General Education Resources

AAC&U Publications on General Education

Association of American Colleges. Integrity in the College Curriculum: A Report to the Academic Community. Washington, DC: AAC, 1985 (2^nd ed. 1990).
This report critiques the supermarket approach found in undergraduate curricula, calls on "the faculty as a whole to accept responsibility for the curriculum as a whole," and recommends a minimum required curriculum for all students.

Association of American Colleges and Universities. Liberal Learning and the Arts of Connection for the New Academy. Washington, DC, 1995.
The second in a series of reports written by a National Panel of scholars convened through AAC&U's American Commitments initiative, this report explores goals for liberal learning in a diverse democracy and argues that the liberal arts of the future will include ways of relating and learning across difference. Written for faculty members and curriculum committees, this report should be used in connection with American Pluralism and the College Curriculum.

Association of American Colleges and Universities. American Pluralism and the College Curriculum: Higher Education in a Diverse Democracy. Washington, DC, 1995.
The third report in the AAC&U;s American Commitments initiative explores curricular practices that help prepare all students for a diverse society. It makes specific recommendations for teaching diversity across the curriculum, in both general education and major programs, and it describes effective diversity courses and requirements in a broad range of institutions-large and small, public and private, two- and four-year.

Jeavons, Thomas. Learning for the Common Good: Liberal Education, Civic Education, and Teaching about Philanthropy. Foreword by Robert L. Payton. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges, 1991.
A classic analysis of the centrality of service learning in liberal education, accompanied by a study of student experiences in service-linked courses and numerous examples from every kind of campus. The author argues that liberal arts courses about philanthropy and volunteerism can improve the quality of undergraduate education in general.

Johnston, Joseph S. Jr., and Richard J. Edelstein. Beyond Borders: Profiles in International Education. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, 1993.
Johnston and Edelstein recommend that international studies be integrated into the college curriculum as part of liberal education. Beginning with a comprehensive review of current literature in international studies, this monograph provides guidelines for the successful internationalization of higher education, as well as profiles of promising educational models and international studies initiatives undertaken by various colleges and universities.

Meacham, Jack. Assessing General Education: A Questionnaire to Initiate Campus Conversations (pdf). Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 1996.
Conceived as a way "to help college and university faculty and academic administrators initiate a conversation about general education," this questionnaire identifies 28 categories in which to think about and assess general education curricula. Educational practitioners can use this document to analyze their own curriculum and compare their own and others; perspectives on the core curriculum.

Project on Strong Foundations for General Education. Strong Foundations: Twelve Principles for Effective General Education Programs. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges, 1994.
This monograph recommends strategies and procedures for sustaining vitality and strength in general education. Twelve principles are drawn from practices at colleges and universities that have made a variety of improvements in general education curricula. Included are examples appropriate to all types of colleges and universities.

Schmitz, Betty. Core Curriculum and Cultural Pluralism: A Guide for Campus Planners. Washington, DC: Association for American Colleges, 1992.
This study reports on emerging models for multiculturalism in core curricula and provides a practical roadmap for academic leaders working to design new general education programs. It includes sample syllabi, core proposals, curriculum profiles, and a step-by-step guide through the potholes of curriculum change and faculty development.

Schneider, Carol G., and Robert Shoenberg. Contemporary Understandings of Liberal Education. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 1998.
This discussion paper examines the emergence of broad agreement on what students ought to learn from their baccalaureate studies and through general education programs and finds a strong trend toward collaborative, experiential, service, and integrative modes of learning. But the authors also contend that outdated structures, practices, and reward systems frustrate higher education's ability to reap the full benefits of new directions in general education reform.

AAC&U offers these resources only as possible models of interest and has not submitted each of them to any substantial peer or quality review. If you have questions about any particular resource, please contact the institution sponsoring it directly.