2013 - 2014 Student Catalog 
    
    Nov 11, 2024  
2013 - 2014 Student Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

General Education



The college is committed to general education. The SUNY General Education Requirement enables students to acquire knowledge and skills that are useful and important for all educated persons, regardless of their jobs or professions (SUNY Board of Trustees Resolution, January 2010). The NCCC general education policy is consistent with the SUNY General Education requirements.

SUNY General Education Requirement (GER)


If you entered SUNY in fall 2010 or later, to earn a SUNY bachelor’s degree, you must earn 30 credits in at least 7 of the following 10 SUNY -GER subject areas, and demonstrate 2 competencies.

Knowledge and Skills Areas:

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

Competencies:
Critical Thinking (required)
Information Management (required)

Note:  If you entered SUNY between fall 1998 and fall 2009, you may need to complete a course in each of the ten areas and if you entered SUNY before fall 1998, the SUNY-GER may not apply

The above Knowledge and Skills areas will be fulfilled by completing approved general education courses.  The above two competencies will be embedded throughout the curriculum.  Please go to http://www.niagaracc.suny.edu/academics/general_education/SUNY_SLOs.php to view the student learning outcomes in each of the above twelve areas.

Transfer: Students interested in transferring to a SUNY school can find out more about the SUNY General Education requirements at the following link: https://www.suny.edu/student/academic_general_education.cfm.

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.

Specific Courses Required:  General Education requirements vary by campus and by major.  However, if you satisfy a SUNY-GER area at one SUNY campus with a grade of C or higher, you will have met that SUNY-GER area at every other SUNY campus. Campuses may make some exemptions to General Education requirements because of AP, IB, CLEP, DANTES, or ACTFL exams, or prior college credits.

NCCC Approved General Education Courses

A grid of approved NCCC courses that meet the SUNY GE requirements follows this section or can be viewed at http://www.niagaracc.suny.edu/pdf/ge_courses.pdf.

Waiver Criteria: Some requirements may be waived or modified based upon high school work and standardized tests.  Waiver information is located after the grid of approved General Education courses in this catalog or can be viewed at the following link:  http://catalog.niagaracc.suny.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=1&poid=69#core_820.

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.

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 theater 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 - May 2013


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

AH - American History


AR - Arts


BC - Communication


NS - Natural Science


Note:


* These courses appear in more than one category and can be used to satisfy at most two requirements.

** SLA is accepted only for programs in education, health, or social services, where there is likely to be significant contact with the hearing impaired.

# No course used to satisfy the Humanities requirement may be used to satisfy another category.

+ Mathematics waiver granted to students who receive an 85% or above on either the Regents Course III Exam or Math B Exam.

++ Language waiver granted to students completing 3 years of sequential Regents level foreign language with an 85% or above on Regents exam.

SUNY General Education Requirement Waiver Criteria


Knowledge
Skills Area

AP Scores Of
3, 4, Or 5

CLEP
(Minimum Score)

Dantes
(Minimum Score)

Other

M

Mathematics

Calculus (AB)

Calculus (BC)

Calculus w/ Elementary

Functions (50)

College Algebra (50)

College Algebra w/Trig (50)

[Fundamentals of College Algebra (47)]

Score of 85% or higher on

Regents Math B exam

NS

Natural Sciences

Exams in Biology

Chemistry,

Physics (B or C)

General Biology (50)

General Chemistry (50)

   

SS

Social Sciences

Exams in

Psychology

Political Science

Amer Government (50)

Intro Psychology (50)

Intro Sociology (50)

Prin Microeconomics (50)
Prin Macroeconomics (50)

[General Anthropology (47)]

 

AH

U.S. History

Exam in

American History

Amer Government (50)

Amer History to 1877 (50)

Amer History 1865+ (50)

 

Wider range of choice if 85% or higher on Regents

WC

Western Civilization

Exams in Art History (B),

European History

Western Civilization to 1648 (50)

Western Civilization 1648+ (50)

   

OW

Other World Civilization

   

[Human/Cultural Geography (48)]

 

H

Humanities

Exams in Art

History (B),

English

Amer Literature (50)

English Literature (50)

   

AR

The Arts

Exams in Art Studio (A),

Music

     

FL

Foreign 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)

 

3 years of sequential Regents level foreign language in high school with 85% or above on Regents exams

BC

Basic Communication

English

420 or higher on CLEP

General English Exam:

College Composit (50)

   

[ ] Not accepted as equivalent of NCCC course.