UNM faculty look to strengthen core skills through Elevate Gen Ed+

Faculty at The University of New Mexico are strengthening general education through Elevate Gen Ed+, an initiative that supports instructors in integrating academic and professional skill development into their courses. Developed by faculty across UNM, and supported by Academic Affairs, the initiative is led by Cait Lippitt, senior lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies.

For years, faculty at UNM have led efforts to strengthen active, inclusive learning across campus with efforts like the Student Experience Project and Expanding Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences. Elevate Gen Ed + was born from work done by faculty regarding skills that could benefit students across disciplines.

Anchored by a collection of short, adaptable activities that can be used across disciplines to build core skills that support student success across academic and professional contexts, the program identifies eight essential skills for students. Professional communication, critical reflection, project management, civic engagement, information literacy, intercultural competence, data analytics, and AI literacy.

The program represents a formalization of those efforts, providing class activities that can be integrated into classes across campus and taught within one or two class periods. Materials are available to instructors via a shared Canvas site.

By incorporating activities into existing classes, Elevate Gen Ed+ lets students build these core skills without adding additional course requirements or credit hours on top of what is already required of them. Activities include graphing and analyzing data, composing a professional email to an alumnus requesting a career conversation, or using AI to identify research opportunities at UNM. Faculty can use these activities as provided or adapt them to better fit their courses.

"These are intended to be active, engaging opportunities for students to get to know each other and learn these skills in a variety of settings," Lippitt said. "If the students complete these activities and meet the criteria, they get a verifiable badge that they own and can use on sites like LinkedIn and on their resumes. So, they get to learn the skill, announce to the world that they spent some time learning this, and add it to their professional profile."

Before awarding a badge, faculty assess the work students have done against competency criteria, and students reflect on what they learned and how it might be applied elsewhere. Together, these steps help students to recognize and communicate the skills they are developing.

The 2026-27 school year is the pilot year for the program, formalized in the spring of 2025. More than 50 faculty members from departments across the university have signed on to participate in the pilot. In addition to the Albuquerque campus, Lippitt said UNM-Valencia is adopting Elevate Gen Ed+ across many courses with additional interest from other branch campuses in adopting the program.

"We will track the impact of these activities and skill building opportunities over time," she said. "But right now we're really (focused) on helping faculty and students access these resources and giving faculty opportunities to share the great teaching practices and activities they've developed with colleagues across UNM."

Faculty who help develop activities for Elevate Gen Ed+ can receive a $300 stipend as well as recognition from the Vice Provost for Student Success. The working group and activities are open to all. Those interested in accessing Elevate Gen Ed+ resources or getting involved can complete the Faculty Access Request Form.