The General Education Program at Appalachian seeks to provide students with a first-rate liberal arts education. Our goal is well-rounded students with the knowledge and skills important for professional and personal success at Appalachian and after graduation: abilities to think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, make local-to-global connections, and understand the responsibilities of community membership. Furthermore, as an experience shared by our undergraduate students and our faculty, it is important that the General Education program represents Appalachian's identity. It is also important for our General Education program to adapt and evolve in response to emerging challenges, changes, and opportunities.
During fall 2020, a possible revision to the General Education Program began to be considered. A summary of the activities that have taken place since then is:
- The General Education Listening Task Force (2020-21) hosted campus-wide listening sessions to hear perspectives from the campus community on a range of topics related to General Education at the program level, and to help plan for its future.
- The General Education Revision Task Force (2021-22) developed a proposal for a revised General Education Program based on the recommendations of the General Education Listening Task Force final report.
- The General Education Financial Literacy Feasibility Committee (Fall 2022) reported on the feasibility of including a required Financial Literacy component in the General Education Program.
The final reports for all these groups can be found at the links below.