Only an authorized CIM user for the unit is able to complete the following steps to submit a course for new Gen Ed Certification. Follow the CIM-C Gen Ed Guides for additional information and to view the Gen Ed questions outside CIM-C.

(Note: Following a CIM-C “Refresh” in early Fall 2024 there will be slight changes to these steps, please reach out to genedboard@illinois.edu with questions)

New Course:

If the course does not yet exist, you will first need to use the Course Inventory Management (CIM C) system to submit a new course proposal first (no Gen Ed information is entered when creating a new course).
Once the course has been approved continue with the ‘Existing Course” steps below.

Course Changes (Title, Description, Hours, etc.)

In filling out the CIM C form, do not make any additional edits or input information into fields other than the Justification, General Education section, and Course Edits Proposed by sections. If your department or college requires the Course Detail section to be completed, that is acceptable. If there are other revisions being considered these must be submitted and approved before sending through Gen Ed Certification. If you have questions about course changes, please contact: Brooke Newell, Director for Educational Programs, Office of the Provost at bsnewell@illinois.edu.

Existing Course Gen Ed Certification Steps:

Ensure to read through the Gen Ed Course & Category Details page to verify the course meets the criteria
Newly certified Gen Ed courses must be taught at least once per year for the first three years to remain active
Use the  Course Inventory Management (CIM C) system to look-up the existing course
Choose “Edit Course”
Complete the ‘Justification‘ section by providing a reason for the course change (“Submitting course for Gen Ed Category…”).
Upload a “Future Syllabus” under ‘Justification’ following the Gen Ed Syllabus guide
Select the Gen Ed category (or categories) for which you are seeking certification, and answer all questions in the General Education sections 
At the bottom of the CIM C form, in the “Course Edits Proposed by:” field, please enter the sponsor information (first name, last name, net id/email) of the person(s) whom the Gen Ed Board could communicate with if any questions arise during the review
Submit when complete

Review

Continue to the Gen Ed (Re)Certification Review Process section below to read more about next steps following submittal

Only an authorized CIM user for the unit is able to complete the following steps to submit a course for Gen Ed Recertification. Follow the CIM-C Gen Ed Guides for additional information and to view the Gen Ed questions outside CIM-C.

The Office of the Provost will notify colleges/school of courses due for Recertification in the upcoming academic year and the due date for the course(s). The college/school contact is responsible to notify all of their departments/units.
Department/unit sponsor will need to initiate the “Gen Ed Recertification” process in the Course Inventory Management (CIM C) system
Any changes to the course (description, title, hours, etc.) must be done before recertification (see “Course Changes” below), so please initiate these early (before the recertification process)
In CIM C, select “Edit Course”
Complete the ‘Justification‘ section by providing a reason for the course change (“Submitting course for Gen Ed Recertification…”)
Upload TWO syllabi under ‘Justification: Attach Files’:
Syllabus 1: Syllabus from a recent offering of the course
Syllabus 2: Syllabus for an upcoming semester (“Future Syllabus”) following the Gen Ed Syllabus guide
Answer all questions showing in the “General Education” sections
At the bottom of the CIM C form, in the “Course Edits Proposed by:” field, please enter the sponsor information (first name, last name, net id/email) of the person(s) whom the Gen Ed Board could communicate with if any questions arise during the review
Submit when complete
Before submitting a course for Recertification, ensure the course still meets all of the Gen Ed criteria and the course will continue to be taught on a regular and consistent basis, remaining in active status

Course Changes (Title, Description, Hours, etc.)

In filling out the CIM C form, do not make any additional edits or input information into fields other than the Justification, General Education section, and Course Edits Proposed by sections. If your department or college requires the Course Detail section to be completed, that is acceptable. If there are other revisions being considered these must be submitted and approved before sending through Gen Ed Recertification. If the Office of the Provost has already initiated the Recertification process in CIM C please email genedboard@illinois.edu as we will need to ‘shred’ this revision so you may make the other course changes and send through for approval, and once approved the recertification process will be re-initiated. Recertification extensions are not given, so please make sure any course changes are done with plenty of time to be approved and submitted for recertification. If you have questions about course changes, please contact Brooke Newell, Director for Educational Programs, Office of the Provost at bsnewell@illinois.edu.

Review

Continue to the Gen Ed (Re)Certification Review Process section below to read more about next steps following submittal

“Courses approved for General Education credit will be thoroughly reviewed and reapproved or disapproved on a regular basis as is determined to be the minimal amount of time feasible for careful reviews by the General Education Board.” (EP.17.74, Part I: 2.2)

Early in the Fall and Spring semesters the Office of the Provost’s will use reports to review Gen Ed courses that meet one of two criteria: (1) Inactive Courses: course has been inactive for 3 years/6 semesters, or (2) At Risk Courses: course is at risk of violating the policy in the upcoming semester if not offered. College/unit designated contacts will receive their reports with a reminder of the process. The college/unit report will include all their Gen Ed courses so units can monitor each semester, and the report will include the ‘last offered term’ and ‘must offer term’, and notes on courses meeting one of the two criteria listed above.

Courses not offered by the ‘must offer term’ will have the Gen Ed certification removed starting with a future effective date. Courses offered by the ‘must offer term’ will be considered active and will maintain Gen Ed status. The course schedule will be checked when it is live for the upcoming semester, and again at the start of the semester to ensure there is active enrollment.

Newly certified courses will also be monitored to ensure they are following the minimum offering of once per year for the first three years and will receive a warning if at risk. Certification will be removed if the new course is inactive for more than one year within the first three years. Units should ensure they are prepared to offer courses when they are submitted for Gen Ed certification.

The Provost’s Office will notify the controlling unit of any courses that are inactive where certification will be removed. The process to remove Gen Ed certification will be initiated by the Office of the Provost’s in CIM and include an effective date of certification removal. All units with programs that include the course in the curriculum will be notified of the certification removal. The Gen Ed Board will receive a list of inactive courses losing Gen Ed certification.

There is no appeal for the decertification process, but a decertified course may be submitted for certification in an upcoming semester when it will be taught regularly. There is a list of the Gened Approval History in the Course Explorer, which provides Gen Ed certification start and end dates for all courses.

Note: Courses will not be deactivated with this process, only Gen Ed certification(s) will be removed from the course. The unit may determine if they will deactivate the course and, if so, the unit will initiate the deactivation process in CIM. The unit should continue to review courses with “Six-Ten” violations to determine deactivating courses (Visit the Office of the Provost Website to read more about the different process of Deactivating Courses).

Timeline for Decertifying Courses:

Each Semester (by mid-Semester): Units provided updated list of Gen Ed course status (Active, Inactive, At Risk)
Week Before Full-Semester Classes: Inactive Courses will be checked to see if they are scheduled
Not on Schedule: Office of the Provost’s will initiate Decertification Process effective the next semester
On Schedule: The Office of the Provost’swill check after the ten-day census to confirm course listed on the schedule has enrollment and is offered (if course does not have enrollment or was cancelled the Decertification Process will be initiated effective the next semester)
Note: If an Inactive course is added to the Second Eight Weeks after the Week before full-semester Classes Begin that semester, the decertification process will still be initiated, and the course will need to submit materials for Certification immediately to remain active

Process for Decertifying Inactive Courses:

The Office of the Provost’s to Initiate Gen Ed Decertification in CIM C System
Workflow altered: Provost Initiates > Gen Ed Review > Gen Ed Board > Provost > Registrar > Banner –> All will receive “FYI” message about the course
The Dept/College Roles are removed from review/approval, but will receive initial notices and warnings of inactive courses and will receive a final notification when the Gen Ed Certifications have been removed (including the effective semester)

Additional information including the full process may be found in the Gen Ed Board Box Folder

The below schedule shows when a course will be considered inactive and the Gen Ed certification will be removed based on the last offered semester and the must offer by semester. Reports are provided to college/school “CIM Colleague” contacts responsible to distribute information to their associate departments/units.
Last Offered Term follows the format of: 1 + YEAR + Term (8 = Fall; 0 = Winter; 1 = Spring; 5 = Summer)

If an inactive course will be taught in a future semester and the unit is interested in Gen Ed certification for the course, they would need to follow the Gen Ed Certification process outlined above. Certification may take up to two semesters, so units should plan ahead. Updated materials will be required for the certification process. Once approved the course will be considered a new certification and must be offered at least once per year for the first three years, and then maintain active status after the initial period.

There is no petition or extension for inactive courses to retain Gen Ed certification status.

The current Gen Ed policy (EP.17.74) sets expectations on Gen Ed course offerings:

“General Education courses should be offered on a continuing and regular basis, though they need not be offered every year. Once approved, departments must agree to offer a General Education course for a minimum of three years on a regular basis (e.g., every semester or once a year).” (EP.17.74, Part I: 2.1)
“Courses approved for General Education credit will be thoroughly reviewed and reapproved or disapproved on a regular basis as is determined to be the minimal amount of time feasible for careful reviews by the General Education Board.” (EP.17.74, Part I: 2.2)

Units sponsoring Gen Ed courses should be aware of their responsibility to offer and maintain these courses consistent with the Gen Ed policy and follow the mission and goals of the Gen Ed Program.

Maintaining Active Course Status

Gen Ed courses should maintain active status by being offered on a continuing and regular basis. The sponsoring unit is responsible for ensuring the course is offered on a regular timeline and keeping track of all Gen Ed offerings. The Office of the Provost’s will provide college/school representatives with updated reports on Gen Ed active status, but it is expected that units are maintaining their own internal lists for scheduling purposes. Units should complete regular reviews of their courses and deactivate inactive courses as needed.

Review of Gen Ed Offerings

Units are encouraged to review all of their Gen Ed offerings on a regular basis (recommended to review annually) to ensure courses still meet Gen Ed criteria and make sense to be included in the Gen Ed Program. The Gen Ed Office is always open to meet with units to review and discuss Gen Ed offerings and explore areas of potential.

Notifying Impacted Units with Changes

Sponsoring units should notify any units impacted by changes to the Gen Ed status for their courses. Certifying a course as a Gen Ed, removing Gen Ed certification, deactivating a course, and changes in the offering schedule and type may impact programs relying on the course. Impacted units may be viewed at the top of CIM C under ‘Catalog Pages referencing this course’ and ‘Programs referencing this course.’

Recertification

Courses approved for General Education credit will be thoroughly reviewed and reapproved or disapproved on a regular, basis as is determined to be the minimal amount of time feasible for careful reviews by General Education Board members.

Instruction

A department offering an approved General Education course is responsible for assuring that the course is taught in line with the guidelines for General Education courses as summarized in the proposal seeking certification of the course for General Education credit. In pursuit of this goal, departments must have clear procedures for informing instructors about the guidelines and the certification proposal.

Responsibility for a General Education course rests with the department and normally should be exercised by a tenure-track, tenured, or specialized faculty member. Teaching assistants may teach General Education courses, including autonomous sections, under the close and regular supervision of an appropriate staff member.

Departments offering General Education courses have responsibility for developing appropriate means for preparing, supervising, and providing guidance to teaching assistants assigned to General Education courses.

Departments are responsible for assuring adequate staffing of General Education courses to be able to provide students the appropriate graded feedback on their work necessary to meet the disciplinary thinking and communication skill development objectives of General Education.

Departments are responsible for assuring that there is appropriate and thorough evaluation of instruction in all courses approved for General Education. To assure the ongoing improvement of their General Education courses, departments are encouraged to develop and regularly employ discipline-appropriate methods of assessing instructional quality that include both peer review and student evaluations.

Departments are responsible for developing appropriate instructional formats for courses proposed for General Education. The course format should not only be appropriate to the discipline and course content, but also should be consistent with the aims of General Education. In most instances the goals of General Education as set forth in these guidelines will not be met by instruction with mass lectures as the sole means of delivering instruction.

College/School administration and/or committees play an important part in the Gen Ed offerings within their associated units and are responsible for disseminating information provided by the Office of the Provost to the responsible parties within their units.

Certification/Recertification

When the College/School reviews a Gen Ed course for either certification or recertification, they are responsible for ensuring the following:

The course:
aligns with the college/school goals, mission, and initiatives
follows strategy and intention for Gen Ed courses and current Gen Ed offerings
The college/school:
has considered any impact on current courses or program needs
will support and encourage the unit’s efforts associated with this Gen Ed course, including instructional needs and staffing, evaluation and assessment, and ongoing improvement and development
will support efforts to ensure this course maintains active status
will ensure units are aware of deadlines and processes, and support efforts to submit required materials for assessment and recertification review by deadlines
manages other processes required to meet the guidelines and criteria set in the Gen Ed policy

The Gen Ed Board is responsible for reviewing courses for Gen Ed criteria, this is not the responsibility of the college/school. Colleges/Schools are encouraged to work with a unit sponsor prior to submitting a course for (Re)Certification. If a course is rolled back to a Sponsor following the Gen Ed Board review the college/school is encouraged to work with the departmental/unit sponsor to provide additional guidance based on the feedback prior to resubmitting, but the college/school is not responsible for re-reviewing or providing additional feedback as this will be done by the Gen Ed Board

Ongoing Responsibilities

The College/School is responsible for supporting the efforts of the Office of the Provost’s for the Recertification/Certification process to ensure their units are following deadlines and procedures. College/Schools are encouraged to be aware of the Gen Ed processes and assist units. It is important Colleges/Schools help communicate with their units about processes such as recertification and inactive courses, and they follow-up with units to ensure deadlines are met.

The College/School representative (“CIM Colleague”) is responsible for communicating with their units any courses marked as Inactive or “at-risk” and providing them with information on the process. Inactive/At Risk Reports are provided by the Office of the Provost’s each semester for all Gen Ed courses.

General Education Board: College/School administration is responsible for nominating faculty and student representatives for the General Education Board. It is important to select representatives who will attend the meetings, provide feedback, and communicate effectively as decisions on the board may impact colleges/schools/units.

The Office of the Provost’s Director for General Education is responsible for the oversight of the General Education Program and courses associated with the program, ensuring procedures follow the Senate Gen Ed Policy and are consistent with the mission, goals, and aim of the General Education Program.

(Re)Certification Process: Checking the course meets the minimum Gen Ed requirements, moving through the Gen Ed Board, and ensuring records are kept up-to-date.

General Education Assessment

The Office of the Provost Assessment Office is responsible for ensuring all Gen Ed courses go through a rigorous assessment process. They will provide instructors and units with trainings, resources, guides, and support to integrate assessment into Gen Ed courses, and they will maintain a list of courses and their assessment activities, ensure courses are in compliance with assessment requirements, and communicate with units and instructors about assessment. Read more about Gen Ed Assessment

The General Education Board is responsible for the oversight of the campus general education program in accordance with requirements adopted by the Senate, and to ensure, as much as possible, that general education courses will be valuable intellectual experiences. The General Education Board ensures, as much as possible, that general education courses will be valuable intellectual experiences. Responsibilities include defining the categories of general education requirements for the campus, reviewing course proposals, and reviewing and recertifying all courses approved for general education credit.

Certification/Recertification: Courses approved for General Education credit will be thoroughly reviewed and reapproved or disapproved on a regular, basis as is determined to be the minimal amount of time feasible for careful reviews by General Education Board members.

Scholarship on the significance of women and gender: General Education Board will work with departments, colleges, and the campus administration to assure that there are adequate instructional development vehicles (workshops, seminars, course development funds, etc.) to aid the faculty in integrating the significant and increasingly visible scholarship about women and gender into General Education courses.

Chair of Gen Ed Board:

Subcommittee Leads of Recertification Wing:

Subcommittee Leads of Policy Wing:

The Office of the Registrar is responsible for making changes in Banner and other systems once changes have been made to Gen Ed courses, including new certification, decertification, or other course-level changes.

Currently, there is no set guidance on the modality (in-person/online/hybrid) for Gen Ed Courses other than the basic requirements and instructional goals outlined in the policy stating the Instructional format (number of lecture meetings, number of lab/discussion meetings, etc.) is appropriate. It is expected that Gen Ed courses are taught in a way that meets the Gen Ed goals in the areas of communication and instruction.

There is no set minimum or maximum capacity for Gen Ed Courses (with the exception of Advanced Composition, see below), but there is criteria for instruction in the policy that states the ratio of instructors responsible for teaching to expected student enrollment is appropriate.

Advanced Composition courses require extensive writing and feedback so courses should have a maximum enrollment of 25-28 students, and a recommended enrollment of 25 or less. High student-to-instructor ratios for these courses must be explained in depth to provide support on how the goals and learning outcomes of the course will be met.