General Education at MSMC

All general education courses support the college's mission to prepare students who

• are inquisitive and value the exchange of free ideas
• have developed effective communication skills
• have developed personal and professional ethical positions
• have embraced civic responsibility

Principles

1. Goals of the general education program are based on the outcomes approved by the faculty in May, 1996.
2. Students in the general education program will share a common experience that is unique to Mount Saint Mary College.
3. All general education courses will maintain rigorous academic standards.
4. General education courses are sequenced in terms of difficulty. Skills and values introduced in initial courses will be revisited and developed further in subsequent courses.
5. The general education program will provide a capstone course with a service learning component.
6. Faculty teaching in the general education program will use common evaluation rubrics for consistency in grading essays, oral presentations, and research papers.
7. Students enrolled in the general education program must meet the minimum college requirements in reading, writing, and mathematics.
8. Ongoing pre and post-assessments will be used to evaluate each course and the general program.

General Education Credits

The general education program will consist of 39 credits. Of these credits, 24 will be taken in five common liberal arts (LAR) courses. LAR1010 is a 4-credit course; the other LAR courses are five credits each. The remaining 15 credits will be distributed over at least three liberal arts divisions.