Nov 14, 2024  
2024-2025 College Catalog and Student Handbook 
    
2024-2025 College Catalog and Student Handbook

General Education


Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the Tennessee Board of Regents general education core is to ensure that college graduates have the broad knowledge and skills to become lifelong learners in a global community that will continue to change. Because course requirements in general education emphasis breadth, they are not reduced to the skills, techniques or procedures associated with a specific occupation or profession. As a fundamental element of the associate degree, the general education core is essential for full completion of all degrees.

General education provides critical thinking skills enabling students to discover authoritative answers to questions, and to solve challenging problems. Specifically, educated people practice and are literate in many forms of communication. They recognize their place in the history, culture, and diverse heritage of Tennessee, the United States, and the world. They appreciate the web of commonality of all humans in a multicultural world and are prepared for the responsibilities of engaged citizenship. They recognize the ethical demands of modern life. They demonstrate the skills and knowledge of the social and behavioral sciences to analyze contemporary society. They are familiar with the history and aesthetics of the fine arts. They understand and practice the scientific and mathematical view of the world.

Finally, Tennessee’s general education core provides for its citizens the means to make a better living. It also, perhaps, above all, enables its citizens to have a better life.

Competencies

Students completing the general education core will minimally demonstrate competencies in each of the following areas:

  1. The ability to write clear, effective academic argument that includes the academic research skills of critical reading and gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and transmitting information.
  2. The ability to communicate orally through informing, persuading, listening and relating to others.
  3. The ability to analyze/discuss/and use quantitative information, demonstrate a reasonable level of facility in mathematical problem solving and recognize connections between mathematics and other disciplines.

 

General Education Courses


Natural Sciences


Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Associate of Science (A.S.) Degrees


   
Communication 9 hours *
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 9 hours **
Behavioral/Social Sciences 6 hours
History 6 hours ***
Natural Sciences 8 hours
Mathematics 3 hours
  Total 41 hours

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

**One course in literature is required.

***Students who plan to transfer to Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) universities should take six (6) hours of American History (three hours of Tennessee History may substitute). Students who plan to transfer to University of Tennessee System universities or to out-of-state or private universities should check requirements and take the appropriate courses.

Foreign language courses will be an additional requirement for the Associate of Arts and the Bachelor of Arts degrees.

Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) Degrees


   
English Composition 3 hours
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 3 hours ****
Behavioral/Social Sciences 3 hours ****
Natural Science/Mathematics 3-4 hours ****
One additional course from the categories of:**** 3-4 hours
  Communication, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Behavioral/Social Sciences, or Natural Science/Mathematics  
Total 15-17 hours

****Specific courses satisfying these requirements must be the same courses that satisfy the general education requirement for the associate (A.A./A.S.) and Baccalaureate degrees.

Associate of Science Teaching (A.S.T.) Degree


Note(s):


 

Associate of Arts/ Associate of Science degree programs are designed for the student who desires to transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a baccalaureate degree. The information presented in a university parallel curriculum is not intended to represent requirements for any particular college or university. Students should consult articulation agreements, the catalog of the school to which they intend to transfer and their advisors for information on degree requirements.

Associate of Science in Teaching is a jointly developed degree through the TBR community colleges. Currently, students in the community colleges follow articulation agreements worked out with nearby four-year teacher preparation colleges. With the A.S.T., students will be able to enroll in any approved transfer teacher education program at a public Tennessee four-year institution. Students intending to transfer to the UT system or private institutions should consult a faculty advisor on the appropriateness of this program for transfer.

Associate of Applied Science and Academic/Technical Certificate programs are designed for the student who desires to enter employment upon graduation and does not intend to transfer to a baccalaureate degree program. A student admitted to an Associate of Applied Science program is not required to complete high school units of study required for admission to a university. However, should the student later decide to attend a state university, the requirements must be completed prior to admission to a baccalaureate program.

See an advisor for assistance in planning your academic program.