03:01:00 Degree Requirements

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to specify the common general education requirements at the lower division, for institutions governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.

Policy

I. Introduction

The Tennessee Board of Regents acknowledges that each institution in the State University and Community College System of Tennessee may subscribe to a different philosophy as it pertains to general education requirements. It is recognized that these variances are reflections of differences in institutional mission, program scope, and student type, as well as other factors.

The 41 semester credit hour plan described in the following pages is regarded as a minimum requirement for all students earning baccalaureate degrees and associate degrees designed for transfer purposes from institutions in this System. Institutions should incorporate these degree requirements either as part of their general education policy or as part of their institutional degree requirements or as a combination of both. Furthermore, the Tennessee Board of Regents addressed the quality of course work credit by determining that any course for which a student receives degree credit should presume and not replicate the Basic Academic Competencies defined by the Educational Equality Project of the College Board (the Green Book) as what a student needs to know and be able to do upon college entry. A student will demonstrate academic readiness for college-level courses by meeting or surpassing established scores on specified assessment instrument(s).
 

II. Minimum Degree Requirements

1. All baccalaureate degrees offered by institutions in the State University and Community College System of Tennessee shall require a minimum of 120 semester credit hours, and all associate degrees shall require a minimum of 60 semester credit hours. Credit hours earned in remedial or developmental courses are institutional credit; they are not applicable to credit hours required for any certificate, associate, or baccalaureate degree.
    
2. Effective Fall Semester 2004, each institution in the State University and Community College System of Tennessee (hereafter identified as the Tennessee Board of Regents System) will subscribe to common general education requirements at the lower-division. These requirements consist of forty-one (41) semester hours in the following subject categories and are required for completion of the Associate of Arts (A.A.), Associate of Science (A.S.), and all baccalaureate degrees.
    

*Six (6) semester hours of English composition and three (3) semester hours in English oral presentational communication are required.

**Six (6) semester hours of American History are required at universities and a six-semester hour history sequence is required at community colleges. Community college advisors should recommend that students select history courses in accordance with the requirements of the college or university to which they plan to transfer. If the student plans to transfer to a university within the Tennessee Board of Regents System, American History should be taken. Three (3) semester hours of Tennessee History may substitute for three (3) semester hours of American History.

Courses specified as meeting general education requirements are published in the catalog of each institution and may be viewed on the web site of the Tennessee Board of Regents.

Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree shall be required to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to completion of two years of college-level work. Students pursuing an Associate of Arts degree shall be required to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to completion of one year of college-level work.
 

III. Transfer Provisions of General Education Courses

Students who complete the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree and transfer to a university within the Tennessee Board of Regents System will have satisfied all lower-division general education requirements.
 

1. Students who complete blocks of subject categories will have satisfied the general education requirements for the categories of note. For example, if the eight (8) semester hours of natural sciences are completed, then this block of the general education requirement is fulfilled upon transfer to an institution within the Tennessee Board of Regents System. When a subject category is incomplete, a course by-course evaluation will be conducted, and the student will be subject to specific requirements of the receiving institution.
    
2. Institutional/departmental requirements of the grade of “C” will be honored. If credit is granted for a course with the grade of “D,” any specific requirements for the grade of “C” by the receiving institution will be enforced.
    
3. In certain majors, specific courses must also be taken in general education. It is important that students and advisors be aware of any major requirements that must be fulfilled under lowerdivision general education. In cases where specific courses are required as a part of general education for certain majors, the student is responsible for enrolling in the correct courses. Failure to fulfill specific major requirements in lower-division general education may result in the need to complete additional courses.
    

IV. General Education Requirements for the Associate of Applied Science Degree

The Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree is not designed to transfer to baccalaureate programs; however, a general education component is required. The following distribution of general education courses is required for the A.A.S. degree in all community colleges within the Tennessee Board of Regents System.
 

*Specific courses satisfying these requirements must be the same courses that satisfy the general education requirement for the Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or baccalaureate degrees. Source: TBR Meetings, June 25, 1976; June 25, 1982, March 20, 1987, June 24, 1988; December 5, 1997; June 29, 2001. Policy Reviewed 01/15; 05/16; 08/23