General Education

General Education Values Statement

As our mission statement proclaims, a University of Mississippi education is built “upon a distinguished foundation in the liberal arts.” Consequently, students at our institution become inheritors and stewards of an intellectual tradition that, for millennia, has provided us with the tools to better understand ourselves, to create a more just world, and to craft meaningful lives.

Students begin this academic journey in General Education, where they participate in a shared learning experience that fosters social responsibility, scientific exploration, civic engagement, an appreciation of the natural world, nuanced appraisals of the past, and lifelong habits of inquiry.

Throughout the General Education core curriculum, faculty help students to develop mastery in the competency areas described below and to grow as thinkers and learners by means of challenging coursework.

Ultimately, General Education is the entryway to our university. As students step through and broaden their perspectives in a range of different fields, they take their rightful place in our community of scholars.

General Education Student Learning Competencies

Upon completing the core curriculum, along with certain courses within the program/major and co-curricular learning experiences, University of Mississippi baccalaureate-seeking students should demonstrate the following General Education competencies:

• Critical thinking,
• Ethical reasoning and ethical responsibility,
• Mathematical reasoning,
• Oral communication, and
• Written communication.

General Education Committee

The General Education Committee is a standing university committee that holds the broad responsibility of leading the university in fulfilling its general education mission for all undergraduate degrees at the university. The committee makes recommendations to the Provost and the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and appropriate academic units regarding the philosophy of general education, as well as policy, learning outcomes, curriculum, assessment, and continual improvement of general education. The committee will lead the campus in exploring, debating, and defining the values and the proper role of general education in fostering well-rounded educational experiences consistent with the function of a public research university.

Committee Membership: The committee is composed of faculty from across the university and key administrative stakeholders, with a representative depth of faculty from disciplines that deliver general education, as follows:

• General Education Committee Co-Chair, as appointed by the Provost.
• General Education Committee Co-Chair, as appointed by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
• Four faculty representatives from the College of Liberal Arts representing the four discipline groupings: Fine & Performing Arts (Art & Art History, Music, Theatre Arts), Humanities (Classics, English, History, Modern Languages, Philosophy & Religion, Writing & Rhetoric), Natural Science & Mathematics (Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Mathematics, Physics & Astronomy), and Social Sciences (Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Policy Leadership, Sociology & Anthropology).
• One faculty representative from each school with undergraduate programs — Accountancy, Applied Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Journalism & New Media, Pharmacy.
• General Education Subcommittee Chairs that represent the general education competencies — Critical Thinking, Ethical Reasoning, Mathematical Reasoning, Oral Communications, and Written Communications.
• One student representative appointed by the Associated Student Body.
• Up to five ex-officio members appointed by the Provost to include the representation from the Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, & Planning, the SACSCOC liaison, and others as appropriate.

Faculty representatives serve three-year terms, and the terms of others are determined by the Provost.