How-to Guide For Instructors

Welcome to the General Education How-To Guide for instructors. Here you will find: guidelines for each category, a repository of sample assignments and rubrics, and general advice for developing general education courses.

Select a gen ed category below to learn more about student learning outcomes, guidelines, and to see sample rubrics and activities.

Please note: The Harpur W is not a gen ed category. If you are interested in the W, please reach out to your department. A course cannot have both a C and a W.

Learn more about Binghamton's General Education Assessment requirements.
   

*Beginning in the 26-27 Academic Year, GL - Global Issues is replacing the G - Global Interdependencies category. If you are looking for the G -  Global Interdependencies SLOs, they can be found at the bottom of the GL - Global Issues information page.

  • Universal Guidance

    Selecting Appropriate Gen Eds:

    • Choose the Gen Ed category that is the focus of your course. Please think carefully about choosing multiple Gen Eds, as this may lead to an unfocused course and affect the educational outcomes. This is why the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UUCC) implemented limitations on applying for multiple Gen Eds.
    • Choosing between D or GL:
      • D should focus on the individual experiences within the context of larger societal factors centered on race, gender, and class.
      • GL should focus on global issues that impact larger groups and cultures in a global context.
    • Choosing between H, A, or N:
      • A should focus on the creative process, whereas H may focus on a critical examination of the products of those processes.
      • H should focus on the critical interpretive analysis of culture and philosophy, whereas N should focus on human behavior and social structures using empirical and scientific methods.
      • If you are applying for N or H, it is best to include a sample reading list in the application.

    General Application Guidelines:

    • Don’t copy and paste chunks from the syllabus, say the answer is in the syllabus, or write one sentence to justify the Gen Ed category in your course. The answer should be a detailed explanation of how the content of the course, including assessments, helps students achieve the required learning outcomes.
    • Use statements defining/describing the student's role/engagement rather than suggestive language. For example, avoid using “students have the chance/opportunity to...”. Instead, use "students must, are required, have to...".
    • Describe the assignments/activities that will be used to assess the Gen Ed's student learning outcomes (SLOs).
    • When attaching your syllabus, ensure it matches the information in the proposal, or your proposal may be rejected for clarification on the discrepencies.
    • When applying for Gen Eds for Winter/Summer courses,  maintain the same quality as during the semesters. Session courses are meant to be intensive.
    • It is ideal to apply by (Feb-Mar) for the Summer/Fall and (Sep-Oct) for the Winter/Spring semesters/terms.
    • If a course with approved Gen Eds is activated after the schedules go live, the Gen Eds will not appear automatically. If you notice your Gen Ed is missing, please send us an email so we can manually update it.
    • Renewing a previously approved Gen Ed is a short process, but the course should have been taught within the last two academic years.
    • If you have any questions or concerns about your Gen Eds proposals, email us before applying, and we will be happy to help you through.
     
  • Apply for Gen Eds

    Using Modern Campus

    In MC Curriculum, you can launch new general education proposals and ask for renewals of previously approved temporary categories. Additionally, you can easily manage and track your proposals. Please follow the instructions below:

    • Log in with your Binghamton credentials. 
    • Launch a new proposal by clicking “+ New Proposal.” 
    • Choose “New General Education Category Request” or “Renew General Education Category Request”.
    • You can manage submitted proposals in the “My Proposals” tab. 
    Support

    Deadlines

    Gen Ed proposals for current faculty will be reviewed by the Undergraduate University Curriculum Committee (UUCC) up to the submission deadline. Accommodations will be made for new faculty or changes of instructors. However, it is better to apply early to give time for the UUCC to meet, resubmissions, follow-ups, and approval processes.

    • New Gen Ed Summer 2026/Fall 2026 Proposal Deadline: May 1 at 4pm.
    • New Gen Ed Winter 2027/Spring 2027 Proposal Deadline: TBD
    • Renewing temporary Gen Eds must be done by the first day of classes of a semester/term.

    Please note for Spring 2026, the UUCC meets every other Tuesday (with exceptions), so proposals should be submitted by the previous Thursday at 12pm.

  • General Education Policies

    Which Courses Qualify?

    Most courses qualify to apply for general education categories.

    • Courses must be 4 credits, unless:
      • the course is taught in a college/school where 3 credits is the standard.
      • O - Oral Communication, V - Civic Discourse, I -Information Literacy, and T - Critical Thinking and Reasoning courses can be 2 credits.
      • L - Laboratory Science courses that have a 4 credit pre- or co-requisite can be 1 or 2 credits.
      • Y - Activity and S - Wellness can be 1 credit; B - Activity + Wellness can be 2 credit courses.
    • Individual-based courses like independent studies do not qualify.

    How Were the Learning Outcomes Decided?

    The required SLOs (with the exception of GL/S/Y) were developed by SUNY and implemented across all campuses.

    What is the Difference Between a "Fixed" and a "Temporary" Category?

    Fixed (formerly permanent) means that the course will always receive the General Education category, regardless of when the course is taught or who teaches it. Only permanent courses can receive fixed categories, topics courses or experimental courses cannot.

    Temporary (formerly provisional) General Education categories are for one semester only, or for specific instructors only. Because of their nature, topics courses receive temporary Gen Eds. If one instructor teaches a course to meet a General Education requirement, but another instructor for the same course rubric and number does not, we would designate the Gen Ed as temporary. Temporary Gen Eds can be renewed up to two years from the last time the course was taught.

    Can a Category be Removed From a Course?

    Yes, the department chair or undergraduate director (or their designee) may request that a Gen Ed be removed because a course is no longer being taught to meet the requirement. Instructors can also request that a category be removed. If the request comes from an instructor, the department chair and/or undergraduate director should be copied on the request. All requests to remove a category must be made in writing (i.e., via email), not over the phone or in Curriculum.

    IMPORTANT! If a course already has students registered, or a course has already started, all students MUST be informed in writing before a category is removed from a course. We strongly discourage the removal of a category once a course has started.

    What are the Combination Limitations?

    Following SUNY guidelines and to ensure general education categories are central to the course, Binghamton limits which categories can be added together on a course:

    Skills, Activities, and Competencies

    (as many from this list as instructors cover and assess)

    • C/O/J - Composition + Oral Communication
    • T - Critical Thinking and Reasoning
    • I - Information Literacy
    • Y/S/B - Activity + Wellness
    • WL -  World Languages
    • M - Mathematics
    • V - Civic Discourse
    Methodologies

    (only one from this list)

    • H - Humanities
    • A - Aesthetics
    • N - Social Sciences
    • L - Laboratory Sciences
    Specific Knowledge Areas

    (only one from this list)

    • GL - Global Issues (formerly G - Global Interdependencies)
    • D/USD - Diversity: Equity Inclusion and Social Justice

    Example: a course can be approved to carry C, T, I, N, and D; but not C, GL, D, H, and N.

    While courses can carry several Gen Eds, students (with the exception of C/O/J, T, I, V and WL) cannot fulfill multiple general education requirements with one course.

    Example: if a course has C, T, I, N, and D, a student would fulfill C, T, I, and either N or D depending on which categories they need to finish. In this case, if the student earned the N and later took another N course, Degree Works will change the N they earned for the first class to be the D.

  • Trainings, workshops, and other support
    • Gen Ed Direct Assessment Workshops:  February 23, 2026 12pm-1pm; March 13, 2026 12pm-1pm