News and updates
Here you can find the latest information of interest to faculty related to ConnectED.
Invitation to participate in the ConnectED Learning Collaborative
We are pleased to invite you to participate in this year's ConnectED Learning Collaborative. During this two-day event, May 18-19, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, faculty from all disciplines across VCU will work together to score samples of student work collected this year. Faculty members of the General Education Assessment Committee will provide guidance in using rubrics to score the assignments and lead you through the process. This is a great opportunity to network with faculty colleagues, all while engaging in the meaningful work of ensuring student work reflects the learning goals and essential skills we want our students to develop through our courses. Reports based on data from the scoring event will be shared with internal and external ConnectED stakeholders.
What: Scoring samples of student work from ConnectED courses
When: Thursday and Friday, 5/18-5/19, 10:00am - 5:00pm
Benefit: $300/day and professional development
Where: TBD
Coming Soon: The 2nd Annual ConnectED Symposium!
Click here to find more details and a registration form. Virtual and in-person attendance options available.
Presentation schedule for proposed new literacies
As part of the vetting process for the Provost’s proposed new literacies for ConnectED, the GECC chair and literacy work group chairs are meeting with key stakeholders this spring to solicit input from the VCU community. Current presentation schedule:
- Faculty senate, Feb. 28th
- Associates Forum, Mar. 10
- Advisors meeting, Mar. 27
- SGA meeting, Mar. 27
- University College, Mar. 28
- School of Business, Mar. 29
- UUCC, April 20
Please attend relevant meetings if you are able. More updates on the work of GECC can be found in the committee meeting minutes located here.
All VCU community members (students, faculty, staff, and administrators) are also encouraged to review the proposed literacy materials and submit feedback on the information via this form. Thank you for your participation in shaping general education at VCU!
New Literacy Initiative: Opportunity for input from the VCU community
The literacy work groups presented their reports and recommendations to the GECC in Nov. 2022. You can view the complete reports from all three work groups along with a GECC statement regarding the recommendations here. The GECC and Provost office invite the VCU community to offer feedback on these initiatives, and will be providing opportunities for discussion in meetings with various stakeholders throughout the spring semester. To request a presentation of the literacy information to your unit, please contact gened@vcu.edu.
ConnectED is in the VCU news!
A year and a half into the launch of the new general education program, the word is getting out that there is a lot to appreciate for students and faculty alike. See the full article here.
Work groups for foundational literacies convened
In his February 2022 State of the Academic Affairs Address, Provost Sotiropoulos presented his vision for adding several new foundational literacies to the general education curriculum at VCU. These are computational literacy and entrepreneurial literacy.
To fulfill this vision, three new work groups comprised of faculty across VCU related to ConnectED received their charges from the Provost’s office at a kickoff meeting on April 1, 2022. These work groups include:
- Computational Literacy Work Group: This work group will make recommendations to the General Education Curriculum Committee on the definition of computational literacy, and the criteria by which courses for this literacy may be developed
- Entrepreneurial Literacy Work Group: This work group will provide recommendations to the General Education Curriculum Committee on the definition of entrepreneurial literacy, and the criteria by which courses for this literacy may be developed
- General Education Structure Work Group: This work group will provide recommendations to the General Education Curriculum Committee on how to best incorporate two new literacies while maintaining a broad-based general education curriculum
These work groups will work throughout the summer and fall, with the goal of having these two new literacies incorporated into ConnectED by fall 2025.
ConnectED symposium held May 4
On May 4, the General Education Curriculum Committee (GECC) and General Education Assessment Committee (GEAC) held their ConnectED symposium, a celebration of all things general education at VCU. Featuring remarks and presentations from Provost Sotiropoulos, Dr. Deborah Noble-Triplett, and Dr. Kim Case, the symposium created a space to reflect on where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re headed in general education at VCU.
To learn more about the ConnectED symposium, see the event information and recordings on the Office of the Provost website.
Upcoming changes to Foundations of Learning and Areas of Inquiry requirements
The racial literacy requirement was approved as an additional Foundations of Learning course in VCU’s general education program. Therefore, when it goes into effect in the 2023-24 academic year, the total number of Foundations of Learning credits that students are required to complete will rise to 15-16 credits (currently 12-13 credits).
At the same time, the introduction of the racial literacy requirement will also see the number of Areas of Inquiry credits that students are required to complete reduced to 14-15 credits (currently 17-18). Therefore, there will be no increase in the total number of credits in the general education requirements.
However, students will now be required to complete courses from at least three of the four Areas of Inquiry, taking at least three credits in each area. (Currently, all four Areas of Inquiry are required.)