Mar 28, 2024  
2013-2014 Catalog 
    
2013-2014 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Associate in Arts Degree General Education Requirements


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General education is the curricular component common to all degree programs. The purpose of the general education requirements is to develop and integrate the student’s knowledge, skills, attitudes and experiences so that the student can engage effectively in a lifelong process of inquiry and decision-making. The knowledge and academic experience gained from general education courses are designed to prepare students with the 21st century skills necessary to be productive, involved and contributing citizens. The following are the specific areas addressed by the general education core: 

  1. Communication Skills: students demonstrate reading comprehension, effective oral and written communication and interpersonal skills, including teamwork.
  2. Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning Skills: students apply mathematical and scientific methods of reasoning to analyze and interpret data and use the results logically to solve real world problems.
  3. Community Skills: students demonstrate an understanding of important political, social, economic and environmental issues and the interconnected nature of modern international societies and peoples. Students identify and describe the civic rights, responsibilities and values of a diverse society.
  4. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills: students apply higher order critical thinking and problem solving skills across the curriculum.
  5. Information Literacy Skills: students access, evaluate and use information sources in an ethical manner for research and problem solving, and demonstrate the ability to retrieve and manage information using digital technology.
  6. Cultural Literacy Skills: students exhibit an understanding of such cultural and aesthetic expressions as literature, music, theatre, and the visual arts in historical and contemporary contexts.

 A grade of “C” or better shall be considered successful completion in general education courses that are part of an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree.

 

Area I - Communications: 9 Hours


Students must complete nine hours from A and B:

Area II - Mathematics: 6-9 Hours


Students are required to take two mathematics courses:

Area III - Social & Behavioral Sciences: 6-9 Hours


Students must complete three hours from A and at least three hours from either B or C:

Area IV - Humanities: 6-9 Hours


Courses must be selected from two different categories:

Area V - Natural Science: 6-9 Hours


Students are required to select at least two natural science courses from the courses listed below. It is strongly recommended that at least one course have a laboratory component, indicated by a “C” or “L” after the course name and number. Students should seek information from an advisor regarding the laboratory science requirements at the university to which they plan to transfer.

Additional Courses


Courses in the list below also meet Area V Natural Science and in addition have college level prerequisites.

International/Intercultural Courses


Students are required to complete six hours of courses from the following list. These courses may be used to fulfill general education and/or Gordon Rule requirements where appropriate.

Note(s):


I, III, IV Courses fulfill general education requirements for the A.A. degree in areas I, III or IV.

G Courses partially fulfill the Gordon Rule writing requirement of at least 6,000 words each.

* ENC 1101  with a grade of “C” or better is a prerequisite.

** ENC 1102  with a grade of “C” or better is a prerequisite or a corequisite.

Gordon Rule


State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota Requirements To Meet Florida SBE Rule 6A-10.030


This rule applies to all students prior to receipt of an Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree from a public community college or university or prior to entry into upper division of a public university. For the purpose of this rule, a grade of “C” or better shall be considered successful completion. All students entering State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota under this Catalog are required to meet the Gordon Rule requirements.

In accordance with Florida Department of Education Administrative Rule Number 6A-10.030, all students are mandated to complete satisfactorily 12 semester hours of courses that include written assignments demonstrating college-level writing skills. Each of the following courses is designed to meet this requirement and requires a prerequisite of ENC 1101 :

Note(s):


I, III, IV Courses fulfill general education requirements for the A.A. degree in areas I, III or IV.

* ENC 1101  with a grade of “C” or better is a prerequisite.

** ENC 1102  with a grade of “C” or better is a prerequisite, or a corequisite.

+ Courses fulfill the international/intercultural requirement.

Exceptions to Gordon Rule Writing:


  1. Any student who completes the first six hours of English coursework required by this rule with an “A” (grade point average of 4.0) may waive completion of the remaining six hours until after entry into the university.
  2. Completion of an Advanced Placement English course, with a score of three or better on the AP exam, will meet the ENC 1101-1102 portion of this requirement.
  3. Students may be exempt if they enrolled prior to January 1983 and have maintained continuous enrollment.

In accordance with Florida State Department of Education Administrative Rule Number 6A-10.030, all students enrolling in any college for the first time on or after Jan. 1, 1983, are mandated to complete satisfactorily a minimum of six semester hours of mathematics from any of the following courses:

Exceptions to Gordon Rule Mathematics:


Any student who has satisfied College Level Examination Program requirements in mathematics and whose high school transcript shows successful completion of higher mathematics course work, including college algebra, trigonometry and calculus, shall be exempted from the mathematics requirements of this rule.

Completion of an AP calculus course with a score of “3” or better on the AP exam will meet this requirement.

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