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BREADTH OF DEGREE PROGRAMS AND SUNY GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

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BREADTH IN DEGREE PROGRAMS As 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. SUNY GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS As an institution of the State University of New York, Empire State College is required to implement the policy of the SUNY 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 baccalaureate 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 show competence in the following quantitative reasoning skills: arithmetic algebra geometry data analysis quantitative reasoning 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-Western 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 Languages 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 Communications 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. Approved February 7, 2000

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