2020-2021 Student Catalog 
    
    Mar 19, 2024  
2020-2021 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 2015 or later, to earn a SUNY associate’s degree, you must earn 30 credits selected from SUNY approved general education courses.  These courses are posted on the college website:  SUNY General Education Approved  Courses and are also listed below.  In addition, the 30 credit hours must include courses selected from the following ten Knowledge and Skills Areas:

Basic Communication (BC) (required)
Mathematics (M) (required)

Courses in 5 of the following 8 Knowledge and Skills areas:

American History (AH)
Arts (AR)
Foreign Language (FL)
Humanities (H)
Natural Science (NS)
Other World Civilization (OW)
Social Science (SS)
Western Civilization (WC)

Students will meet the two SUNY Competencies of Critical Thinking and Information Management by completing courses embedded throughout their curriculum.

SUNY General Education Student Learning Outcomes

Please go to the following link for the Student Learning Outcomes in each of the Knowledge and Skills areas and Competencies:  Student Learning Outcomes.

Note:  If you entered SUNY between fall 2010 and fall 2014, 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

Transfer

Students interested in transferring to a SUNY school can find out more about the SUNY General Education requirements at the following link:  SUNY General Education Requirements.

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.

Additional General Education Information

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:  Waiver Criteria.

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.

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 2020


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

AH - American History


AR - Arts


NS - Natural Science


Note:


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

+ 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 or Regents Algebra II and Trigonometry

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.