General Education

SUNY General Education Requirement (GER)

The State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees requires students who receive a baccalaureate (four-year) degree from SUNY to complete courses covering ten Knowledge and Skills areas and two Competencies.

Knowledge and Skills Areas:

Mathematics (M)
Natural Science (NS)
Social Science (SS)
American History (AH)
Western Civilization (WC)
Other World Civilization (OW)
Humanities (H)
The Arts (AR)
Foreign Language (FL)
Basic Communication (BC)

Competencies:

Information Management
Critical Thinking

The student learning outcomes for each of these 12 areas are listed on the college website.The knowledge and skills areas will be fulfilled by completing approved general education courses. The two competencies will be embedded throughout the curriculum.

Approved SUNY General Education Courses: A grid of approved SUNY GE courses is posted on the college website.

Transfer: Once a student has completed a SUNY General Education requirement at NCCC, that requirement will be accepted as completed at any SUNY college. Students must understand 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 transcript(s) to the College for evaluation. Part of that evaluation will include an analysis of courses for the General Education requirement.

Waiver Criteria: Some requirements may be waived or modified based upon high school work and standardized tests. (See chart below).

Courses That Count In More Than One Area: Several courses can count in two areas. For example, ART 137 meets both the Arts and the Western Civilization requirements. If a student takes a course that meets two requirements, he or she must still complete 30 credits of SUNY GER.

Exception to Courses That Count in More Than One Area - Humanities: An exception to this is the Humanities requirement. Any course used to satisfy the Humanities requirement may not be used to satisfy another category. For example, if MUS 117 is used to satisfy Humanities then it cannot fulfill the Arts requirement. The approved course grid on the College website lists these details.

NCCC General Education Goals

1. The College will facilitate the completion of the two SUNY General Education competency requirements of Critical Thinking and Information Management by all students.
2. The College will facilitate the completion of at least seven of the 10 SUNY General Education knowledge and skill requirements by all AA and AS students.
3. The College will facilitate the completion of as many SUNY General Education knowledge and skill requirements as possible (four or five) within the parameters of all AAS programs.

Differences between SUNY GER and NCCC Curriculum Requirements: Some courses fulfill SUNY GER requirements but do not fulfill NCCC curriculum requirements in the same category. For example, ANT 230 fulfills the Natural Science requirement for SUNY GER but does not fulfill the science requirement of many programs. Some anthropology, art, music, and theatre courses fulfill the Western Civilization requirement for SUNY GER but only courses with the prefix HIS fulfill the history requirement of many programs. Students needing clarification should consult with their advisors.

Approved Courses — January 2010

Faculty and students should use this chart when selecting NCCC courses that satisfy General Education requirements

SUNY General Education Requirement Waiver Criteria

[ ] Not accepted as equivalent of NCCC course.