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State University of New York General Education Requirements
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STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENT
Becoming a well-educated person is one of the goals for every student at Empire State College. Thus everyone who graduates needs to include breadth in their degree program. Beginning with students who enroll in Fall 2000, the State University of New York has also specified some components of every degree which will contribute to a broad educational background. These components are grouped into 10 knowledge areas and two competency areas.
This graduation requirement may be met through contract learning, CDL courses and cross-registration. It may also be met through transfer credit from other regionally accredited institutions and credit earned through the College’s credit by evaluation methods including standardized tests such as CLEP, DANTES, TECEP, Regents College examinations, or the language examinations from New York University; individualized credit by evaluation, and noncollegiate sponsored learning.
The State University of New York General Education Requirement must consist of at least 30 credits and must include all of the areas with the specified learning outcomes listed on the attached sheet. Students pursuing Associate’s degrees at Empire State College must complete a minimum of 21 credits across at least seven of the ten Knowledge and Skill Areas identified in the State University of New York General Education requirement. Any seven of the ten Knowledge and Skill Areas may be included. Students: As you talk with your mentor, plan your individualized degree program, think about possible areas for credit by evaluation and select your contract studies or courses, be sure that you include this requirement.
Academic Policy--Breadth in Degree Programs and SUNY General Education RequirementsBreadth in Degree ProgramsAs a college of arts and sciences, Empire State College expects students to acquire the qualities of a broadly educated person. The purpose of a college education is to enable students not only to accumulate information, but also to appreciate what is learned in a broad context, relate what is being learned to what is already known, judge what one is told rather than merely accept it, and use what is learned in a practical and intellectual way.
The student's learning should extend beyond a single, narrow discipline or field. The student should demonstrate an understanding of several diverse perspectives (such as historical, literary, scientific, technological, esthetic, ethical, international, multicultural and gender-based) and be able to apply such perspectives to situations in which they must analyze, explain or solve problems concerning human behavior, society and the natural world.
State University of New York General Education Requirements As an institution of the State University of New York, Empire State College is required to implement the policy of the State University of New York Board of Trustees regarding general education, enacted December 1998. Students are encouraged to become familiar with the following requirements at an early stage of their studies and to discuss with their mentor how to appropriately incorporate them into their degree program.
The State University of New York's general education requirement applies to all state-operated institutions offering undergraduate degrees. It requires bachelor's degree candidates, as a condition of graduation, to complete a general education program of no fewer than 30 credit hours specifically designed to achieve the student learning outcomes in ten knowledge and skill areas and two competencies, as specified below:
Knowledge and Skill Areas
1. Mathematics*
Students will demonstrate the ability to:
- interpret and draw inferences from mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables and schematics
- represent mathematical information symbolically, visually, numerically and verbally
- employ quantitative methods such as, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, or statistics to solve problems
- estimate and check mathematical results for reasonableness
- recognize the limits of mathematical and statistical methods.
*Revision made by SUNY 4/13/05, reflecting the content of student learning outcomes approved by State and national mathematical organizations.
2. Natural Sciences
Students will demonstrate:
- 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 mathematical analysis; and
- application of scientific data, concepts and models in one of the natural sciences.
3. Social Sciences
Students will demonstrate:
- understanding of the methods social scientists use to explore social phenomena, including observation, hypothesis development, measurement and data collection, experimentation, evaluation of evidence, and employment of mathematical and interpretive analysis; and
- knowledge of major concepts, models and issues of at least one discipline in the social sciences.
4. American History
Students will demonstrate:
- knowledge of a basic narrative of American history: political, economic, social, and cultural including knowledge of unity and diversity in American society;
- knowledge of common institutions in American society and how they have affected different groups; and
- understanding of America's evolving relationship with the rest of the world.
5. Western Civilization
Students will:
- demonstrate knowledge of the development of the distinctive features of the history, institutions, economy, society, culture, etc., of Western civilization; and
- relate the development of Western civilization to that of other regions of the world.
6. Other World Civilizations
Students will demonstrate:
- knowledge of either a broad outline of world history, or the distinctive features of the history, institutions, economy, society, culture, etc., of one non-westem civilization.
7. Humanities
Students will demonstrate:
- knowledge of the conventions and methods of at least one of the humanities in addition to those encompassed by other knowledge areas required by the general education program.
8. The Arts
Students will demonstrate:
- understanding of at least one principal form of artistic expression and the creative process inherent therein.
9. Foreign Language
Students will demonstrate:
- basic proficiency in the understanding and use of a foreign language; and
- knowledge of the distinctive features of culture(s) associated with the language they are studying.
10. Basic Communication
Students will:
- produce coherent texts within common college-level written forms;
- demonstrate the ability to revise and improve such texts;
- research a topic, develop an argument and organize supporting details;
- develop proficiency in oral discourse; and
- evaluate an oral presentation according to established criteria.
Competencies
The following two competencies should be infused throughout the general education program:
1. Critical Thinking (Reasoning)
Students will:
- identify, analyze and evaluate arguments as they occur in their own or others' work, and
- develop well-reasoned arguments.
2. Information Management
Students will:
- perform the basic operations of personal computer use;
- understand and use basic research techniques; and locate, evaluate and synthesize information from a variety of sources.
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