University of Louisville Undergraduate Catalog

Summer 2011 Spring 2012

General Education Requirements (GER)

The General Education program at the University of Louisville fosters active learning by asking students to think critically, to communicate effectively, and to understand and appreciate cultural diversity. Specifically, students will establish foundations in the following content areas: Arts and Humanities, Mathematics, Oral Communication, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Written Communication. Students will also acquire a competency in Cultural Diversity through work in the content areas. Students must complete 12 credit hours of General Education courses within the first 30 degreeapplicable credit hours earned, and these 12 hours must include the successful completion of the first three hours in Written Communication; further, students must fulfill or begin working towards the Mathematics General Education requirement. Before completing 60 hours, the student must have completed 21 hours of General Education courses, including Oral Communication, Mathematics, and the second three hours of Written Communication. For an explanation of GER course codes, the GER course list, and GER guidelines please visit the website at http://louisville.edu/provost/GER/ . GER Content Areas Arts and Humanities [6 hours: one course in Arts (A); one in Humanities (H)] Arts and Humanities are concerned with understanding texts of art, music, theatre, literature, philosophy, and religious thought. Mathematics [3 hours in Mathematics (M)] Mathematics is concerned with solving real-world problems through mathematical methods. Natural Sciences [7 hours: lecture (S) and lab (SL) in a single discipline; an additional 3 hours in a second discipline] Natural Sciences are concerned with understanding the physical world through the scientific method. Oral Communication [3 hours (OC)] Oral communication is the ability to convey ideas, emotions, and information through speech. Social and Behavioral Sciences [9 hours (SB) one course in the Department of History; the remaining 6 hours in two other disciplines] Social and behavioral sciences are concerned with understanding human behavior, human interactions, human environment, and the related social structures and forms. History (3 hours) History is concerned with understanding change over time. Courses addressing this requirement cover a broad body of historical knowledge and compare Western and non-Western cultures. Written Communication [6 hours (WC): The first 3 hours must be a writing course in the Department of English or be an approved Honors course substitute.] Written communication is the ability to develop and express ideas, opinions, and information in appropriate written forms. To fulfill this requirement, students will complete a substantial amount of writing, including several texts that go through the writing process. Competency in Cultural Diversity (6 hours) Students must take 6 hours in courses designated Cultural Diversity (CD), at least 3 hours of which will focus on persons of African, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Native American ancestry (CD1). In many cases, these courses will also fulfill other Content Area requirements (e.g., a Cultural Diversity course may also count as a Social and Behavioral Science requirement). Understanding cultural diversity means students will have a broad exposure to a variety of social systems, cultures, and subcultures, both within the United States and the rest of the world. This portion of the curriculum encourages an appreciation of the realities of a racially and culturally diverse world. GER Guidelines These rules provide guidelines and available options for student course selection for completion of the General Education Requirements (effective at the beginning of the Summer 2011 term and not retroactive).

General Education Curriculum

University of Louisville Undergraduate Catalog

Summer 2011 Spring 2012

Questions concerning these guidelines can be addressed to provost@louisville.edu for the consideration of the committee. --Pass/Fail grading No course taken for a pass/fail grade will be counted as meeting a general education requirement. --Course Substitutions and Appeals Departments and units must not substitute for a GERapproved course any University of Louisville course not on the GER-approved list. The GECC will not accept any appeal for such consideration. --Restricted Sections of GER Courses in Major Programs Departments or programs with general-education courses also required for particular majors may restrict one or more sections to students in that major, provided that additional sections are open to enrollment by non-majors. Where practical, the open and restricted section(s) should be scheduled at the same or similar times. --CD Credit for Study Abroad Students may petition for Cultural Diversity (CD) credit after participation in a university sanctioned study-abroad program. The petition must include an essay identifying which form of CD credit is requested, describing the program and explaining how the experience met the learning outcomes of the CD competency. Petitions must be submitted to the committee by e-mail to provost@louisville.edu. Detailed instructions (including specifications of the essay, criteria for assessment of the essay and limits on the petition period) are available on the General Education website at http://louisville.edu/provost/GER . --CD Credit for Transfer Courses A student may petition the General Education Curriculum Committee to evaluate transfer courses identified by the Admissions Office as not equivalent to any existing approved CD course. The student requesting the evaluation must provide a catalog course description and a syllabus of the course(s) in question as well as an essay, identifying which form of CD credit is requested and explaining how the transfer course addresses the learning outcomes of the CD general-education requirement. Petitions must be submitted to the committee by e-mail to

provost@louisville.edu. Detailed instructions (including specifications of the essay criteria for assessment of the essay and limits on the petition period) are available on the General Education website at http://louisville.edu/provost/GER . --CD Credit for Life Experience A student may petition for Cultural Diversity (CD) credit based on life experience. The petition must include an essay identifying which form of CD credit is requested and describing and explaining how the life experience met the learning outcomes of the CD competency. Petitions must be submitted to the committee by e-mail to provost@louisville.edu. Detailed instructions (including specifications of the essay, criteria for assessment of the essay and limits on the petition period) are available at http://louisville.edu/provost/GER . -- General Education Credit for Fully-certified Transfer Students Transfer students with full general-education certification under the Kentucky block transfer policy have completed all general-education requirements of the University of Louisville. Under that state policy, the university will not require such students to complete the Cultural Diversity competency requirement. -- General Education Requirements for Seconddegree Students For students already holding a baccalaureate degree but in residence to complete a second baccalaureate, the general education requirements shall be waived. Statewide General Education Block Transfer Policy Students who transfer between Kentuckys public institutions of higher education may qualify for a block rather than course-by-course transfer. Beginning in January, 1996, this policy was established as a means of promoting the transfer of lower-division general education requirements from one public institution to another and reducing the probability that credits may be lost or courses repeated due to transfer. Students should request that their transcript from Kentucky public institutions be Gen Ed certified before they are sent to the University of Louisville. The statewide block transfer policy applies to transfer students who have completed all or part of lower-division general

General Education Curriculum

University of Louisville Undergraduate Catalog

Summer 2011 Spring 2012

education requirements competency areas: Communications Written (6 hours) Oral (3 hours)

within

the

following

Humanities (6 hours) Includes courses from but not limited to the following: Fine Arts (excluding studio and performance courses) Philosophy Literature History Foreign Literature Cross-Cultural Inter/Multi-Disciplinary
Behavioral/Social Sciences (9 hours) Includes courses

from but not limited to the following listing AND must be represented by a minimum of two disciplines and must be different from those disciplines used to meet the Humanities requirement: Psychology Sociology Economics History Anthropology Geography Political Science Cross-Cultural Inter/Multi-Disciplinary Natural Sciences (6 hours) Includes courses from but not limited to the following disciplines: Biology Chemistry Physics Astronomy Geosciences Mathematics (3 hours) MinimumCollege Algebra Transfer Students and GER
Students who have completed lower-division general education requirements or have an AA/AS degree upon transfer may find that this policy applies to them. Students should request that their transcript from Kentucky public institutions be Gen Ed certified before they are sent to the University of Louisville.

General Education Curriculum