SUNY General Education Requirement (GER)
Students entering Niagara County Community College in the Fall 2023 or later semesters enrolled in an Associate in Arts degree (AA) or an Associated in Science degree (AS) must earn 30 credits selected from approved general education courses distributed over seven (7) knowledge and skills areas.
Students entering Niagara County Community College in the Fall 2024 or later semesters enrolled in an Associate in Applied Science degree (AAS) must earn 20 credits selected from approved general education courses distributed over four (4) knowledge and skills areas.
These general education courses are posted on the college website: General Education Approved Courses. The ten (10) Knowledge and Skills Areas are as follows:
Required of all AA, AS, and AAS degrees:
Communication - Written and Oral (COMW & COMO)
Mathematics (and Quantitative Reasoning) (MATH)
Natural Science (and Scientific Reasoning) (NSCI)
Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DVRS)
Required of all AA and AS degrees. Courses in 3 of the following 6 Knowledge and Skills areas:
Humanities (HUMN)
Social Science (SOCS)
The Arts (ARTS)
US History & Civic Engagement (USCV)
World History & Global Awareness (GLBL)
World Languages (WLNG)
Students must meet the two SUNY Competencies of Critical Thinking and Information Literacy along with the single Middle States Competency of Computer Literacy by completing courses embedded throughout their curriculum.
Note: If you entered Niagara County Community College prior to Fall 2023, you may elect to continue your academic career under the older general education guidelines located here.
Transfer
Once a student has completed General Education requirements at NCCC, those requirements will be accepted as completed at any SUNY college. Students should be aware that the transfer college may have additional graduation minimum degree requirements that are also labeled as General Education. Please refer to the college catalog of the transfer college. Students, who have transferred to NCCC from another college or university, should submit their transcripts to the College for evaluation. Part of that evaluation will include an analysis of courses for the General Education requirement.
Additional General Education Information
Courses That Count In More Than One Knowledge and Skill Area: Several courses can qualify in two Knowledge and Skill areas. For example, SOC 101 meets both the Social Science and the Diversity requirements satisfying both areas. If a student elects to take a course that meets two Knowledge and Skills areas, they must still complete a total of 30 credits of SUNY GE.
Waiver Criteria: Some requirements may be waived or modified based upon standardized tests. Waiver information is located below.
General Education Requirement Waiver Criteria
Knowledge
Skills Area |
AP Scores of
3, 4 or 5
|
CLEP
(Minimum Score) |
|
MATH
Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning
|
Calculus (AB)
Calculus (BC)
|
Calculus w/Elementary
Functions (50)
College Algebra (50)
College Algebra w/Trig (50)
|
|
NSCI
Natural Science & Scientific Reasoning
|
Exams in Biology, Chemistry,
Physics (B or C)
|
General Biology (50)
General Chemistry (50)
|
|
SOCS
Social Sciences
|
Exams in
Psychology
Political Science
|
Amer Government (50)
Intro to Psychology (50)
Intro to Sociology (50)
Prin. Microeconomics (50)
Prin. Macroeconomics (50)
|
|
USCV
U.S. History & Civic Engagement
|
Exam in
American History
|
Amer. Government (50)
Amer. History to 1877 (50)
Amer. History to 1865+ (50)
|
|
HUMN
Humanities
|
Exams in Art History (B)
English
|
American Literature (50)
English Literature (50)
|
|
ARTS
The Arts
|
Exams in Art Studio (A),
Music
|
|
|
WLNG
World Language
|
|
College French I (50)
College French II (62)
College German I (50)
College German II (63)
College Spanish I (50)
College Spanish II (63)
|
|
COMW
Communication - Written
|
English
|
420 or higher on CLEP
General English Exam:
College Composition (50)
|
General Education Student Learning Outcomes
Communication - Written & Oral
Students will
- research a topic, develop an argument, and organize supporting details;
- demonstrate coherent college-level communication (written and oral) that informs, persuades, or otherwise engages with an audience;
- evaluate communication for substance, bias, and intended effect; and
- demonstrate the ability to revise and improve written and oral communication.
Critical Thinking
Students will
- clearly articulate an issue or problem;
- identify, analyze, and evaluate ideas, data, and arguments as they occur in their own or others’ work;
- acknowledge limitations such as perspective and bias; and
- develop well-reasoned (logical) arguments to form judgments and/or draw conclusions.
Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice
Students will
- describe the historical and contemporary societal factors that shape the development of individual and group identity involving race, class, and gender;
- analyze the role that complex networks of social structures and systems play in the creation and perpetuation of the dynamics of power, privilege, oppression, and opportunity;
- and apply the principles of rights, access, equity, and autonomous participation to past, current, or future social justice action.
Humanities
Students will
- demonstrate knowledge of the conventions and methods of at least one of the humanities; and
- recognize and analyze nuance and complexity of meaning through critical reflections on text, visual images, or artifacts.
Information Literacy
Students will
- locate information effectively using tools appropriate to their need and discipline;
- evaluate information with an awareness of authority, validity, and bias; and
- demonstrate an understanding of the ethical dimensions of information use, creation, and dissemination.
Mathematics & Quantitative Analysis
Students will
- demonstrate mathematical skills and quantitative reasoning, including the ability to
- interpret and draw inferences from appropriate mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables, or schematics;
- represent mathematical information symbolically, visually, numerically, or verbally as appropriate; and
- employ quantitative methods such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, or statistics to solve problems.
Natural Science & Scientific Reasoning
Students will
- demonstrate scientific reasoning applied to the natural world, including
- an understanding of the methods scientists use to explore natural phenomena, including observation, hypothesis development, measurement and data collection, experimentation, evaluation of evidence, and employment of data analysis or mathematical modeling; and
- application of scientific data, concepts, and models in one of the natural sciences
Social Sciences
Students will
- describe major concepts and theories of at least one discipline in the social sciences; and
- demonstrate an understanding of the methods social scientists use to explore social phenomena.
The Arts
Students will
- demonstrate an understanding of at least one principal form of artistic expression and the creative process inherent therein.
US History & Civic Engagement
Students will
- demonstrate understanding of United States’ society and/or history, including the diversity of individuals and communities that make up the nation;
- understand the role of individual participation in US communities and government; and
- apply historical and contemporary evidence to draw, support, or verify conclusions.
World History & Global Awareness
Students will
- demonstrate knowledge of a broad outline of world history and/or the development of the distinctive features of at least one civilization or culture in relation to other regions of the world; and
- demonstrate an understanding of the structures, systems, and interrelationships among civilizations and cultures within historical and/or contemporary contexts, and their impact on wellbeing and sustainability.
World Language
Students will
- exhibit basic proficiency in the understanding and use of a world language; and
- demonstrate knowledge of the distinctive features of culture(s) associated with the language they are studying.
