2013-14 University Bulletin

Nov 22, 2024

2013-14 University Bulletin [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

General Education Program

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Charles Shopsis, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Chair of General Education Committee
Science Building, Room 123A
e - shopsis@adelphi.edu
w - arts-sciences.adelphi.edu/about/general-education/

Part of the mission of Adelphi University is to provide its students with the skills and knowledge that all individuals need to lead good and productive lives and to become valuable citizens of their communities. These aims are addressed explicitly in the General Education program, a set of course requirements that all Adelphi undergraduates must complete in order to graduate.

The General Education requirements were recently revised; the new requirements, described below, apply to first year students who entered Adelphi in fall 2011 and after, and to transfer students who enter Adelphi in fall 2012 and after. The previous requirements, which apply to many current students, are also described below. The revised General Education program is designed to ensure that students gain exposure to subjects from different areas of knowledge and that students receive direct instruction and feedback in six fundamental areas, which have been designated as general learning goals:

Critical and Integrative Thinking
Communication
Quantitative Reasoning
Information Literacy
Artistic Understanding and Practice
Global Learning/Civic Engagement

General Education Requirements

A. Current: For first year students beginning at Adelphi in fall 2011 and after and for transfer students beginning at Adelphi in fall 2012 and after

Freshman Year Requirements (applies to all undergraduate students)

GEN (0952) 100 - First Year Orientation Experience Credits: 1 *
GEN (0952) 110 - First Year Seminar Credits: 3.00 *
ENG (0122) 107 - Art & Craft of Writing Credits: 3

Note:

*Transfer students are generally exempt from these requirements, and may be exempted from other requirements depending on which courses they are granted transfer credit for.

Distribution Course Requirements

Two courses in the Arts (A)
Two courses in the Humanities (H)
Two courses in the Social Sciences (SS)
One course in Natural Science (NS)
One course in Formal Science (FS)

Learning Goal Requirements

Two course in Communication. One may be in Oral Communication (Co). At least one must be in Written Communication (Cw)
Two courses in Quantitative Reasoning (Q)
Two courses in Global Learning/Civic Engagement (G)
One course in Information Literacy (L)

Notes:

After a student matriculates at Adelphi, courses taken at other institutions may not be used to fulfill a Learning Goal requirement.
The letters in parentheses above, for example the “(SS)” after “Social Sciences”, are the codes used in course listings to indicate which distribution and/or learning goal requirement(s) a course fulfills. The numbers of credits and courses required to fulfill General Education requirements for the above students are variable because a single course may fulfill up to two Learning Goal Requirements and one distribution requirement, and because the requirements are for courses rather than credits. Courses that fulfill the above requirements appear on a list on our web site and may be searched for on course listings, in CLASS or in Course Search, all accessible via the electronic portal, eCampus.

Capstone Requirement

Every undergraduate is required to complete a capstone course or project as part of the major. See the section at the end for a fuller explanation. The specific capstone requirement for each major is given in the program of study for the major.

B. Previous: For students who began at Adelphi as first year students prior to fall 2011 and for transfer students who began at Adelphi prior to fall 2012

GEN (0952) 100 - First Year Orientation Experience Credits: 1 *
GEN (0952) 110 - First Year Seminar Credits: 3.00 *
ENG (0122) 107 - Art & Craft of Writing Credits: 3
Second Competency course, Credits: 3 (courses listed below)
Distribution Courses, Credits: 24:

6 credits in the Arts: Art/Art History, Communications, Performing Arts, Music
6 credits in the Humanities: English, History, International Studies, Philosophy
6 credits in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Biology, Biochemistry/Chemistry, Computer Science/Mathematics, Physics
6 credits in the Social Sciences: Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology

Details of the General Education Course Requirements

Freshman Year Requirements

In the first semester of the freshman year, students take the following:

1. A one-credit course entitled GEN (0952) 100 - First Year Orientation Experience . This course serves as an introduction to university life in its various curricular and cocurricular aspects. Discussions include majors, career planning, student activities, volunteer service opportunities, and the complex community and social issues faced by new college students. The course also covers library and research skills, including the use of information technology, introduces students to resources on campus (Career Development Center, Learning Center, Writing Center, Computer Center), and discusses important social, academic, and community issues.

2. A three-credit GEN (0952) 110 - First Year Seminar . This course introduces freshmen to intellectual life at Adelphi University by providing them with a learning experience that exposes them to exciting and challenging ideas in a seminar format with professors teaching in their areas of expertise. The seminar format provides opportunity for extensive discussion and writing assignments that will promote the development of critical thinking skills. Although a wide range of subject choices is available to students, each seminar has the common goal of improving students’ awareness of global issues and appreciation of the range and value of human diversity.

In the first or second semester of the freshman year, students take the following:

3. A three-credit English Composition course ENG (0122) 107 - Art & Craft of Writing . This course helps develop and improve writing skills that are essential to clear thinking and to success in college and beyond.

Additional Requirements (current)

Additional requirements for first year students beginning at Adelphi in fall 2011 and after and for transfer students beginning at Adelphi in fall 2012 and after

Distribution Course Requirements

This component of the General Education program is designed to encourage students to learn the methods of inquiry and subject matter in a wide spectrum of disciplines. Every student must complete at least two courses that have been designated as exemplifying each of the following three areas: the arts (A), humanities (H), social sciences (SS); and at least one course in each of the following two areas: natural sciences (NS) and formal sciences (FS; includes mathematics and logic). These distribution requirements can be fulfilled by introductory level non-major courses and by courses that meet major or minor requirements in the discipline, designated with the appropriate codes in the course listing. The intention of this provision is to permit students who become intrigued with a discipline while meeting distribution requirements to use the course(s) taken toward a major, minor, or second major.

Learning Goal Requirements

Adelphi’s faculty have specified six learning goals for Adelphi undergraduates–skills and areas of knowledge that the faculty believe are essential for educated citizens. These learning goals are:

Critical and Integrative Thinking
Communication, Written (Cw) and Oral (Co)
Quantitative Reasoning (Q)
Information Literacy (L)
Artistic Understanding and Practice
Global Learning/Civic Engagement (G)

Critical and integrative thinking is developed in most courses throughout the curriculum, and artistic understanding and practice is developed in courses taken to meet the Arts distribution requirement. To ensure that the other learning goals are met, students must take two courses designated as emphasizing quantitative reasoning (Q), two courses that emphasize global learning/civic engagement (G), two courses that emphasize communication (C; at least one of which must emphasize written communication, Cw), and one course that emphasizes information literacy (L). The courses that meet each learning goal are designated by the corresponding one- or two-letter codes.

Note that courses taken at other institutions after a student matriculates at Adelphi may not be used to fulfill Learning Goal requirements.

Additional Requirements (previous)

Additional requirements for students who began at Adelphi as first year students prior to fall 2011, or who transferred to Adelphi prior to fall 2012

A Second Competency course

This course provides additional skills useful in many subject areas throughout college and beyond (the ENG 107 course described above is considered a first competency course). This requirement can be met by one of the following courses:

Computer Use, CSC 170 ; English as a Second Language, ESL 111 or ESL 112 , permission required; an additional English composition course, ENG 108 , ENG 109 , or ENG 110 ; Foreign Languages, third-semester level (121) or higher; Critical Thinking Skills, PHI 105 ; Statistics, MTH 113 or MTH 114 ; or Public Speaking, SPE 110 or SPE 112 .

Students are encouraged to complete this requirement early in the college career and are urged to use the requirement to develop new skills or gain strength in areas that need improvement. To this end, these courses may be taken on a Pass/Fail basis.

Distribution Course Requirement

This final component of the previous General Education program is designed to encourage students to learn the methods of inquiry and subject matter in a wide spectrum of disciplines. Every student must complete at least six credits in each of the following four areas: the arts (art/art history, communications, performing arts, music), humanities and languages (English, history, international studies, philosophy), natural sciences and mathematics (biology, biochemistry/chemistry, computer science/mathematics, physics), and the social sciences (anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology) for a total of 24 credits. Courses in interdisciplinary programs (e.g., Environmental Studies, African American and Ethnic Studies) are allocated to one of the four areas above as appropriate. These distribution requirements can be fulfilled by any courses that meet major or minor requirements in the discipline. In addition, students can choose from introductory level non-major courses in several of these disciplines. Students should consult their advisers for help in selecting these courses. Courses taken to meet the distribution requirement can also serve to meet major or minor requirements. The intention of this provision is to permit students who become intrigued with a discipline while meeting distribution requirements to use the course(s) taken toward a major, minor, or second major.

Transfer Students

Transfer students may be exempt from some of these requirements and will receive credit for courses taken at other institutions that are equivalent to Adelphi’s General Education courses. University advisers and admissions officers can counsel students in these matters. Specific requirements for transfer students are also available on the University’s Web site at admissions.adelphi.edu/transfer/

Students who have received an A.A. or A.S. degree (but not an A.A.S. degree) from an accredited institution prior to their transfer to Adelphi are exempt from all General Education requirements.

Students who matriculate at Adelphi with 60 or more transfer credits but without an A.A. or A.S. (or B.A. or B.S.) degree can fulfill the General Education Distribution requirements by successfully completing 6 credits of approved Social Science courses, 6 credits of approved Science/Math courses, and a total of 12 credits in any combination of approved courses in the Humanities and Arts prior to graduation. (These may include courses taken at the prior institution from which they have earned credits.)

Under this program, courses taken at other institutions after a student matriculates at Adelphi may not be used to fulfill learning goal requirements.

Undergraduate Language Requirements

Only undergraduates majoring in the College of Arts and Sciences and in a B.A. degree program are required to complete courses in a language other than English, although all students, whatever their major, are encouraged to study another language. The language requirements depend upon a student’s matriculation date. For students entering in:

Fall 2009

All incoming freshmen have to meet a Level 4 language competency if they are majoring in the College of Arts & Sciences with a B.A. degree.

Freshmen that are in the STEP program, who are majoring in the College of Arts & Sciences with a B.A. degree, will need to meet a Level 3 language competency.

Transfer students are exempt from meeting the language requirement.

Fall 2010

All freshmen, including those in the STEP program, have to meet a Level 4 language competency if they are majoring in the College of Arts & Sciences with a B.A. degree.

Transfer students, excluding those in the STEP program, have to meet a Level 4 language competency if they are majoring in the College of Arts & Sciences with a B.A. degree.

STEP transfer students majoring in the College of Arts & Sciences with a B.A. degree will need to meet a Level 3 language competency.

Fall 2011

Both freshmen and transfer students, including those in the STEP program, have to meet Level 4 language competency if they are majoring in the College of Arts & Sciences with a B.A. degree.

Fall 2012 and later

Both freshmen and transfer students, including those in the STEP program, have to meet Level 4 language competency if they are majoring in the College of Arts & Sciences with a B.A. degree.

Level 3 and Level 4 language requirements may be met by evidence of transfer college level language credit, by on-line exam (under Adelphi supervision), or by taking relevant language courses at Adelphi. You may view details at
students.adelphi.edu/gettingstarted/foreignlanguage.php.

Undergraduate Capstone Requirement

Every undergraduate is required to complete a capstone course or project as a requirement for graduation. The particular requirement is determined by the major in which the student is enrolled.

The capstone is a culminating course or project in which students are expected to integrate their learning and produce a significant piece of intellectual work, such as a research project, a policy paper, an art object, or some similar product that demonstrates their learning. The experience may be organized in any number of ways, including senior seminars, group or individual research projects, presentations, exhibitions, performances, independent study, portfolios, or internships.