History

The University of Cincinnati's (UC) general education program has evolved over several decades in response to changing student needs, institutional priorities, and statewide expectations. What began as an innovative, committee-driven model in the 1990s has been refined through multiple redesigns, continuous assessment, and faculty leadership to ensure a strong foundation in common knowledge, essential skills, and disciplinary depth. Major milestones—including the launch of the establishment of baccalaureate competencies as our student learning outcomes, the 2012 transition to semesters, and the recent development of a new GenEd Core aligned with Ohio Transfer 36—demonstrate UC’s sustained commitment to a coherent, transferable, and forward-looking general education framework.

UC began developing its current general education program in 1996, seeking an innovative approach that emphasized committee-approved courses, intentional teaching methods, and small class sizes. When faculty and administrators raised concerns about inconsistent implementation, UC redesigned the program to better reflect the diverse needs of its colleges while still ensuring a shared foundation of common knowledge and essential skills. The updated program launched in 2001 with three core components:       

1. Breadth of Knowledge (BoK) Requirements – Course requirement categories and minimum credit expectations that all undergraduate programs must satisfy to ensure broad exposure to multiple fields of study.       
2. Program/major requirements – Discipline-specific requirements through which each major builds on General Education to advance learning and specialized competencies in its field.       
3. Baccalaureate Competencies – The shared student learning outcomes of the General Education program that articulate what all UC undergraduates should know and be able to do by graduation.   Since then, continuous assessment and faculty-driven improvements have guided the ongoing evolution of General Education at UC

In 2012, UC shifted from quarters to semesters, transforming the curriculum and revamping the General Education Core. Notable changes included:     

• Mid-Collegiate Experiential Learning: New requirements for hands-on learning experiences that increase disciplinary proficiency and promote contextual understanding & knowledge integration.       
• Technology & Innovation (TI): Added as a new BoK designation.       
• Literature in Humanities: Literature courses were integrated into the Humanities BoK designation.   

Notably, all baccalaureate programs redesigned their curricula for Fall 2012 to incorporate the General Education requirements and three touchpoints: a First-Year Experience, a newly defined Mid-Collegiate Experience, and a Senior Capstone.

During the 2025–26 academic year, UC developed a new General Education Core. This revision was designed with broad faculty input, developed and approved by the General Education Committee, and subsequently endorsed by the university’s Academic Committee and Faculty Senate. 

 The updated GenEd Core, scheduled for implementation in Fall 2026, maintains the three General Education touchpoints—First-Year Experience, Mid-Collegiate experience, and Senior Capstone—while also meeting statewide general education requirements.   

UC’s new GenEd Core is fully aligned with Ohio Transfer 36 (OT36) to comply with state policy and support seamless credit transfer among Ohio’s public colleges and universities. OT36approved courses are guaranteed to transfer for general education credit across Ohio public institutions, which facilitates student mobility and recognition of credits. This alignment also helps ensure that incoming students receive appropriate credit for coursework completed through programs such as College Credit Plus.