UCORE > For Faculty > Proposing and Renewing UCORE Courses

Proposing and Renewing UCORE Courses

Per Faculty Senate, prospective UCORE courses are approved through a formal review process. 

The UCORE course renewal process ended in spring 2025. With the Steering Committee for General Education Reform now underway, instructors do not need to submit UCORE renewals at this time. Updates will be provided as decisions related to general education reform move forward.

Major or minor changes to a course that holds UCORE designation require review by the UCORE Committee only if the request is to change the UCORE designation (i.e. requesting to change from HUM to SSCI). For all other course changes, including request for a Writing in the Major [M] designation, please visit the registrar’s curriculum change website.

My department intends to:

The UCORE component of the baccalaureate provides the breadth of learning that complements more focused study in the major. The balance of breadth and depth in every degree recognizes that effective leaders in all fields draw on a breadth of knowledge and skills from a variety of disciplines. In addition, UCORE courses merit particular attention for several other reasons. UCORE courses may comprise most of students’ first year course loads. In many cases, a particular UCORE course that a student takes in a given designation may be the only college-level course taken from that disciplinary perspective. For these non-majors, UCORE courses not only introduce students to the specific topic of a given course but also to the modes of inquiry, evidence, and critical thought that govern the wider disciplinary arena.

  1. Preparing materials (for undergraduate studies committees/faculty):
    1. Review the UCORE Curriculum for the required student learning outcomes.
    2. Communicate with instructors across all sections on all campuses (if applicable) where the course is currently or intended to be offered. If the course already exists, gather recent syllabi and representative assignment prompts. Consider the extent to which syllabi and assignments are in sync to advance student learning outcomes before the course is submitted for UCORE designation.
    3. For multi-section and/or multi-campus courses, form a working group of faculty (if not already in place) involved in the course. Expectations are that learning outcomes and the means to achieve them are apparent and similar across all sections and campuses, but that faculty may adopt varied assigned readings, assignments, topics, or activities. 
    4. Develop a master syllabus that includes clear communication to students about the course’s place within the UCORE curriculum and includes up-to-date student learning outcomes and and university-required syllabus components.
    5. Complete a learning outcomes grid and submit it with the syllabus and assignment prompts. Grids for each designation can be downloaded and completed as follows: [ARTS] [BSCI] [CAPS] [COMM] [DIVR] [EQJS] [HUM] [PSCI] [QUAN] [SSCI] [WRTG].
    6. Select, revise, or develop assignment prompts and activity descriptions, including criteria for evaluation, that collectively demonstrate how the course meets all student learning outcomes for the course’s UCORE designation. Consult the Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness’s Assignment Design webpage, as needed.
  2. Complete a UCORE course request form. The form will ask you to upload the syllabus, learning outcomes grid, and assignment and activity prompts/descriptions.
  3. Respond to communication from the UCORE committee regarding any further information or revision, as needed.
  4. After approval, share the final new course request package with all instructors teaching the course.

  1. A master syllabus that includes clear language about the course’s place within the UCORE curriculum. For adaptable sample paragraphs, consult your chosen designation’s curriculum page on this website.
  2. A completed student learning outcomes grid for the course’s specified UCORE designation that explicitly aligns course assignments, activities, and assessment with student learning outcomes. Grids for each designation can be downloaded and completed as follows: [ARTS] [BSCI] [CAPS] [COMM] [DIVR] [EQJS] [HUM] [PSCI] [QUAN] [SSCI] [WRTG].
  3. Activity descriptions and/or assignment prompts. Prompts should include descriptions of the purpose(s), task(s), and criteria by which students will be evaluated in relation to the learning outcomes (may be in the form of a rubric).
  4. A completed UCORE course request form. The form will ask you to attach the aforementioned documents. For access issues related to the form, please email ucore.wsu@wsu.edu.

The UCORE committee will return for revision any proposals that lack any of the aforementioned components. Returned proposals may miss subsequent review deadlines and delay UCORE designation.

Please contact us at ucore.wsu@wsu.edu regarding timelines for designation applications.

Additional Resources

Provost Office’s Teach page

Explore this content area of the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President’s website, which contains resources, tips, tools, and techniques to support excellence and innovation in teaching.

Assignment Design Resources

Read guidance from the Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness on developing powerful, clear assignments to impact teaching, learning, and assessment.

Required Learning Outcomes

Depending on the designation, your UCORE course will carry additional learning outcomes requirements.

UCORE Policy

View departmental responsibilities for class size, graduate student instructors, shared syllabi, and more.

Library Instruction

Emphasize information literacy by scheduling with a librarian a session that is specifically tailored to your course.

Syllabus Website

Use this website to confirm required syllabus elements and recommended syllabus elements before teaching a course.