In spring 2017, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, approved a proposal to redesign the general education curriculum, which took effect fall 2022.
Application Process
To submit a course proposal to be reviewed for inclusion in Volunteer Core, click on the corresponding category below to download the appropriate proposal application. If you are submitting to more than one category, you must complete a separate application for each category.
Application and Applicable Evaluation Rubrics
Applied Oral Communication Application and Evaluation Rubric
Engaged Inquiries Application and Evaluation Rubric
Global Citizenship – International Application and Evaluation Rubric
Global Citizenship – United States
Oral Communication Application and Evaluation Rubric
To submit a proposal, please complete the application and save it as a single PDF or Word document. For a course to be considered for Volunteer Core designation, an application articulating the ways in which the course would meet the student learning outcomes for that category and how those outcomes would be assessed, both at the student level (i.e., formative and summative class assignments) and the course level (i.e., plans for ongoing assessment and course development), is required.
You will also need separate PDF or Word files that contain your syllabus and a sample of at least one significant assignment for the course (instructions provided to the students, not work completed by the students).
If you are submitting a revision, please also include a brief written “Response to Reviewers” explaining how the requested revisions have been addressed.
Proposals and supporting files will be uploaded to Dynamic Forms.
Your submission for each category for which you are applying must include the following separate files:
- Volunteer Core Application Form
- Syllabus
- At least one significant assignment (instructions provided to students)
- Response to Reviewers (if it is a resubmission)
Once you’ve uploaded your form, it will be routed to the appropriate college-level Volunteer Core representative, who will acknowledge receipt of the proposal; it will not be evaluated at that stage. The review process continues with Volunteer Core Subcommittee approval, and then it goes to the full Volunteer Core Committee for approval. From there it goes to the Undergraduate Council for approval and finally to the Faculty Senate.
Until your proposal appears in the Undergraduate Catalog, following Faculty Senate approval, it is not eligible to be listed as a Volunteer Core course.
Deadlines
Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis, but they must be submitted no later than October 15th to appear in the following year’s catalog.
For the Fall 2026 catalog, submissions will be accepted from September 2, 2025, until October 15, 2025.
Assessment Rubrics
Global Citizenship – International
Global Citizenship – United States
Approved Courses
Global Citizenship – International
Global Citizenship – United States
VolCore Petitions. If you are a student or adviser interested in submitting a petition to have an institutional transfer course count for Volunteer Core credit, please use the linked Dynamic Form. Prior course credits such as AP and IB are not processed through these petition forms. They transfer as indicated on the prior learning credits page; if the course they transfer as has Volunteer Core credit attached to it, the prior learning credit carries the same Volunteer Core credit.
Volunteer Core Assessment. Currently, each Volunteer Core course is scheduled to be assessed once every three years. Instructions for completing the assessment are available on the assessment web page. The original proposal for each course is available on the Proposal Tracking spreadsheet. The assessment timeline for each course is available on the master assessment list.