µÛÍõ»áËù

Executive Summary

The American Civic Literacy Course Work Group was convened in May of 2025 and met through August to review the requirements of  and develop and assist in develop OHIO’s plan meeting the new civic literacy requirements. Aligned with its charge, the group reviewed the requirements as well as developing ODHE guidance, discussed the flexibility needed to meet undergraduate students’ needs, drafted the state required plan, and developed recommendations.

In addition to The American Civic Literacy Plan which was approved by the µÛÍõ»áËù Board of Trustees at the August 6, 2025, board meeting, the work group offers recommendations on student exemptions from the American Civic Literacy requirements, the structure of the required comprehensive proficiency final exam, the creation and charge of an American Civic Literacy Implementation Group, and the development of a coordinating body or role.

Background

The American Civic Literacy Course Work Group was comprised of the following members: 

• Rob Callahan, Assistant Vice President, Enrollment Management
• Matt Ando, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
• Matthew Layton, Associate Professor/Chair, Political Science, College of Arts & Sciences
• Jackie Maxwell, Professor/Chair, History, College of Arts & Sciences
• Paul Milazzo, Associate Professor/Director of Graduate Studies, History, College of Arts & Sciences
• Sarah Poggione, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
• Ani Ruhil, Associate Dean, Professor, MPA, Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service
• Nukhet Sandal, Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
• Kirstine Taylor, Associate Professor, Political Science, College of Arts & Sciences

The  (Section 3345.382) requires state institutions of higher education to develop an American civic literacy course of at least three credit hours.  The course may be offered under the College Credit Plus program and can be part of the institution’s general education program. Beginning with the Spring semester of 2029-2030 academic year, students must complete the course to receive a bachelor’s degree from any state institution.

Students in the American civics course must be required to read:

1. The entire Constitution of the United States;
2. The entire Declaration of Independence;
3. A minimum of five essays in their entirety from the Federalist Papers (essays selected by the department chair);
4. The entire Emancipation Proclamation;
5. The entire Gettysburg Address;
6. The entire Letter from Birmingham Jail written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.;
7. The writings of Adam Smith, including the principles written in The Wealth of Nations.

Students must also pass a cumulative final exam at the end of the course that assesses proficiency with the required documents.

The AOHEA also requires that the Board of Trustees for each institution must adopt for a resolution approving a plan to offer the American civics course described in the law. The plan must be submitted, reviewed, and approved by the chancellor; the chancellor may require revisions.

The group met beginning in May and worked through August on the work group charge, including drafting this report. The charge included:

• Thoroughly review related details/requirements of AOHEA to ensure common understanding.
• Assist in developing a plan for offering a course which satisfies the American Civic Literacy course requirement, is consistent with both the µÛÍõ»áËù Transfer 36 module and OHIO’s Bricks general education program and can be reviewed by the Board at the June meeting.
• Assist in modifying the plan if required by the chancellor.
• Assist with developing recommendations for exemptions to the civics course requirement.
• Develop recommendations for a group to meet in the Fall of 2025 to develop or modify the course and secure all required curricular approvals.

The group accomplished these tasks. The American Civic Literacy Plan (included as an appendix) was developed and approved by the µÛÍõ»áËù Board of Trustees at the August 6, 2025, board meeting. It will be submitted to ODHE in advance of the September 30, 2025, deadline. The group also developed the following additional recommendations related to student exemptions, the development of ACL courses, and the required ACL proficiency exam.

Recommendations

1. Consistent with Section 3345.382 of the µÛÍõ»áËù Revised Code (effective September 30, 2025), the following exemptions are recommended for adoption. These exemptions may be updated or refined as additional policy clarification are provided by the µÛÍõ»áËù Department of Higher Education (ODHE):
   1. Students who have successfully completed, through the College Credit Plus program, a course that meets the content requirements described in division (B) of Section 3345.382 and is approved by the Chancellor.
   2. Students who have completed an Advanced Placement course and examination that meets the content requirements described in division (B) of Section 3345.382, is approved by the Chancellor, and for which they have earned a score of three or higher on the AP examination.
   3. Students who have completed at least three semester credit hours (or the equivalent) in a course in American history or American government that includes study of the documents listed in divisions (B)(1) through (B)(7) of Section 3345.382. This exemption will not apply after the conclusion of the 2030–2031 academic year.
2. The cumulative final exam testing proficiency over the required materials be administered as the only final exam or assessment assigned during the final exam period or, for courses with no final exam period, the final day of class and that it be retakeable by students during the designated final exam period.
3. The cumulative final exam comprises 10% of students’ final grades in the course for all OHIO ACL courses, and that the composition of the remaining 90% of students’ final grades and all other assessments in the course be determined through traditional processes.
4. The creation of an American Civic Literacy implementation group at the beginning of the 2025-2026 academic year. The group should have representation from faculty and academic departments that will be offering ACL courses; specific contacts from the Center for Teaching Learning and Assessment, Office of Instructional Design, Office OIT Canvas support, and an Alden Library Subject Matter to support the committee, and be charged with the following:
   1. Select five essays in their entirety from the Federalist Papers and one or more selections of writings of Adam Smith, including the principles written in The Wealth of Nations, for inclusion in the set of minimum required documents for OHIO approved American Civic Literacy Courses. Relevant department chairs should approve these recommendations. As indicated in the law the minimum required documents for approved American Civic Literacy Courses also includes:
      1. The entire Constitution of the United States
      2. The entire Declaration of Independence
      3. The entire Emancipation Proclamation
      4. The entire Gettysburg Address
      5. The entire Letter from Birmingham Jail written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
   2. Assist faculty in the development and submission of ACL course proposals that meet all state requirements as well as OHIO requirements in alignment with the approved American Civic Literacy Plan. The OHIO curricular process for courses to be offered in the Fall of 2026 must be complete for all courses on or before the December UCC meeting.
   3. Assist faculty in the development of state level proposals and required materials (OT36 approval for new courses or courses without existing OT36 approval and ACL approval for all courses).  For courses to be offered in the Fall of 2026, state submissions must be prepared in consultation with Transfer and Credit Services to the on or before January 15, 2026.
   4. Develop a common multiple choice question database and cumulative proficiency final exam for all OHIO ACL courses. The expectation is that while the questions specific to each reading will be randomly selected from an appropriate subset in the test bank, the number of questions over each required reading selected for an exam and the total number of questions will be the same for all exams. We recommend that graduate assistance support be available to assist with the development of the test bank within Canvas.
   5. Report to college and
5. Given the timing of activities and the coordination required for the work of the Implementation Group, we recommend that faculty and staff group members have these activities formally integrated in their workloads as appropriate.
6. Given the timeline and scale needed to meet student needs, we recommend that IEA and the Office of the Registrar support these efforts with data and schedule planning assistance.
7. We recommend developing a coordinating body or role that would update units involved in teaching the course as well as new and continuing course instructors across the system; draft required state reporting in consultation with Provost’s Office, and coordinate with the General Education Committee and the University Curriculum Council. 

Conclusion

We believe that these recommendations will provide for successful implementation of the American Civic Literacy requirements at µÛÍõ»áËù. Thank you for the opportunity to share our perspective on this important issue.