General Education Program (GenEd) General Information - Online - 1 August 2003 67 GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM (GENED) Mission The mission of the General Education program is to foster competencies and perspectives that enrich and enhance our life experiences. Liberal arts education at the University of Northern Colorado extends beyond the teaching and learning of vocational skills and the acquisition of specialized knowledge. The program provides skills and abilities which strengthen an individual’s capacity to both make a living and to have a satisfying life. It promotes an understanding of the circumstances and events which may not have shaped our personal development but that may exert a strong influence on the ability of others to read, hear, or understand our viewpoints. The skills component of General Education fosters growth in critical thinking, computational ability, self-expression in written, oral and graphic forms and physical competence. All of these skills improve your ability to understand or develop new ideas and to present them to others. The content component of General Education deals with the complexity and integrated nature of knowledge. It focuses on the paradigms and patterns of inquiry of many disciplines and the fundamentally multidisciplinary character of true understanding. The many different approaches to subject matter and problem-solving practiced in the humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences and mathematics all contribute to an appreciation of diversity and the value of inquiry. The interdisciplinary, multicultural and international courses provide a grounding in the wealth of human experience and the necessity of taking this diversity into account throughout our lives. Collectively, the skills and content components of the General Education program provide the framework for lifelong learning and personal growth. They provide an understanding of and perspective on our history, current events and future challenges. This foundation increases the ability of students to apply the knowledge acquired in major, minor and other parts of their education program more effectively. The courses included in the General Education program represent a variety of disciplines, but are designed to help all students reach some common goals. Each of the seven categories in General Education has its own set of criteria, which all courses offered in that category must meet. Each category of courses also has its own set of student performance expectations. As students complete general education courses their achievement of the expectations will be assessed. In turn, students are provided with the opportunity to comment on the effectiveness of the courses in helping to meet the performance expectations. The requirements in the Skills Areas are intended to help you to develop: •   Correct and effective use of the English language in generating writing in a variety of formats. •  The ability to gather and interpret information from a variety of sources, including computerized retrieval systems. •  Numerical, statistical and algebraic skills required for the understanding and investigation of real world problems. •  The ability and confidence to interpret numerical and graphical data. •  Appropriate use of technology in support of mathematical studies. •  Successful strategies for group participation in physical activity. •  Skills and techniques necessary for participation in physical activity. •  Knowledge that will help you to enhance and maintain your personal fitness and health. The requirements in the Content Areas are intended to help you to: •  Understand the historical frameworks of and interactions between diverse disciplines. •  Understand and apply research techniques from different disciplines. You will collect, organize and interpret data using current technology. •  Assess the validity of diverse sources of information. •  Understand Western and non-Western cultures and values. •  Understand the perspectives, contributions and concerns of different ethnic, gender and age groups. •  Be able to identify important issues involved in human welfare and survival. Requirements The General Education Program at UNC is divided into two areas: Skills Area — Category 1. - Category 3. and Content Area — Category 4. - Category 7. •  An overall minimum of 40 semester credit hours selected from the Skills and Content Areas (Categories 1 - 7) •  At least 30 semester hours must be taken in the Content area. •  Only 6 semester hours of general education courses may be courses carrying the students’ major prefix (i.e. Music majors can only use 6 hours of courses with the course prefix of MUS). Offerings The typical frequency of offering of each General Education course is indicated following the credit hours for the course. Frequencies are indicated using the following codes: SEM — course is offered every Fall and Spring Semester 1YR — course is offered every Academic Year 2YR — course is offered every two (2) Academic Years IRR — course is offered irregularly Please note: The frequency listed is typical and may be affected by departmental ability to staff the course when it is typically scheduled. Skills Area Requirements Category 1. Composition — 6 credits Choose 2 courses; one must be ENG 122 College Composition (3), and the second course selected from b. Intermediate Composition courses. a. Elementary Composition ENG 122 College Composition (3) SEM b. Intermediate Composition ANT 315 Life History and Culture (3) 1YR BA 205 Business Communications (3) SEM AFS 305 Survey of African American Literature (3) 1YR ENG 123 College Research Paper (3) SEM ENG 225 Communications on a Theme (3) 1YR ENG 227 Technical Writing (3) 2YR MUS 152 Writing and Scholarship in the Performing and Visual Arts (3) 1YR PHIL 101 Critical Thinking and Writing (3) IRR SCI 291 Scientific Writing (3) SEM Category 2. Mathematics — 3 credits One course, chosen from among these listed courses, except that MATH 181 and MATH 182 must both be taken together to satisfy the requirement: MATH 120 Mathematics and Liberal Arts (3) MATH 124 College Algebra (4) SEM MATH 125 Plane Trigonometry (3) SEM MATH 127 Elementary Functions (4) SEM MATH 131 Calculus I (4) SEM MATH 175 Topics in Finite Mathematics (3) SEM *MATH 181 Fundamentals of Mathematics I (3) MATH 182 Fundamentals of Mathematics II (2) STAT 150 Introduction to Statistical Analysis (3) SEM STAT 250 Statistics for Health Sciences (3) SEM