incorporate the humanities. During this time, faculty from the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) submitted a recommendation for UEPC to consider.

Taking feedback from the fora, survey, and CAHSS into account, UEPC discussed options for the 5-unit GE unit reduction. UEPC recommends two skills-based courses within the requirement that address the two areas faculty and staff most wanted to support-student success and the arts/humanities.Additionally, the requirement will have a minimum requirement of two units to accommodate high-unit majors and will not double-count with GE as this is a skills-based requirement.

As students navigate the complexities of higher education and prepare for future careers, it is crucial they develop foundational and life-long skills that enhance their learning experience and personal growth. By instituting a Skills for Student Success and Life-long learning requirement, the university can ensure that all students are provided with opportunities to cultivate effective strategies for success, and artistic expression, language competencies, or humanistic inquiry.

Review History: Approved by the Academic Senate on March 25, 2025

Approved by President Britt Rios-Ellis on April 28, 2025

University Educational Policies Committee Division has the primary responsibility for this policy.

Attachment(s): AA/58/AS/24/UEPC Baccalaureate Degree Requirement: Skills for Student Success and Life-long Learning  

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