Pathways General Education receives national recognition

Will Rizzo

12 Sep 2023

Students in the Pathways minor, Innovation, sit around a conference table to plan a prototype as part of a group project. — Students in the Pathways minor, Innovation, plan a prototype as part of a group project. Virginia Tech photo

Five years after its launch, Pathways General Education has been named an exemplary general education program by the Association of General and Liberal Studies, establishing the university as a national leader in curriculum development and structure.

“The Pathways program is one of the ways we support the university’s mission of helping students complement their majors and experience their education from a range of perspectives,” said Rachel Holloway, vice provost for undergraduate academic affairs. “This program has succeeded because of years of hard work by faculty, advisors, administrators, students, and staff and the result is one that’s unique in higher education.”

The award

The Association of General and Liberal Studies’ Exemplary Gen Ed Program Award

Recipients

Virginia Tech
Clemson University
University of Northern Iowa

Pathways General Education

The Pathways General Education program, which started with first-year students in 2018, offers more than 600 courses across seven core concept areas.

Central to the curriculum are the Pathways Minors, 30 minors built around a theme that allow students to examine concepts such as sustainability, health, security, and leadership from a variety of perspectives while fulfilling their general education requirements.

"We are fortunate to work with a community of dedicated instructors who bring their diverse backgrounds and expertise to the Pathways program," said Jenni Gallagher, coordinator for general education. "Their commitment to adapting their courses to address the needs of our students, preparing them to tackle the world's most pressing issues, has allowed us to maintain a vibrant undergraduate curriculum."

The Office of General Education supports faculty with grants to develop or revise Pathways courses and minors or use assessment data to inform their teaching. Last year, the program awarded 130 grants with more than $200,000 in funding.

The office also co-hosts the Summer Institute, now in its ninth year, which brings together hundreds of faculty each May for two days of workshops and professional development.

Getting students outside their majors

“I think the most valuable thing about taking a Pathways minor is interacting with students from other majors,” said Katina Tran, a senior majoring in graphic design and enrolled in the Innovation minor. “All of the classes I’ve taken have been based around a group project where I work with a lot of Pamplin, industrial design, and engineering students.”

“It’s helped me understand how my major is able to work hand in hand with their skillset,” she said.

The Pathways minors are transdisciplinary by design, bringing students together from a range of backgrounds and academic interests. For example, the Organizational Leadership minor hosted by the Pamplin School of Business has students enrolled from 40 majors.

More than 1,600 undergraduates were enrolled in one of the program’s minors at the end of the spring 2023 semester.

For faculty, the program is also an opportunity to teach a broader range of students.

“I went through the process of making my class, Environmental Justice, a Pathways course because I wanted it to be interdisciplinary and draw students from across campus,” said Shannon Bell, professor in the Department of Sociology.

Last semester, Bell’s class had 17 students from nine majors, including the College of Science and College of Engineering.

A model for general education reform

"Creating this exciting version of general education at Virginia Tech involved much collaboration and compromise, yet we kept our eyes on an important goal. We wanted a system that was meaningful to students and capable of evolving over time,” said Marlene Preston, former chair of the University Curriculum Committee for General Education. “Clearly the assessment of courses and the application of findings are crucial to this dynamic Pathways model. The Office of General Education has worked diligently to breathe life into the long-time dream of so many faculty and students."

The Pathways program has generated interest, both nationally and internationally, from educators looking to reinvent their general education programs. Administrators from a large university in South Africa plan to visit campus this fall to learn how the curriculum can be applied to their institutions.

“A common challenge, particularly right now, is that the liberal arts are undervalued, which forces administrators and faculty to reimagine what it means for students to engage meaningfully across fields and perspectives,” said Stephen Biscotte, assistant provost for undergraduate education. “Virginia Tech has been able to do that and it's great to see the curriculum be recognized for both the structure and implementation of our program. And it’s only getting better as faculty embed high-impact learning opportunities like undergraduate research, study abroad, and service learning into their Pathways courses and minors.”

Virginia Tech will be presented with the award in September at the upcoming AGLS national conference, held this year in Austin, Texas.

Capstone project connects students and seniors across generations and geography