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Essential Education at EKU

Essential Education is a transformative approach that integrates essential skills across all disciplines and offers themed pathways. Unlike traditional General Education, this model connects courses around real-world challenges (like Artificial Intelligence) while maintaining the same 30-credit hour structure.

The 10 Essential Skills framework issued by Kentucky’s Council for Postsecondary Education embeds skills that enhance the existing competencies for each Element. The changes address evolving student needs, workforce demands, and technological advances that go beyond incremental changes. All courses in the new Essential Education satisfy existing requirements in terms of assessment and accreditation.

76% of employers would recommend this kind of education to college-bound students.

Source: Association of American Colleges & Universities

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Essential Education Mission

The mission of general education is to promote learning that is central to the intellectual pursuits associated with our educational programs and to enable students to make informed choices about matters of public and personal significance in a democratic society and global community. The general education program helps students to become informed, independent thinkers by developing competencies in communication, quantitative analysis, and critical thinking by helping them understand and appreciate cultures, individuals, the natural environment, and the global society. Courses that are used to satisfy the program’s Major Requirements cannot also be used to satisfy Essential Education requirements.

Essential Education Goals

Students will be able to:

  • Use critical thinking and disciplinary knowledge to examine issues and to identify solutions. (Knowledge Competency)
  • Distinguish the methods that underlie the search for knowledge. (Methods Competency)
  • Integrate knowledge and methods that will deepen their understanding of, and will inform their own choices about, issues of personal or public importance.
  • Apply essential, transferable skills to academic, professional, or civic experiences, enabling them to adapt, contribute, and thrive in a rapidly changing world.

CRITERIA for COURSES by Element. In which element does my course fit? 

Course Approval Process for General Education – Revised May 2025

  • Contact the General Education Committee Co-Chairs to discuss whether/where course fits in GE Program and for help with SLOs, assessment, and paperwork
  • Prepare a curriculum proposal form
  • Prepare a GE Application (Found on the GE webpage)
  • Prepare a syllabus (University Syllabus Policy attached to GE webpage)
  • Send proposal to the General Education Committee Co-Chairs for preliminary review before submitting to curriculum committees for official review and approvals
  • Consult the annual CAA Curriculum Procedures and the Academic Curriculum policies, which typically involve obtaining approvals in this order:
  • Department
  • College
  • General Education Committee
  • Council for Academic Affairs

Syllabus Statement for Essential Education courses

EKU’s new Essential Education curriculum beings this Fall 26. Essential Education (formerly General Education) implements changes including a new Element structure, an optional Pathways model, and the implementation of the 10 Essential Skills framework. The following syllabus statement will be included in all Essential Education courses, replacing the old General Education Goals. This information standardizes the language around Essential Skills and provides students with a new way of articulating their capabilities and connecting their learning across courses and disciplines. Faculty, please ensure that your Essential Education course syllabus incorporates this critical material. Those teaching Essential Education courses should also ensure that their syllabi list the correct Element, as reflected in the new Essential Education Element structure (please see the Essential Education website for more information). Please continue to use the Essential Education course level SLOs from AY 25-26, unless changed through the curriculum process, and consult the EKU Syllabus Policy for other syllabus questions.

The Syllabus Statement is linked here.

For more information contact Dr. Alison Buck at Alison.buck@eku.edu

  • The General Education course assessment process will continue to have a two-year cycle.
  • 2024-2025 is the Data Collection Year. All General Education courses are required to administer an integrated GE/QEP assessment activity during either Fall 2024 or Spring 2025 for data analysis and interpretation.
  • 2025-2026 is the Implementation Year. All General Education courses are required to implement a student learning improvement based on the analysis of results for each competency.
  • Assessment reports are due by February 1, 2026. For report templates and the submission link, see the Strategic Planning and Assessment Reports (STAR) webpage

General Education Assessment Resources:

Essential Education Distribution

ElementFocusCredits
1AWritten Communication 13
1BWritten Communication 23
1COral Communication3
2AQuantitative Reasoning3
2BNatural Sciences3
3AArts3
3BHumanities3
4AGlobal and Historical Perspectives3
4BSocial and Behavioral Sciences3
Flex/ElectiveStudents may choose any 3 credits from this area3

Essential Skill Pairings by Element

Sub-Element/AreaSkill 1/Essential SkillSkill 2/Essential Skill
1AES 10: Use information for decision-making.ES 1: Communicate effectively.
1BES 10: Use information for decision-making.ES 5: Adapt to changing circumstances while leading and supporting others.
1CES 10: Use information for decision-making.ES 8: Collaborate and work in teams.
2AES 10: Use information for decision-making.ES 3: Apply quantitative reasoning skills to analyze and solve numerical problems.
2BES 10: Use information for decision-making.ES 2: Think critically to solve problems and create new ideas and solutions.
3AES 10: Use information for decision-making.ES 7: Engage in civic life to improve society.
3BES 10: Use information for decision-making.ES 2: Think critically to solve problems and create new ideas and solutions.
4AES 10: Use information for decision-making.ES 1: Communicate effectively.
4BES 10: Use information for decision-making.ES 4: Interact effectively with people.

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