Why General Education?
General education courses teach basic skills and broaden students’ knowledge of a wide range of subjects. Education is much more than the acquisition of facts; it is gaining the strategies and skills to use information in meaningful ways in order to enrich one’s life. Students become truly educated through making connections across disciplines. The General Education Learning Outcomes mirror the College-Wide Unified Learning Outcomes. Through the General Education program, students at SLCC will:
- Acquire substantive knowledge throughout the general education requirements.
- Communicate effectively.
This includes developing critical literacies-reading, writing, speaking, listening, visual understanding-that they can apply in various contexts; organizing and presenting ideas and information visually, orally, and in writing according to standard usage; and understanding and using the elements of effective communication in interpersonal, small group, and mass settings.
- Develop quantitative literacies necessary for their chosen field of study.
This includes approaching practical problems by choosing and applying appropriate mathematical techniques; using information represented as data, graphs, tables, and schematics in a variety of disciplines; and applying mathematical theory, concepts, and methods of inquiry appropriate to program-specific problems.
- Think critically and creatively.
This includes reasoning effectively from available evidence; demonstrating effective problem solving; engaging in creative thinking, expression, and application; engaging in reflective thinking and expression; demonstrating higher-order skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation; making connections across disciplines; and applying scientific methods to the inquiry process.
- Students develop civic literacy and the capacity to be community-engaged learners who act in mutually beneficial ways with community partners. This includes producing learning artifacts indicating understanding of the political, historical, economic or sociological aspects of social change and continuity; thinking critically about-and weighing the evidence surrounding-issues important to local, national, or global communities; participating in a broad range of community-engagement and/or service-learning courses for community building and an enhanced academic experience.
- Develop the knowledge and skills to work with others in a professional and constructive manner.
This includes engaging with a diverse set of others to produce professional work; interacting competently across cultures; understanding and appreciating human differences; and understanding and acting on standards of professionalism and civility, including the SLCC Student Code of Conduct.
- Develop computer and information literacy.
This includes using contemporary computer hardware and software to effectively complete college-level assignments; gathering and analyzing information using technology, library resources, and other modalities; understanding and acting upon ethical and security principles with respect to computer technology and to information acquisition and distribution; and distinguishing between credible and noncredible sources of information and using the former in their work in an appropriately documented fashion.
- Develop the attitudes and skills for lifelong wellness.
This includes understanding the importance of physical activity and its connection to lifelong wellness and learning how participation in a fitness, sport, or leisure activity results in daily benefits including stress reduction, endorphin release, and a sense of well-being.
General Education ePortfolio
Electronic Portfolios (ePortfolios) are a course-level requirement in all general education courses at SLCC. Students in each general education course will be asked to put at least one signature assignment into his/her ePortfolio. As students take general education courses, they will build a showcase of their breadth and depth of knowledge and skills.
Instructors will also ask students to reflect on the signature assignment in the portfolio, on its connection to other general education assignments, on the students’ own intellectual growth, on the connection between general education and the program of study, and/or on progress toward SLCC’s college-wide learning outcomes. Moreover, the General Education ePortfolio will allow students to document goals, extracurricular activities, and work in their program and elective courses.
While instructors are responsible for making assignments, helping students complete them successfully, and grading them, faculty are not responsible for helping the student build the ePortfolio itself. SLCC has ePortfolio labs with expert staff, workshops and online tutorials that can help. For more information about this help and the overall General Education ePortfolio initiative, visit www.slcc.edu/gened/eportfolio.
| TRANSFER NOTE: SLCC’s AS or AA degrees satisfy the lower division general education requirements for a Baccalaureate degree at Utah’s public colleges and universities as well as Brigham Young University and Westminster College. Students who transfer without the AS or AA degree may elect to complete SLCC’s general education requirements and obtain a General Education Certificate of Completion, which will also be recognized by Utah’s public colleges and universities as satisfying lower-division general education requirements. Students transferring to BYU without an AS or AA degree should obtain advising in the selection of general education courses. |
SLCC General Education Course Categories
Core Skills
Core Skills courses required for AA and AS degrees are Composition (EN), Quantitative Literacy (QL), and American Institutions (AI). These core courses are required at every institution in the Utah System of Higher Education.
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities requires clearly identifiable instructional components in communication, computation, and human relations for any program a year or more in length. Core Skills courses required for AAS degrees are Composition (EN), Communication (CM), Quantitative Studies (QS), and Human Relations (HR). Certificate of Completion programs require courses in Communication (CM), Quantitative Studies (QS), and Human Relations (HR); these requirements can also be fulfilled through general education instruction embedded in program courses.
Institutional Requirements
In addition to core skills courses, AA and AS degrees at SLCC require students to take courses in the following categories: Lifelong Wellness (LW), Student Choice (IN or Depth), and General Education Distribution Areas (BS, FA, HU, ID, PS, SS). Students must complete one Diversity (DV) course within their selection of Distribution courses.
- The Lifelong Wellness (LW) requirement can be fulfilled by completing a course with the LW designation or by submitting a DD 214 document from the military.
- The Student Choice category allows students to choose between taking a Depth course or an Intensive course (IN). A Depth course is a second course in any of the General Education Distribution Areas and may fulfill the Diversity requirement if marked with (DV).
- AA and AS degrees at SLCC require students to take a total of six courses (18 credit hours) in the General Education Distribution Areas, with one course from each of the following areas: Biological Sciences (BS), Fine Arts (FA), Humanities (HU), Physical Science (PS), Social Sciences (SS), and Interdisciplinary (ID). Within the six courses (or the Depth course), students must take at least one Diversity course that critically examines the history, contributions of and challenges confronting diverse groups within our multicultural society. These diversity courses are marked with (DV) in the General Education Distribution Areas course listing that follows.
- AAS degrees at SLCC require students to take one to two courses (3 to 6 credits) from the list of General Education Distribution Areas.
General Education Distribution Areas
Associate of Science (AS)/Associate of Arts (AA) Degree General Education Requirements
Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Degree General Education Requirements
Associate of Pre-Engineering Degree (APE) General Education Requirements
The Associate of Pre-Engineering degree is a specialized associate degree that requires reduced general education requirements. Students will be required to satisfy remaining general education requirements for a baccalaureate degree at the transfer (receiving) institution or SLCC. Unless specified by program, courses can meet multiple degree requirements. SLCC engineering students should meet with the SLCC Engineering Advisor as well as a transfer advisor from the receiving institution regarding general education requirements specific to Engineering majors.
Certificate of Completion or Diploma General Education Requirements
Any program of 30 semester credit hours or more must contain communication, computation, and human relations components as outlined by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. This requirement may be met in a variety of ways as prescribed by each program. Unless specified by program, courses can meet multiple degree requirements. See individual program descriptions for specific course requirements.
Service Learning Courses
Service-learning enhances course learning outcomes and student engagement while also addressing community-identified needs. Service-learning integrates service opportunities with nonprofit organizations and governmental and educational institutions while incorporating critical reflective thinking and civic engagement into academic coursework. Service-learning involves students in activities that attend to local needs while developing their academic skills, increasing their subject matter knowledge, and commitment to their communities.
Service-learning is a method of teaching recognized as contributing to one of the primary general education learning outcomes at SLCC. SLCC has a process for designating service-learning courses. Designated service-learning courses are listed below.
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