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A New Model for General Education in Associate's Degree Programs: Developing and Teaching a Core across the Curriculum

Diverse student populations, wide variations in curricula, and short-term programs mean that community college leaders face particular challenges in analyzing general education degree requirements and implementing changes in them. The authors describe how faculty and administrators at Washtenaw Community College implemented an innovative approach to strengthening general education (or core curriculum) degree requirements. Faculty and academic officers identified 24 core learning elements clustered into two sectors (knowledge and skills), reviewed the college's existing 55 programs, and implemented syllabi revisions to include core elements. The authors describe the core learning elements and how they were developed and incorporated into existing courses. They also articulate challenges and lessons learned from the process along with advice for other college leaders about developing and implementing changes in general education requirements.