Core Curriculum

The CSU Faculty Senate voted unanimously to approve a new Core Curriculum program in February 2024. The new program will take effect for students in Fall 2025. In the interim, the Office of Instructional Excellence will support faculty in the revision and development of core curriculum courses and other aspects of the new program.

Submitting a Course

To have a new or existing course approved for inclusion in the Core Curriculum, it must be submitted through Modern Campus Curriculum (formerly Curriculog). All submissions require, at a minimum:

1. A completed Core Curriculum approval document (accessible below)
2. A syllabus that illustrates to students the inquiry orientation of the course, meets all requirements of the Faculty Senate Syllabus Template, and includes a properly completed Core Curriculum Statement (see statement below)
3. An assignment overview for each Signature Assignment. This overview should provide students with instructions for completing the assignment and clearly indicate how the assignment will function to assess the specific core competency learning outcomes you have associated with it. Note: An optional assignment overview template is provided on the Designing Signature Assessments page of the CSU Core Curriculum Handbook

To further assist with the submission process, you are encouraged to reference the

Core Course Ready to Submit Checklist

prior to submission.

Core Curriculum Approval Documents

Core Curriculum Approval documents correspond to each core curriculum category and help to align the CSU core curriculum to Ohio Department of Higher Education general education requirements. You may download the appropriate document below. You should open the document in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader when completing the document. Use of other PDF readers will create issues with completing or saving the document.

• Inquiry Launch
• Finding Your Voice
• Research & Professional Writing
• Quantitative & Formal Reasoning
• African American History & Culture
  • OT-36 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Outcomes
  • OT-36 Arts & Humanities Outcomes
  • OT-36 Social & Behavioral Sciences Outcomes
• Human Culture & Creativity
• Global Human Perspectives
• Scientific Inquiry
  (natural science lecture courses)
• Scientific Investigations
  (natural science lab components)
• Society & Human Behavior
• Diversity in Society
  • OT-36 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Outcomes
  • OT-36 Arts & Humanities Outcomes
  • OT-36 Social & Behavioral Sciences Outcomes
• Data & Digital Literacy

Core Curriculum Syllabus Statement

You should copy and paste the below statement into your syllabus, preferably in the first few pages. Be sure to properly complete the areas [enclosed in brackets] corresponding to your specific course. You are not required to include any other information related to the Core Curriculum in your syllabus (such as the OT-36 learning outcomes).

This course is part of Cleveland State University’s Inquiry Core Curriculum program. The Inquiry Core Curriculum program aims to provide students with a well-rounded education, emphasizing a diverse range of methods of inquiry and essential skills for success after graduation. This course contributes to the program by fulfilling the [insert requirement here] requirement. In fulfilling that requirement, this course will provide you opportunity to develop the following core competencies: [list competencies]. To ensure the quality of the Core Curriculum program, student work in this course may be used to assess the program outcomes.

The Core Curriculum Handbook

The CSU Core Curriculum Handbook is a dynamic web-based resource aimed at assisting faculty in the development of courses for the core curriculum. It is maintained by the Core Curriculum Director. If you are just beginning your process of designing or redesigning a course for the core curriculum, you may find these pages especially helpful:

• What is the Inquiry Core Curriculum?: A High level overview of the new program along with guidance on designing a course for the program. This page is a great starting point for faculty looking to participate in the core curriculum.
• Core Curriculum Program Requirements: A tabular visualization of the new program requirements.
• Completing Approvals Documents: A guide, with examples and tips, to completing the Core Curriculum Approval Documents
• Completing the WAC Worksheet: A guide, with examples and tips, to completing the updated Writing Across the Curriculum document

Revising Programs for the New Core

All undergraduate programs will need to be revised to align with the new core curriculum. These revisions must be approved by faculty senate no later than the March 19th meeting. To assist with this program redesign, the Office of Instructional Excellence has provided the following resources:

• Degree Map Updated for Core Curriculum
• Core Course List.xlsx - A live spreadsheet tracking all core curriculum courses that have been approved by the Core Curriculum review committee

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Highlights of the new Core Curriculum

The new CSU Core Curriculum is designed to spark student curiosity, develop durable skills, and promote a sense of belonging at CSU. Key to this mission are the following special features of the program:

• Inquiry Orientation. Core Curriculum courses will be designed to invite students into the intellectual inquiry process. Students will not just learn information, but will learn how to investigate big questions and problems, deploy methods and techniques, and present new knowledge.
• Signature Assignments. To promote authenticity of coursework and help students make meaning of their learning, all core curricular courses will include at least one Signature Assignment. Such assignments engage students in authentic work, deploying the key skills and knowledge of the course, and then prompt them to reflect on their learning through the assignment and the course. Signature Assignments, and reflection in particular, have been shown to enhance student learning and sense of the meaningfulness of the course.
• Inquiry Pathways. To further promote a sense of integration and meaningfulness of education, students may choose to complete some of their core curricular courses within an Inquiry Pathway. These pathways are designed around important social issues, such as Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice, and allow students to investgate these issues from the perspective of multiple disciplines. Any student completing at least three courses in a pathway will earn a certificate for that pathway, and students may complete multiple pathways.

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Why Revise General Education?

The current General Education requirements were established in 2008/2009, which overhauled a previous general education curriculum establish in 1998. We now have nearly 15 years of experience with the current program.  With drastic shifts in demographics, technology, and society at large during this period, it is time to update this curriculum. 

Across the United States, there has been a 3.4% decline in 4-year public institution enrollment. And, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many incoming students will need greater support than prior classes. This is especially true of much of Cleveland State's traditional student population, especially those from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and the inner ring suburbs. A Core Curriculum often functions as the first engagement students have with a university's education and it is aimed at providing foundational knowledge and skills. Thus, while all parts of the university should be responding to these changes, the Core Curriculum especially deserves our attention.

The GenEd08 report noted several perceptions of the previous general education program, which it aimed to remedy. This included faculty, administrators, and students seeing the program "not as a positive, formative experience, but as a hurdle over which each student must jump." Unfortunately, feedback from students suggests that perception remains. Relatedly, they suggested the need to improve advising, staff more general education courses with full-time faculty, and simplify the program requirements.