At BSC, a general education program is comprised of courses that contribute to the success of our students not only during their academic careers here but as they move forward in their lives. A goal of general education is to broaden students’ perspectives while they gain crucial skills, enabling them to adapt to changes in their future professions as well as the world around them. Being well-versed in a wide variety of disciplines creates the ability to look at problems from different perspectives to generate possible solutions; therefore, general education excludes specialized knowledge of a particular area of study. 

General education should: 

• Enhance students’ coursework to build skills.  

• Provide the foundational skills of higher education that bolster success. 

• Emphasize competencies vital to all students, and their applications outside of the classroom.

• Help to create informed global citizens. 

• Assist students in learning how to learn. 

General Education Alignment with Institutional Essential Learning Outcomes 

• Communicate effectively. 

• Demonstrate problem-solving abilities. 

• Think critically. 

• Demonstrate the ability to think flexibly and critically about numbers and their operations. 

• Integrate what has been learned to real-world applications. 

• Facilitate applied technology (i.e., technology uses in courses, such as a graphic calculator, etc.). 

• Demonstrate understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

• Demonstrate understanding of digital literacy. 

• Demonstrate the transferable nature of knowledge, skills, and/or competencies developed within the course outside of a particular program, discipline, or field.  

• Provide exposure to issues, ideas, and methods across broad areas of inquiry.  
  • Courses are not appropriate for general education designation if the primary purpose is to serve academic majors in the offering discipline or college.  
• Incorporate academic or applied concepts to enhance student lives and/or future careers in a core, professional track, or applied course. 
  • Core – courses providing generalized, academic knowledge beneficial to many students. 
  • Professional track - courses providing general professional level understanding and universal knowledge of life experiences. 
  • Applied - courses emphasizing applied knowledge and skills that benefit students in their careers and daily lives.    
• Integrate general knowledge within communications, arts and humanities, social and behavioral science, and math, science technology (i.e., GERTA courses) or incorporate general knowledge into specific AAS, BAS, certificate and/or diploma degrees (i.e., other non-GERTA courses).  

• Demonstrate alignment with an IELO (Integrated Learning, Communication, and/or Evaluative Thought) and to general education learning outcomes and assessment. (Note: the general education learning outcomes and assessment will be part of the discussion and decisions made by the committee in the 2024-2025 calendar year). 

• Must remain aligned with an IELO and general education student learning outcomes. 

• Must provide evidence of continuous assessment to IELO and of the appropriate general education student learning outcomes.