GENERAL EDUCATION GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS
At the same time that they are expected to advance the overall aims of the general education program at UTC, general education courses must follow the guidelines and satisfy the specific requirements for particular content areas. The general education committee places particular emphasis on how these requirements are met in determining whether to certify and, later, recertify courses for the general education program.
The content areas (or categories of study) as well as their respective guidelines and requirements are as follows:
Behavioral and social sciences (SS)
Courses in this category are expected to:
- include a writing component which counts for at least 1/3 of the grade;
- address the implicit and explicit values guiding research in the social and behavioral sciences;
- evaluate theories, methods, findings, and applications of behavioral and social science research;
- acknowledge the context or setting of research;
- consider contemporary issues and their effects on individuals and society;
- examine the impact of behavioral and social scientific research on major contemporary issues;
- explore individual and group values;
- analyze the advantages and limitations of empirical approaches to understanding and influencing the human condition;
- use appropriate technology to aid in the understanding of human behavior.
Cultures and civilizations (world civilizations, Western humanities, non-Western cultures and civilization) (WC, WH, NW), Humanities and fine arts (HU, FA)
Courses in this category are expected to:
- include a writing component which counts for at least 1/2 of the grade in humanities courses, 1/3 of the grade in non-Western courses, and 1/5 of the grade in fine arts courses;
- hold human experience as the center of concern;
- concentrate on significant or influential events or works of human culture and civilization;
- explore human activities as expressions of the time and place in which they occurred;
- illuminate the relationship between significant creative expression and the processes of society, politics, and everyday life;
- provide an awareness and explanation of basic human values and moralities, and demonstrate how systems of belief infuse all inquiry;
- develop students' potential for creativity, depth of feeling, critical analysis, and appreciative awareness, in both written and oral form.
Mathematics and statistics (MA, ST)
Courses in this category are expected to:
- develop a variety of qualitative problem solving strategies requiring logical thinking and persistence, including the ability to pose questions, identify and analyze critical information, and test hypotheses or conclusions;
- emphasize basic quantitative concepts, such as number sense, data collection and analysis, the use and interpretation of abstract symbols, variable relationships and rates of change, distributions, graphs, and the properties of geometric shapes;
- develop some mathematical or statistical models of phenomena from the world around us;
- cultivate the use of mathematical reasoning skills;
- develop a sense of the nature of proof and its critical role in mathematical thinking, and explore the strengths and limitations of mathematics and statistics in addressing many human problems;
- foster appreciation for historical, logical, or intuitive aspects of the development of mathematical or statistical concepts;
- communicate using appropriate mathematical and statistical vocabulary and notation;
- include appropriate computational and procedural skills;
- use appropriate technology to aid in the understanding of mathematical principles and in the solution of realistic mathematical problems;
- include at least Mathematics placement level 20 or equivalent as a prerequisite;
- include a writing component which counts for at least 1/5 of the grade (writing in this category is defined to mean the use of English sentences and symbolic representations, such as formulas or equations, for the purpose of demonstrating students' understanding of the concepts articulated in the above guidelines for this category).
Statistics courses are expected to include development of the underlying axioms of probability as well as statistical applications.
Natural sciences (SL, NS)
Courses in this category are expected to:
- cultivate an understanding of scientific methods of thought and a broad view of scientific achievements;
-
focus on theories and discoveries fundamental to the current scientific representation of reality;
-
develop an historical perspective that includes the contributions of scientists to the understanding of scientific principles;
-
emphasize the demand for evidence as the ultimate test of scientific validity;
-
analyze the advantages and limitations of empirical approaches to understanding and influencing the world around us;
-
promote an understanding of the roles of imagination and logical reasoning in the development of scientific thought;
-
give appropriate attention to societal issues arising from scientific and technological developments, such as ethical dilemmas, environmental problems, and religious controversies;
-
use appropriate technology to aid in the understanding of scientific principles and in the solution of problems;
- include a writing component which counts for at least 1/5 of the grade (writing in this category is defined to mean the use of English sentences and symbolic representations, such as formulas or equations, for the purpose of demonstrating students' understanding of the concepts articulated in the above guidelines of this category);
-
at least one course is to have no less than 4 credit hours and 5 contact hours, in which at least 2 of the latter are in a laboratory setting. Performance in the laboratory component shall comprise no less than 1/4 of the final grade for the course. The laboratory component shall provide the student with:
-
demonstrations of significant concepts of the discipline;
-
experience in methods and technology of scientific inquiry;
- practice in the development of independent thought processes.
Rhetoric and composition I (RC)
In these courses students should be able to:
- write well-crafted original essays (300-500 words) that are complete with proper outlines and main ideas, and relatively free of mechanical problems;
-
communicate ideas verbally within a group;
-
develop habits of using correct spelling and careful proofing and editing;
-
recognize mechanical problems such as sentence fragments, misplaced phrases, failed subject-verb agreements, and incorrect grammar and punctuation;
-
recognize language distortions such as cliches, circumlocutions, mixed metaphors, incomplete comparisons, pretentious diction, and wordiness;
-
understand and use at least two basic library indexes in order to identify and locate periodical articles in support of written and oral assignments;
-
read, comprehend, and summarize ideas found in essays and articles;
-
compose, revise, and spell-check papers using a word processor.
Rhetoric and composition II (RC)
In these courses students should be able to:
- write well-crafted original essays (1,000-3,000 words), where a thesis or main idea is clearly stated and adequately developed through a blend of carefully selected evidence and personal thought;
- employ reliable authorities, analogies, metaphors, and basic statistical evidence to present sound and persuasive conclusions;
- communicate ideas verbally within a group;
- recognize some of the standard theories of argumentation, the differences between fact and opinion, and the relationship between expository and imaginative forms of writing;
- understand major methods of documentation;
- recognize and avoid plagiarism;
- read and comprehend articles in prominent journals, magazines, and newspapers;
- find and evaluate potential sources of information using dictionaries, encyclopedias, on-line catalogs, print and electronic indexes, other standard print and electronic library sources, and the internet;
- become sensitive to the sounds of words and the rhythm of superior prose;
- edit original work, testing it for correctness, logic, felicity of expression, and persuasive appeal;
- revise, edit, and spell-check work using a word processor.
