Reform Process

Following the appointment of the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education in August 2022 and the formation of the General Education Committee (GEC) in Spring 2023, Rice has adopted a three-phase action plan for general education reform, based on a curricular development process of backward design.
Phase 1: Determining the institution’s student learning goals for general education
Phase 2: Developing the curriculum to achieve those goals
Phase 3: Implementing the revised general education curriculum

Phase 1 has been focused on consulting widely with faculty, students, administrators, alumni, and staff on what we want our students to know, be able to do, and have experienced by the time they graduate from Rice as a result of their general education. This has resulted in:

  • Outreach effort of 30 campus conversations to share best practices and current trends in general education, and to learn more about preferences and priorities regarding gen ed reform.
  • Meetings with key offices to discuss current practices related to goals
  • Workshops with campus experts to further develop recommended capacities (student learning goals) for general education

The culmination of Phase 1 is a list of proposed capacities for general education at Rice.

Phase 2 will focus on revising the general education curriculum to map onto these capacities and developing learning outcomes that will allow for assessment.

To learn more about general education at Rice, please watch this video prepared for the Fall 2023 campus conversations:

A Campus Conversation on General Education

On January 5, 2024, the Center for Teaching Excellence hosted its 11th Annual Symposium on Teaching and Learning: The Future of General Education at Rice.

Keynote speakers:
Elizabeth Loizeaux, Special Advisor to the Provost, Boston University
Paul Hanstedt, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Innovation, University of Minnesota Rochester
Ashley Finley, Vice President for Research and Senior Advisor to the President, American Association of Colleges and Universities

Please click here for coverage of the symposium provided by Rice News.

Please click here to view the webinar recording of the keynote speakers.

If you are interested in learning more about general education, the following are resources you may wish to explore: