Responsible Entity: OVPAE
Governing Definitions
UHM General Education Program: UHM’s general education core (foundations and diversification) requirements and the courses approved to satisfy those requirements, plus UHM’s special graduation (Hawaiian/second language and focus) requirements and the courses approved to satisfy those requirements.
UHM General Education Core Foundations Category: Requirements and approved courses in global and multicultural perspectives; symbolic reasoning; and written communication.
Common Foundations Program: Requirements “common” to those UH campuses that have adopted all of UHM’s foundations requirements for certain degrees and use UHM’s foundations hallmarks to designate courses that satisfy the requirements.
Policy Language
Two different procedures govern the articulation of courses to meet the general education core-foundations requirement at UHM:
- A. Procedures for articulation involving an entire common foundations program (for campuses that have common foundations requirements for one or more degrees), and
- B. Procedures for articulation of individual courses using UHM foundations hallmarks (for campuses that do not have an approved common foundations program).
A. Articulation Involving a Common Foundations Program
Campuses that have an approved common foundations program, as described below, will have the authority to review their own courses for foundations designations. Requests for a common foundations program approval will be submitted to a systemwide committee for consideration. Recommendations made by the systemwide committee are subject to approval by the receiving campus(es). Once a campus’s common foundations program is fully approved, its students’ foundations courses can be readily transferred to other UH campuses that have an approved common foundations program.
Approval Criteria for a Common Foundations Program
The systemwide foundations committee evaluates campus proposals for a common foundations program using the following criteria:
- establishment of common foundations requirements for an Associate of Arts or Bachelor’s degree, including acceptance of the UHM foundations hallmarks and UHM’s interpretation of those hallmarks for purposes of course designation;
- appropriate University approval of the foundations requirements for an Associate of Arts or Bachelor’s degree;
- appropriate campus foundations-requirement support, including adequate numbers of faculty and support personnel, attention to student needs, and budget;
- appropriate course designation and evaluation procedures;
- appropriate assessment of student learning outcomes and the use of the assessment to improve educational effectiveness (which is required by WASC); and
- appropriate faculty training.
Systemwide Committee Membership
- A systemwide committee will consist of members from each campus that has an approved common foundations requirement. Each campus selects its representative(s). Committee membership will be determined by Faculty Senates and the Council of Chancellors.
Approval Process
The UHM Office oof the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) will convey to the campuses, upon request, detailed instructions for proposing a common foundations program.
Annual Review by Systemwide Committee
Campuses are expected to improve their common foundations requirement procedures and courses through the use of assessment data. So that evolving courses and procedures remain in compliance with the approval criteria, annual common foundations program review will be conducted by each campus and annual rearticulation by the systemwide committee will take place.
Articulation Involving Individual Course Review
Campuses that do not have an approved common foundations program may propose individual courses for articulation. A catalog description plus governing syllabus should be sent to the UHM OVPAE, which will oversee the review of individual courses using the appropriate foundations hallmarks. Governing procedures are spelled out in ES.209.
Relevant Links