Faculty FAQs

Q: I’ve heard about a common syllabus for General Education courses. What does that mean?

A: All General Education courses must use the General Education syllabus template. The syllabus template has been provided to all academic deans, chairs, and program directors for distribution to faculty who are teaching General Education courses. Faculty can also get a copy of the template by sending an email to theepathway@jsums.edu

Common syllabus means that all sections of a General Education course must have the same syllabus. The only information that should be different is the section number, instructor’s information, location, time, etc.

Q: I’ve heard about common textbooks for General Education courses. What does that mean?

A: Common textbooks means that all sections of a General Education course must have the same textbook(s). 

Q: I have a course that would be perfect for the new General Education curriculum. How can faculty propose courses for General Education?

A: New courses can be proposed to the new General Education curriculum by going through the undergraduate curriculum committee.

Q: I have a proposal for a new pathway. How can faculty propose a new pathway?

A: New pathways can be proposed to the new General Education curriculum by going through the undergraduate curriculum committee.

Q: I am advising a transfer student. How do I apply the pathways to transfer students?

A: The new General Education curriculum is transfer-friendly in that it is designed to make use of courses that students have completed at other colleges and universities. Students who transfer to JSU can use three of their 3-hour courses that are not being used to satisfy any other requirements and apply them to a pathway.  Ideally, these courses should be thematic.

For example, if a student is transferring to JSU and they have the following three courses that are not being used to satisfy any other requirements, (1) JSU XXX Leadership in Practice; (2) JSU XXX Foundations of Leadership, and (3) JSU XXX Principles of Sports Coaching, these three courses can be used to create a pathway called Leadership that is specific to this student.  With the completion of the proper paperwork, these courses will be noted on the student’s degree map and transcript with the prefix UNIV.