Guidelines and Information on Proposal Submission

Process for the Submission and Review of GE Course Proposals

Staff members who wish to propose a GE course should use the Course Syllabus template (GE) for their submissions. Please submit your proposal(s) through your respective College/School Boards to the Talent and Education Development Office (TED) at gateway.edu@cityu.edu.hk.

GEPC will review each GE course proposal based on the assessment criteria outlined by the committee. GEPC will also use the Assessment Form to collect comments from the GEPC members and the external members (Fulbright Scholars). When the GEPC members and the external members reach a consensus on the course proposal, the proposal will then be recommended, via the Board of Undergraduate Studies (BUS), for the Academic Policy Committee (APC) approval. In case of diverging views, additional external reviewers may be sought.

Throughout the course development and assessment processes, the GEPC members will collaborate closely with the course designers to improve their proposals and ensure that the requirements of the GE programme are met.

Timeline for GE Course Proposals Submission

Applications are open year-round. However, as approvals by the Academic Policy Committee (APC) (via BUS) are given on a semester basis, please refer to Table 1 for the indicative deadlines for proposal submission.

Table 1: Timeline for GE proposal submission

Criteria for Assessment

The proposal will be assessed based on the alignment between the Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs) and the GE Programme Intended Learning Outcomes (PILOs), the appropriateness of pedagogy (including learning and teaching methods as well as assessment), and the availability of the required expertise in the offering units.

GEPC will evaluate whether the following desired attributes are incorporated into every course proposal:

1. A course title that reflects content and is understandable to a general student population.
2. A 150-word abstract, written for students, that describes the course aims, content, and types of learning activities.
3. A clear presentation that explains the overarching theme and describes how the course is organised and structured.
4. A list of consulted parties that are related to resource implications. Course designers should consult experts in other related disciplines if the proposal covers content beyond their own discipline.

Curricular Mapping

Course designers should ensure that the proposed GE course(s) are designed to achieve the Programme Intended Learning Outcomes (PILOs) with varying levels of depth and breadth. It is mandatory for every GE course to address both PILO 1 and PILO 10 significantly. Each course must also fulfil its specific PILO requirements outlined in the curricular mapping of the GE programme approved by CityUHK’s Senate (see the Table 2 below).

Table 2: Curricular Mapping

Desired Characteristics of GE Courses

Course designers should keep the following desired characteristics in mind when developing their GE course(s):

1. Adopt an interdisciplinary framework to foster an appreciation of the relationship among different fields of knowledge
2. Emphasise intellectual content alongside generic skills in communication, inquiry, thinking, problem-solving and teamwork
3. Introduce essential concepts, methods, and conceptual frameworks of the subjects concerned
4. Utilise engaged pedagogies
5. Provide the intellectual depth appropriate for a credit-bearing university course at the same level
6. Relate the subject matters to modern human experience
7. Encourage self-discovery and reflection

Strategies of Learning and Teaching in GE Courses

Effective pedagogy is essential for delivering course content. Courses that encourage in-class discussions, analyse key issues related to the discipline, and involve projects that engage students will have a lasting impact. In your GE course proposal, please outline clearly the learning and teaching strategies you will use to actively involve students in achieving the GE PILOs.

Support for GE Course Development

Expert Advice:

During the proposal development stage, course designers are encouraged to seek advice from the members of the GEPC. GEPC may also contact course designers to identify areas for improvement.

Resources:

Course designers are strongly encouraged to contact the following units to consult the resource implications of their proposals and obtain support: