Summer 2023
Initiate Dialogue with Council of Deans and Leaders Across Schools/Campuses/Faculty Senate/Administration
- Identify immediate motivations, challenges, opportunities not yet addressed.
- Discern appropriate steps to solicit additional feedback.
- Propose action plan for Gen Eds Reform.
- Discern representatives for formal working groups.
- Collect existing information regarding recent efforts toward Gen Ed Review across schools/campuses.
Attend Trainings and Meetings on Gen Eds Reform
Prepare Project Management Needs & Initial Communication Strategy & Materials
- Connect with OTP and UMC Communication Experts for Storytelling and Engagement Sessions
- Create accessible online platforms and dedicated email address for working groups and broader community to access information, share feedback, connect with one another, work collaboratively.
Propose Gen Ed Task Force
The Task Force will consist of 3 different bodies to ensure representation, transparency, communication, ideation, and collaboration across schools, campuses, and support units Pitt-wide. We will develop guiding principles for each working group to focus tasks, process management goals, and expectations to inform the work of each group. All will include a variety of voices representative of our many schools/campuses and stakeholders, including students, faculty, advisors, administrators, alumni (see Appendix A for additional information).
- General Education Design Working Group: comprised of faculty, staff, and student leadership; charged with exploration, data collection, benchmarking, engagement, ideation, designing and building a standardized Gen Ed curriculum.
- Gen Ed Implementation Working Group: comprised of experts (Registrar, CFO, Admissions, Advisors, OTP Academic Affairs, Career Center, Pitt Global, CTL, Data Analytics, UMC) and students; charged to provide advice to and run scenarios-based analysis for the Design Working Group on the challenges/opportunities for implementing their proposed vision.
- Gen Ed Administration & Assessment Group: comprised of experts (Policy Management, OTP Academic Affairs and Faculty Affairs, PACUP, UMC, CTL, Admissions, Faculty Senate Committees) and students; charged with anticipating, planning, and executing revisions to academic policies/procedures to realize the vision of the taskforce; this body will also propose the permanent structure for oversight, administration, and assessment of the Gen Ed Curriculum.
Year 1: Academic Year 2023-24
Convene, Charge, and Communicate with Gen Ed Task Force
Gen Ed Task Force:
- Comprised of 3 Working Groups: Design; Implementation/Operation; Administration & Assessment
- Establish Guiding Principles, Project Goals with each Working Group
- Engage and Discovery with all Stakeholders: leverage existing committees/ dept meetings already scheduled where the GE Task Force members can get invited to inform and collect initial input.
- Benchmark Peer Institutions
- Collect and Analyze Pitt Curricular Data
- Collect and Review Stakeholder Feedback
- Consider Gen Ed Models for further exploration in Year 2
Year 2: Academic Year 2024-25
- Explore, Design, Propose Pitt Gen Ed Model
- Engage and Discuss Proposal with all Stakeholders
- Review and Revise Proposal per Engagement
- Design the Implementation, Communication, Administrative, Assessment and Faculty/Staff Training Strategies
Year 3: Academic Year 2025-26
- Faculty/Staff Training Plan
- Implementation Plan
- Communication Plan
- Administration Oversight and Faculty/Advising Support
- Assessment
Year 4: Academic Year 2026-27
- Launch Pilot Year of new Gen Ed Curriculum