UB community invited to shape future of general education

What knowledge and skills should every UB undergraduate have? What ideas should students encounter outside their major? And what kinds of learning experiences will prepare the next generation of UB students to succeed in a complex and changing world?

Ten years after the launch of the UB Curriculum, UB is taking a fresh look at those questions — and asking faculty, staff and students to help shape the answers.

The world has changed dramatically since the current general education program was developed, bringing new challenges and opportunities for students. A campuswide committee is considering what general education should provide UB students over the next 10 to 15 years, including how changes in higher education, such as artificial intelligence and experiential learning, may shape what students need from general education today and in the future.

Anonymous surveys on the topic will be distributed to faculty, staff and students in early October, followed by virtual listening sessions. Members of the UB community will also be able to share feedback at any time through a form on the Future of General Education website.

The initiative began in spring 2026, when Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs A. Scott Weber and Faculty Senate Chair Kristin Stapleton invited nominations from across the university to serve on the committee. The committee, made up of faculty and staff from a broad range of disciplines, is co-chaired by Robert Adelman, professor of sociology and criminology; Carl Lund, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; and Jennifer Surtees, professor and chair of biochemistry. Weber and Stapleton charged the committee in May 2026.

“Our goal as co-chairs is to learn from our UB community — to understand the experiences, needs and ambitions of our students, staff and faculty — so we can propose a general education curriculum that gives every student the strongest possible foundation for their UB education and experience,” Adelman says.

Community input will be central to that work. The committee wants to hear broadly from the university community about what all UB undergraduates should know, be able to do and experience by the time they graduate. The committee is examining what is working well, what could be improved and whether certain components could be rethought.

“The most important reason to participate is to play an active role in the development of our proposals,” Lund says. “We do not have a preconceived vision for what the future general education curriculum should look like. The responses and feedback that we receive will inform the committee’s thinking and will be carefully considered as we develop recommendations.”

The co-chairs say hearing from people across the university will help the committee understand how the curriculum is experienced from different perspectives.

“Everyone in the UB community experiences the curriculum from a unique perspective,” Surtees says. “Students experience it as they move through their education, faculty teach within it, and staff see its impact on students and the university in distinct ways. Widespread participation will help us understand that range of experiences and perspectives and consider many possibilities for the future.”

General education provides students with an academic foundation beyond their chosen major, giving them opportunities to explore different fields, develop knowledge and skills across disciplines and make connections among different areas of study. At a comprehensive research university such as UB, it also offers an opportunity to consider what should distinguish the undergraduate academic experience.

The current UB Curriculum launched in 2016 and grew out of a similar university-wide planning effort. The 40-credit general education program includes the UB Seminar, which students take at the beginning of their UB education, as well as Foundations, Pathways and the UB Curriculum Capstone, which serves as the culmination of the program.

As it considers what might come next, the committee will weigh campus feedback alongside research, data and an examination of general education approaches at other institutions.

The committee’s work will continue through spring 2027, when it will develop a comprehensive report articulating a vision for the future of general education at UB. A future committee will take up the next phase of the process, translating those priorities into learning outcomes, courses, requirements and other elements of a general education program.

Faculty, staff and students can learn more about the initiative, review the committee membership and find opportunities to participate on the Future of General Education website.