www.generaleducation.appstate.edu
Michael Krenn, Director
Kristin M. Hyle, Assistant Director
A degree from Appalachian State University begins with the General Education Program. Its interdisciplinary curriculum provides a challenging liberal education through which students learn to adapt to new environments, integrate knowledge from diverse sources, and continue learning throughout their lives. The General Education Program draws on nationally identified best educational practices, as well as what employers demand from today’s graduates.
The General Education Program has four goals for students: thinking critically and creatively, communicating effectively, making local to global connections, and understanding responsibilities of community membership.
The General Education Program accounts for 44 semester hours of a student’s degree program. A total of 17 semester hours come from the program’s Integrative Learning Experience and Science Inquiry - with multi-disciplinary themes from which students select their courses. An additional 12 hours come from the Liberal Studies Experience.
The program also includes a first year seminar course; writing courses at the freshman, sophomore, and junior level; quantitative literacy courses to develop reasoning and numerical skills; and a wellness literacy requirement to enhance students’ knowledge and management of their personal health in all its dimensions. The General Education Program culminates with a capstone experience in the student’s major.
Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC)
www.wac.appstate.edu
Georgia B. Rhoades, Director
The Writing Across the Curriculum Program (WAC) works closely with General Education, the University Writing Center, the Composition Program in English, and faculty in the disciplines (WID) to support faculty development in the teaching of the vertical writing model and assessment of writing. WAC consultants offer individual, group, and program workshops in writing pedagogy and have worked with faculty in all programs in the university. WAC sponsors workshops in the teaching of writing and offers opportunities for conversations between faculty in first-year writing and the disciplines as well as course-specific faculty development for R C 2001 - Introduction to Writing Across the Curriculum (3) . WAC is in its 9th year of sponsoring Writing Across Institutions, a conference on writing pedagogy for community college faculty.
First Year Seminar
www.firstyearseminar.appstate.edu
Martha McCaughey, Faculty Coordinator
First Year Seminar is a first year course in the General Education Program. Required of all new students, these seminars help students integrate knowledge and bridge concepts across academic disciplines through an interdisciplinary approach. These small classes are taught by experienced faculty who are committed to helping new students successfully transition to a four year university by developing creative and critical thinking abilities, cultivating effective communication skills, and introducing students to a variety of research tools and methods.
First Year Seminar Policy for Transfer Students
Students who transfer to Appalachian State University with 0-29 semester hours and/or who enter Appalachian within one year of high school graduation will be required to take UCO 1200 - First Year Seminar (3) or its equivalent.
Students who transfer to Appalachian State University at least one year after high school graduation and who have 30 or more semester hours of transferable work will be exempted from the First Year Seminar requirement. This may result in a reduction of 3 semester hours in the general education requirements for each of these students. If a student completes all other graduation requirements and falls short of the minimum number of hours for graduation, they will be required to make up the shortage of hours by completing other coursework.
Students who have earned 60 or more semester hours at any combination of institutions will not be allowed to enroll in UCO 1200 . If a student with 60 or more semester hours wishes to enroll and has a pedagogically sound reason for wanting to do so, she or he may request permission to enroll in UCO 1200 from the Office of General Education.
For students affected by this policy, the Office of Transfer Articulation will add to the record of transfer work a course of UCO MET with a grade of CR. UCO MET will serve as an equivalent to UCO 1200 for purposes of major declaration and enrollment in R C 2001 - Introduction to Writing Across the Curriculum (3) .
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