| University of Arkansas at Little Rock |
| Policy Name: General Education Requirements for Baccalaureate and Associate Degrees |
| Policy Number: 503.3 |
| Effective Date: January 5, 2015 |
Policy:
General Education Requirements (UA Little Rock Core Curriculum)
General education nurtures in students the knowledge, skills, habits of mind, and values that provide a foundation for their baccalaureate program and for lifelong learning. General education fosters intellectual breadth, serves as a context for more specialized study, and is essential to the full development of persons who wish to participate meaningfully in the various communities of which they are a part.
Given these goals, we endorse the following Educational Outcomes in the areas of Knowledge, Skills, and Citizenship. We recognize that certain specific aspects of these outcomes will be discipline specific, and we expect that the level of competence in each area will be defined and assessed according to the individual disciplines. The recommendations for core courses and other curriculum changes should be informed by these general outcomes. As programs develop, changes, deletions, or additions may be necessary, and this document outlines a process for making those changes.
Educational Outcomes
Skills
- Communication (oral, written, visual, professional self-presentation).
- Critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and solving problems individually and collaboratively.
- Information technology (locating, retrieving, evaluating, synthesizing).
Knowledge
- The concepts, methodologies, findings, and applications of mathematics and the social and natural sciences, engineering, and technology.
- Concepts, methodologies, and global cultural heritage of the arts and humanities.
Values
- Ethical and personal responsibility.
- Civic responsibility.
- Global and cultural understanding.
General Education
The UA Little Rock Core Curriculum is 35 semester credits. These 35 credits will be divided in the following way: 21 credits in the Standard Core and 14 credits in the College Cores. The Standard and College cores together satisfy the Arkansas State Minimum Core. Some colleges, departments, or programs may have additional requirements.
UA Little Rock Standard Core (21 hours)
The UA Little Rock Standard Core is intended to make available to students an introduction to the richness of human thought and creativity that find expression in the areas of the liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences. Additionally, the Standard Core serves as the starting point for students to achieve the UA Little Rock Educational Goals while providing a maximum of transferable credits among colleges to allow students to explore a variety of disciplines before selecting a major.
Communication – Written (6 hours)
Courses in this area focus on teaching students to develop ideas and express them clearly, adapt language to rhetorical situations, and build the skills needed to communicate ethically and effectively in their academic, professional, and civic lives.
Courses focus on reading and writing. All courses in this area also address information technology, critical thinking, a commitment to ethical behavior, and civic and personal responsibility.
Fine Arts (3 hours)
Courses in this area offer a broad overview of one or more art forms, with options for more precise focus. They focus on the appreciation and analysis of creative artifacts; involve the synthesis and interpretation of artistic expression; and enable critical and creative communication about works of art, with some attention to international aspects of the arts. These courses place an assessed emphasis on response to arts experience both on campus and in the community.
In addition to the knowledge domain of the arts, these courses address communication, critical thinking, information technology, ethical and personal responsibility, civic responsibility, and global and cultural understanding.
Humanities (3 hours)
Courses in this area focus on the examination and interpretation of human thought and experience. These courses employ humanistic inquiry, a focused attention on interpreting a broad survey of textual and intellectual artifacts produced by individuals and groups, in order to interrogate human experience as well as the meanings and values that individuals and cultures assign to it.
In addition to the knowledge domain of the humanities, these courses address communication, critical thinking, information technology, ethical and personal responsibility, civic responsibility, and global and cultural understanding.
Social Sciences (3 hours)
Courses in this area address broad areas of individual and/or group behavior. They also focus on the application of theoretical perspectives to individual and/or group behavior and emphasize how scientific methods are applied to understanding individual and/or group behavior.
In addition to the knowledge domain of the social sciences, these courses address communication, critical thinking, information technology, ethical and personal responsibility, civic responsibility, and global and cultural understanding.
History of Civilization (3 hours)
In an age of increasing globalization it is imperative that UA Little Rock students be introduced to the range of peoples and civilizations of the world. As citizens in a democracy, UA Little Rock graduates can act more responsibly and knowledgeably with a grasp of the varied sources of the culture in the United States.
U.S. History/Government (3 hours)
For UA Little Rock graduates to accept the idea of and desire to engage in civic activities requires that they gain an understanding of how our government is structured and the history of our nation and how that history has shaped and is shaping our government.
Individual colleges will not be required to accept lower level courses to satisfy specified college/program requirements.
Donaghey Scholar courses must be accepted by all programs as meeting the Standard Core; however, the Donaghey Scholars program is not required to accept the university Standard Core courses in lieu of Donaghey Scholar program requirements.
College Cores (14 hours)
Mathematics (3 hours)
Courses in this area focus on teaching students the concepts and methodologies, findings and applications of mathematics while developing their inquiry and analysis skills. All courses in this area also address quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving, and a commitment to ethical behavior.
Science (8 hours)
Courses in this area focus on teaching students the concepts and methodologies, findings and applications of science while developing their inquiry and analysis skills. All courses in this area explore the physical world using the scientific method applying quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving, information technology, and a commitment to ethical behavior. All courses must include a lecture and laboratory.
Humanities*
See the curricular area for Humanities in the UA Little Rock Standard Core.
Social Sciences*
See the curricular area for Social Sciences in the UA Little Rock Standard Core.
Communication – Spoken
Courses in this area focus on teaching students to develop ideas and express them clearly, adapt language to rhetorical situations, and build the skills needed to communicate ethically and effectively in their academic, professional, and civic lives.
Courses focus on speaking and listening. All courses in this area also address information technology, critical thinking, a commitment to ethical behavior, and civic and personal responsibility.
Interdisciplinary Studies*
To be developed.
*Engineering programs replace these 3 credit hours with 3 hours of mathematics and/or science per the State Minimum Core.
An associate degree must contain the courses from the UALR Core Curriculum in the following curricular areas:
Communication – Written (6 hours)
U.S. Traditions (3 hours)
Mathematics (3 hours)
Any Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Science in Teaching which has been designated as a transfer degree per Act 182 of 2009 will adopt the UA Little Rock Core Curriculum.
The Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, and Associate of Science in Teaching will be designated as transfer degrees per Act 182 of 2009.
Any baccalaureate degree program or any associate degree which has been designated as a transfer degree per Act 182 of 2009 will adopt the following interim college core until such a time as that college or program has completed its desired college core through the curriculum process:
Science (8 hours): any course in the science curricular area
Mathematics (3 hours): any course in the mathematics curricular area
Humanities/Social Sciences/Communications – Speech/Interdisciplinary (3 hours): any course in one of these areas (except for engineering programs which may substitute 3 hours of additional math/science)
U.S. Traditions: United States History or Government Requirement
Arkansas law requires that all students who receive an associate or baccalaureate degree successfully complete a course in U.S. History or U.S. Government.
This requirement can be met by HIST 2311 U.S. History to 1877, HIST 2312 U.S. History Since 1877, or POLS 1310 American National Government. Other United States history or government courses may also meet this requirement. However, the student should check with an advisor in the Department of History or the Department of Political Science before choosing to meet the requirement with any other course.
Second Language Requirement
BA Students
Students seeking a BA degree in any of the follow majors are required to complete a 2000-level second language course or demonstrate equivalent proficiency as measured by a competency test:
BA Anthropology
BA Art History
BA Criminal Justice
BA English
BA French
BA History
BA German Studies
BA International Studies
BA Interpretation: American Sign Language/English
BA Interdisciplinary Studies
BA Music
BA Philosophy
BA Physics
BA Political Science
BA Professional and Technical Writing
BA Psychology
BA Secondary Education
BA Sociology
BA Spanish
BA Speech Communication
BA Studio Art
BA Theatre Arts
Languages which may be used to meet the second language requirement include French, German, Spanish, American Sign Language, and other languages as approved and arranged through the Department of International and Second Language Studies.
Students may meet the requirement in one of the following ways:
- Successfully completing a 2000-level second language course at UA Little Rock and satisfying all the prerequisites for that course.
- Transferring the equivalent courses from another institution of higher education.
- Demonstrating equivalent proficiency on a language test.
BSE Students
Students seeking a BSE in Early Childhood Education are required to complete 3 hours of a second language and 3 hours of English as a Second Language.
Students seeking a BSE in Middle Childhood Education are required to complete 6 hours of a second language or English as a Second Language in any combination or level. Students may meet the requirement in one of the following ways:
- Successfully completing a second language course at UA Little Rock and satisfying all the prerequisites for that course.
- Transferring the equivalent courses from another institution of higher education.
- Demonstrating equivalent proficiency on a language test.
BSW Students
Students seeking a BSW degree are required to complete the elementary I and II levels of a second language sequence of courses (Foreign Language 1311 and 1312 or Interpretation 1320 and 1321) or demonstrate equivalent proficiency as measured by a competency test.
Languages which may be used to meet the second language requirement include French, German, Spanish, and American Sign Language. Students may meet the requirement in one of the following ways:
- Successfully completing 6 hours of an approved sequence of second language courses at UA Little Rock.
- Transferring the equivalent courses from another institution of higher education to UA Little Rock.
- Demonstrating equivalent proficiency on a language test.
Demonstrating Proficiency in a Second Language to Satisfy the Requirements for BA, BSE, and BSW Degree
Students who wish to meet second language requirements by demonstrating proficiency should take either the CAPE test or the American Sign Language Proficiency test before enrolling in UA Little Rock language courses. These tests are also used to determine placement in the appropriate language courses.
The following students do not need to take the test before enrolling in a language course:
- Students who have already completed UA Little Rock second language courses.
- Students who have completed university-level courses for transfer credit in French, German, Spanish, or ASL.(1)
- Students who have never studied French, German, Spanish, or ASL before and are enrolling in first semester courses in these languages.
Second language course waivers may be granted to students with verified disabilities, after examination by a special committee. Students seeking such a waiver should contact the associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at 501-916-3204.
French, German, or Spanish
Students must take a computerized, multiple-choice test (the FCAPE, the G-CAPE, or the S-CAPE) coordinated by the Office of Testing Services and Student Life Research.
To demonstrate proficiency in a language other than French, German, or Spanish, students should contact the Department of International and Second Language Studies, Stabler Hall 201 at 501.569.3272.
American Sign Language (ASL)
Students may take a two-part test administered by the Department of Counseling, Adult, and Rehabilitation Education’s (CARE) interpreter education program. The first part of the test is a written multiple-choice exam. The second part is an interview with the program faculty conducted in American Sign Language. Results of both the written test and interview are shared with the student at the end of the interview. Students should contact the Department of CARE for an appointment.
English as a Second Language
Students whose first language is not English may use the following core courses (9 credit hours) to satisfy the second language requirement:
RHET 1311 Composition I, RHET 1312 Composition II, and ENGL 2337 World Literature or ENGL 2338 World Literature Themes or PHIL 2320 Ethics and Society
Citation and Modification
This policy must be cited in curricular documents that excerpt it (such as the Undergraduate Catalog) and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (or their designee) should review those documents before they are finalized. Wherever there is a substantive conflict between the document which quotes this policy and this policy, this policy shall be followed.
The policy can be modified through legislative action of the Faculty Senate (see Article III of the Constitution of the Assembly of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock).
(1) Courses in signing systems other than ASL, such as manually coded English and conversational sign language, will normally not apply. Contact the Department of Counseling, Adult, and Rehabilitation Education (CARE) for more information.
Source: Faculty Senate Minutes (1/5/2015)
Revised: April 1, 2010; January 5, 2015
Approved By: Dr. Joel Anderson, Chancellor
Custodian: Faculty Senate