General Education Competency Areas

While there are many General Education courses to select from, certain majors and programs are prescriptive of specific General Education courses within the competency areas, including Humanities, Mathematics, Oral, Science, and Social Science. All students are expected to work with their advisor to select their General Education courses.

Humanistic and Artistic Ways of Knowing

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate at least five (5) of the following competencies.

  • Recognize and describe humanistic, historical, or artistic works within problems and patterns of the human experience.
  • Distinguish and apply terminologies, methodologies, processes, epistemologies, and traditions specific to the discipline(s).
  • Perceive and understand formal, conceptual, and technical elements specific to the discipline.
  • Analyze, evaluate, and interpret texts, objects, events, or ideas in their cultural, intellectual or historical contexts.
  • Interpret artistic and/or humanistic works through the creation of art or performance.
  • Develop critical perspectives or arguments about the subject matter, grounded in evidence-based analysis.
  • Demonstrate self-reflection, intellectual elasticity, widened perspective, and respect for diverse viewpoints.

AA & AS (2 different disciplines) (6 hours)

ARTS 101Art History 1

3

ARTS 102Art History 2

3

ARTS 103Appreciation and History of Photography

3

DANC 101Dance Appreciation

3

ENGL 126Film & Literature*

3

ENGL 175Introduction to Literature

3.00 Credits

ENGL 215Survey of World Mythology

3

ENGL 257Survey of Western Literature 1*

3

ENGL 258Survey of Western World Literature 2*

3

ENGL 267Survey of English Literature 1*

3

ENGL 268Survey of English Literature 2*

3

ENGL 277Survey of American Literature 1*

3

ENGL 278Survey of American Literature 2*

3

FREN 101Elementary French 1

4

FREN 102Elementary French 2*

4

HUMA 101Introduction to Humanities 1

3

HUMA 106Introduction to Modern Humanities

3

JAPN 101Elementary Japanese 1

4

JAPN 102Elementary Japanese 2

4

MUSI 100Music Appreciation

3

MUSI 108Survey of Jazz & Pop Music

3

PHIL 101Introduction to Philosophy

3

PHIL 202Ethics

3

PORT 101Elementary Portuguese 1

4

PORT 102Elementary Portuguese 2*

4

SIGL 101American Sign Language 1

4

SIGL 102American Sign Language 2*

4

SIGL 201American Sign Language 3*

4

SIGL 202American Sign Language 4*

4

SPAN 101Elementary Spanish 1*

4

SPAN 102Elementary Spanish 2*

4

SPAN 201Intermediate Spanish 1*

4

SPAN 202Intermediate Spanish 2*

4

THEA 101Theatre Appreciation

3.00 Credits

THEA 201Theatre History I

3

THEA 202Theatre History II

3

Mathematical Ways of Knowing

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, a student is able to demonstrate the following competencies

  • Read, interpret, and communicate mathematical concepts.
  • Represent and interpret information/data.
  • Select, execute and explain appropriate strategies/procedures when solving mathematical problems.
  • Apply quantitative reasoning to draw and support appropriate conclusions.

AA & AS (3 hours)

AAS (3 hours)

MATH 123Math in Modern Society*

3

MATH 143College Algebra*

3

MATH 153Elementary Statistics*

3

MATH 147Precalculus

5

MATH 160Brief Calculus*

4

MATH 170Calculus 1*

5

Oral Communication

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

  • Research, discover, and develop information resources and structure spoken messages to increase knowledge and understanding.
  • Research, discover, and develop evidence-based reasoning and persuasive appeals for ethically influencing attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors.
  • Adapt spoken messages to the diverse personal, ideological, and emotional needs of individuals, groups, or contexts.
  • Employ effective spoken and nonverbal behaviors that support communication goals and illustrate self-efficacy.
  • Listen in order to effectively and critically evaluate the reasoning, evidence, and communication strategies of self and others.
  • Understand key theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts in the Communication discipline, as applied to oral communication.

AA, AS, AAS (3 hours)

COMM 101Fundamentals of Oral Communications

3

COMM 209Critical Thinking and Argumentation

3

Scientific Ways of Knowing

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, a student is able to demonstrate at least four (4) of the following competencies.

  • Apply foundational knowledge and models of a natural or physical science to analyze and/or predict phenomena.
  • Understand the scientific method and apply scientific reasoning to critically evaluate arguments.
  • Interpret and communicate scientific information via written, spoken and/or visual representations.
  • Describe the relevance of specific scientific principles to the human experience.
  • Form and test a hypothesis in the laboratory or field using discipline-specific tools and techniques for data collection and/or analysis.

AA & AS (2 different disciplines/1 lab) (7-8 hours)

AGRI 180Food System Science

45

ALLH 220Fundamentals of Nutrition

3

BIOL 100Concepts of Biology

4.00 Credits

BIOL 120Environmental Science

4

BIOL 201Biology 1

4

BIOL 221Introductory Microbiology

4

BIOL 227Human Anatomy & Physiology 1*

4.00 Credits

BIOL 228Human Anatomy & Physiology 2*

4.00 Credits

CHEM 100Chemistry in Everyday Life

4.00 Credits

CHEM 101Introduction to Chemistry*

4.00 Credits

CHEM 102Essentials of Organic & Biochemistry*

5.00 Credits

CHEM 111Principles of Chemistry 1*

5.00 Credits

GEOG 100Physical Geography

4.00 Credits

GEOL 101Physical Geology*

4.00 Credits

GEOL 102Historical Geology

4.00 Credits

GEOL 104Natural Disasters and Env Geology

4.00 Credits

PHYS 100Survey of Physics

4.00 Credits

PHYS 101Survey of Astronomy

4.00 Credits

PHYS 111General Physics 1*

4.00 Credits

PHYS 112General Physics 2*

4.00 Credits

PHYS 211Physics Scientists & Engineers 1*

5.00 Credits

Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate at least four (4) of the following competencies.

  • Demonstrate knowledge of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of a particular Social Science discipline.
  • Develop an understanding of self and the world by examining the dynamic interaction of individuals, groups, and societies as they shape and are shaped by history, culture, institutions, and ideas.
  • Utilize Social Science approaches, such as research methods, inquiry, or problem solving, to examine the variety of perspectives about human experiences.
  • Evaluate how reasoning, history, or culture informs and guides individual, civic, or global decisions.
  • Understand and appreciate similarities and differences among and between individuals, cultures, or societies across space and time.

AA & AS (2 DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES) (6 hours)

AAS (3 hours)

ANTH 101Physical Anthropology

3.00 Credits

ANTH 102Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

3

COMM 102Interpersonal Communication

3

COMM 220Intercultural Communication

3

CRIJ 103Introduction to Law and Justice

3

ECON 201Principles of Macroeconomics

3

ECON 202Principles of Microeconomics

3

EDUC 204Families Communities & Culture*

3.00 Credits

GEOG 102Cultural Geography

3

GEOG 200World Regional Geography

3

HIST 101Western Civilization

3

HIST 102Western Civilization

3

HIST 111History I

3

HIST 112US History 2

3

POLS 101American National Government

3

POLS 102Introduction to Political Science

3

POLS 221Intro to International Relations

3

PSYC 101General Psychology

3.00 Credits

SOCY 101Introduction to Sociology

3

SOCY 102Social Problems

3

SOCY 105Human Relations

3

Written Communication

AA & AS (6 hours)

AAS (3 hours)

ENGL 101English Composition 1*

3.00 Credits

ENGL 102English Composition 2*

3.00 Credits

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

  • Use flexible writing process strategies to generate, develop, revise, edit, and proofread texts.
  • Adopt strategies and genre appropriate to the rhetorical situation.
  • Use inquiry-based strategies to conduct research that explores multiple and diverse ideas and perspectives, appropriate to the rhetorical context.
  • Use rhetorically appropriate strategies to evaluate, represent, and respond to the as and research of others.
  • Address readers’ biases and assumptions with well-developed evidence-based reasoning.
  • Use appropriate conventions for integrating, citing, and documenting source material as well as for surface-level language and style.

Institutionally Designated

AA & AS (5 hours)

Introduction to General Education

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

  • Articulate the value of general education
  • Explain how a Way of Knowing can broaden and deepen comprehension of a topic of an idea
  • Demonstrate a knowledge of academic integrity policies and expectations at the College
  • Use the skills, strategies and campus resources necessary for engage learning

AA & AS (3 hours)

GNED 101Introduction to General Education

3.00 Credits

Wellness

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

  • Identify: Define the purpose of lifelong wellness.
  • Plan: Create individual goal(s) addressing at least one dimension of wellness.
  • Practice: Apply wellness knowledge to act on individual goals addressing at least one dimension of wellness.
  • Reflect: Demonstrate the ability to engage in careful thought about beliefs and behaviors impacting lifelong wellness.

AA & AS (2 hours)

WELL 100Wellness Sandbox

Variable

WELL 101Lifelong Wellness 1

1

WELL 103Lifelong Wellness 3

3

HLTH 255Wellness Through Healthy Living

3