LAC Syllabus Requirements

To be included in UNCO’s LAC, the course must meet the requirements for one of the CDHE’s six general education categories. These six are: written communication, mathematics, arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, history, physical and natural sciences. To meet the requirements for a particular category, a course must be designed for student learning in designated competencies and content criteria. Required SLOs (student learning outcomes) have been identified for each competency and content criteria. A UNCO/LAC syllabus should identify these competencies, content criteria and SLOs for students as well as “map” the course learning materials, readings, activities, and assessments to the SLOs.

Therefore, to be Approved into UNCO’s Liberal Arts Curriculum, the syllabi submitted through the workflow (the Course Approval Syllabus) must include the following FOUR elements (course with IS and MS designation will have 5 elements):

(1) the required CDHE gtPathways statement,
(2) the content and competency criteria for your LAC/gtP category copied verbatim,
(3) student learning outcomes connected to those criteria, and
(4) evidence of clear alignment between major assignments and activities and the SLOs/content and competency criteria.

CDHE gtPathways statement:
“The Colorado Commission on Higher Education has approved [Course prefix, number] for inclusion in the Guaranteed Transfer (GT) Pathways program in the [GT-@@#] category.  For transferring students, successful completion with a minimum C‒ grade guarantees transfer and application of credit in this GT Pathways category.  For more information on the GT Pathways program, go to http://highered.colorado.gov/academics/transfers/gtpathways/curriculum.html”

The content and competency requirements and associated SLOs vary by gtP/LAC Category. There are two direct ways to locate these on the LAC website: one is the Category Syllabus Templates on the Course Approval Process page; the other is the Student Learning Outcomes on the Outcomes and Assessment page. They can also be found in the Sample Syllabi on the Course Approval process page and can be accessed via the CDHE website https://highered.colorado.gov/students/attending-college/credit-transfer/guaranteed-transfer-gt-pathways-general-education

The provided Category Syllabus Templates provide one way to show the “mapping” of course content and assessments to the SLOs. These templates are suggestions and not required. The sample syllabi are from actual UNCO courses that have been approved into the LAC and all include course mapping.

Courses that also carry an IS or MS designation must also have the following:
(5) include the relevant learning outcomes for that designation and have assignments aligned with those outcomes as well.

The IS (International Studies) and MS (Multicultural Studies) designations are not linked to state general education categories, but rather are unique to UNCO. These designations can be “added” to courses already in the Arts and Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and History LAC Categories. There are NO IS or MS only courses in UNCO’s LAC. Note: students are required to take one LAC course with an IS designation and one with an MS designation. 

If you would like to add an IS or MS designation, the syllabus requirements are the same as for the LAC Category approval and must be added to your syllabus in addition to what is required for the LAC Category. You can find the IS and MS Competency statements and SLOs in the IS/MS Syllabus Templates on the Course Approval page or the in the UNC IS and MS Student Learning Outcomes on the Outcomes and Assessment page. Sample Syllabi that include IS and MS designations are identified on the Course Approval Process Page. There are NO content criteria for IS/MS designations and faculty choose the subset of identified SLOs that best fit your course.

As noted on the Course Approval Process page, to be Approved for and IS/MS designation, an assessment chart must also be submitted. For the charts see IS/MS Assessment Charts and for UNCO course examples of these, see the Sample IS/MS Assessment Charts on the Course Approval Process Page.

If you find this helpful, here is the review chart used by the LAC when determining if the Approval Syllabus meets the requirement. LAC Indirect Syllabus Review Checklist

Note: Though UNCO does not require that the syllabi used by faculty in teaching a course match the Course Approval Syllabus, all Teaching Syllabi must include the same required elements as the Course Approval Syllabus. The LAC’s ISR process reviews Teaching Syllabi to ensure that the syllabi students receive in an LAC course meet gtP/LAC requirements.