General Education Curriculum Reform

General Education at Kean aims to offer a broad, liberal education that cultivates and empowers the whole person. The academic implications of the revised GE Program are manifold and will be transformative for the institution and student learning. In addition to creating more dynamic, inclusive, and supportive learning environments through innovative pedagogy and curricular models, a well-structured General Education Program will support a range of institutional needs and mandates, including such things as:

• providing students with a unique, Kean-specific “Cougar Core” experience that fosters a sense of belonging where individuals feel acknowledged and welcomed in shared experiences, 

• decreasing achievement gaps and DFW rates across General Education courses, which are often also the gateway/foundational courses for some of the University’s undergraduate majors, 

• using High Impact Practices to support increased student persistence, retention, and completion rates, 

• improving each student’s individual preparedness for their academic majors and minors by ensuring that students reach proficiency across the GE Program Learning Outcomes and have learned how to successfully “be in college,” and 

• strengthening the sense of community on campus and fostering robust connections with the surrounding region. 

As a result of the feedback from the Open Hearings in October, the proposal was updated to include more courses on the sample curriculum sheet on page 13 and on the chart found on page 21.

Following the procedures outlined in the UCC Manual on page 48, the Final Proposal to Revise General Education at Kean University was submitted to the University Senate for their final review and approval on October 29, 2025.

The Senate Executive Committee reviewed the document on November 11 and a motion for paper ballot vote on the final GE Restructuring Document by the Full Senate will be heard at their meeting on November 18.