Curricular Changes FAQ
The new Miami Plan 2023 was approved by University Senate in April 2021. Changes to the plan were a result of 18 months of input, review, and refinement by the Provost’s MP Redesign Committee stemming from the Miami Strategic Plan 2020.
The Office of Liberal Education oversees the Plan and its implementation. The policies and decisions of the Office of Liberal Education are guided by its advisory committee, the Liberal Education Council, a unit of Senate, who take into consideration the requirements and outcomes of the ODHE, HLC, MP assessment, and institutional accreditation. These policies and decisions do not affect unit and divisional requirements and are passed to Senate as consent items. For Senate deliberations relating to the Plan's development contact your representative.
When will the new Miami Plan 2023 begin?
Will the new MP apply to current students?
What if my course already has Global, Intercultural, or some other Foundation or GMP designation?
What are the "Four Pillars”?
The “Four Pillars” are a set of transferable skills and outcomes that are the backbone of a Miami Liberal Education. They guide all courses in the Miami Plan 2023; thus, all MP courses must meet each Pillar in some way. The Pillars replace the “12 LEAP Competencies” (e.g. written communication, critical thinking, quantitative analysis).
How have the Foundation courses and categories changed?
What is the new DEI (Miami Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) requirement?
Concurrent with Miami’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) now includes 3 hours Of DEI in their 36-hour General Education requirement. Miami’s DEI courses are focused on the United States (broadly defined) and will meet the SLOs posted in the DEI Course Proposal Criteria.
What about Thematic Sequences?
Thematic Sequences (TS) will continue to exist for several years for students who fall under the old Plan. No new Thematic Sequences will be created.
If you make changes to an existing TS course, there will be no CIM box to check for TS since it is a part of the "old" GMP. However, courses currently in Thematic Sequences will remain TS for at least 4 years, until the TS is phased out.
How will the new Plan affect our department’s Senior Capstone?
Existing Senior Capstones will retain the SC designation. The LEC regularly reviews Capstones and other MP courses, which may require a course revision or curricular update. All Capstones will ultimately align with the new SLOs on the Course Proposal.
Why has my department been asked to submit a revised course proposal if courses will retain their MP Attributes?
What is “double dipping”? Is it the same as a course having “two designations”?
“Double dipping” is a student-oriented concept where one class could fulfill multiple Miami Plan requirements. “Double dipping” will only be allowed between Signature Inquiry and Perspectives Area courses in the new Plan, or with approved Capstones that also meet requirements for Experiential Learning. A Miami Plan course with “two designations” has i.e. humanities and global inquiry designations, but students can’t “double dip” those credits as they are both in Perspectives Areas.
In general, MP courses may not have "two designations" that are ODHE disciplinary designations (math, composition, natural science, arts, humanities, social science). Even if a course is "interdisciplinary," only ONE of these disciplinary designations can be chosen for any given course. This rule does NOT apply to DEI (as it is not disciplinary), nor does it apply to Miami-specific attributes such as Global Inquiry, Intercultural Consciousness, Advanced Writing, or Experiential Learning. "Signature Inquiry" designation does not count as a stand-alone designation; thus a Signature Inquiry course could have e.g. Social Science & DEI, Humanities & Intercultural Consciousness, or Creative Arts & Global Inquiry.
Are required in the Natural Sciences Perspectives Area courses?
Should we propose Signature Inquiry courses at the same time as Perspectives?
Do my course SLOs have to be the same as the i.e. Perspectives Area Student Learning Outcomes?
Why did the LEC roll back my course in CIM?
As of Fall 2021, Miami Plan 2023 course submissions in CIM are the first step (baseline) in Miami's new liberal education curriculum assessment process. Therefore, all CIM submissions for MP courses must be detailed in their descriptions; be precise in linking SLOs to assignments; and include an updated syllabus that reflects the new MP narrative.
In the case of a rollback, individual proposers will receive feedback in the CIM notes and an email directly from the Office of Liberal Education. The most common reasons for rollbacks have been:
1. Incomplete or incorrect information provided in the text box where MP SLOs are supposed to be addressed; 2. Syllabus is dated (e.g. reflects old Plans) or incomplete (lacks MP narrative). For detailed proposal information see: https://www.miamioh.edu/
If we make a change to our Program in CIM (i.e. major, minor), will that trigger an LEC review of all courses in the Program?
No. Majors, minors, and certificates are not the purview of the Office of Liberal Education or the LEC. Only changes to existing GMP courses in CIM will trigger a review of any specific course.
What does it mean that Miami Plan 2023 courses need to be "regularly offered"?
Are all Miami Plan 2023 courses required to be open to all students?
In the new Miami Plan, will Study Abroad/Study Away courses automatically be applied to Global Inquiry hours?
How will Study Abroad/Study Away courses be applied to in the new Miami Plan?
- If a student participates in a study abroad program that awards Miami University credit for a course (e.g., Luxembourg, Faculty-Led Programs), and the course has been approved to apply to a Miami Plan requirement, then the course will automatically be applied to the requirement on the degree audit.
- If a student participates in a study abroad program that awards transfer credit through another college or university (e.g., Co-Sponsored, Exchange, Approved Programs), then students will need to work with their academic advisor to have courses evaluated for equivalency and/or petition to apply the courses to Miami Plan requirements.
How will Study Abroad/Study Away courses be applied for students under the old Global Miami Plan?
- Courses taken through a Miami-approved study abroad program will continue to be automatically approved to count for FND IIIA (Global) hours for students who fall under the Global Miami Plan (students who entered before Fall 2023).
- If a student participates in a study abroad program that awards Miami University credit for a course (e.g., Luxembourg, Faculty-Led Programs), and the course has been approved to apply to a GMP requirement other than FND IIIA, then the course will count for FND IIIA OR the other GMP attribute in the degree audit.
- If a student participates in a study abroad program that awards transfer credit through another college or university (e.g., Co-Sponsored, Exchange, Approved Programs), once transfer credit appears on the student’s degree audit, the advisor should send an email to miamiplan@miamioh.edu confirming that the credits were earned abroad, and request that they be applied to GMP FND IIIA/B.