Reports
TO: University Community 
FROM: Barbara R. Snyder
Executive Vice President and Provost
DATE: November 7,2005
In Autumn 2004, I established a Committee for the University-wide Review of Undergraduate Education, chaired by Professor Brian McHale, Department of English, and Distinguished Professor of Humanities. The Committee, broadly representative of the academic areas heavily involved in undergraduate education, was charged to give special attention to the General Education Curriculum (GEC), the number of credit hours required for graduation, and how well our undergraduate programs reflect our commitments to diversity, interdisciplinarity, research, and outreach.
Over the past ten months, the Committee has worked rigorously on that charge, with input from across campus. Its final report is now available for review.
The Committee makes bold recommendations with regard to credit hours for graduation, changes in the current structure of the GEC, and a new initiative - freshman clusters. Of particular importance is that the recommendations are guided by four main principles: coherence, flexibility, oversight, and transparency.
I ask the University community now to review this Report and provide me with reactions by March 15, 2006. Professor McHale, and members of the Committee, will be available to discuss the Report and its recommendations. He can be contacted directly (mchale.11@osu.edu) to schedule meetings.
I will provide that input to the Council on Academic Affairs at the beginning of Spring Quarter 2006, and ask that its formal reactions to the recommendations be sent to the University Senate for action there by Autumn 2006.
I express my deep appreciation to Professor McHale and the members of the Committee for their outstanding work on this important topic.
DOWNLOAD - Report of the Committee on the University-Wide Review of Undergraduate Education (PDF)
