The purpose of general education at NDSU is to ensure that students acquire knowledge, perspectives, and skills basic to a university education. The program is designed so that graduates will be able to adapt to and anticipate changes in their profession and in society. Graduates also will be able to integrate and use the knowledge and perspectives they have gained to live productive, intellectually rewarding and meaningful lives.

Intended Student Outcomes

The intended student outcomes resulting from general education include the following abilities:

1. Communicate effectively in a variety of contexts and formats.
2. Locate and use information for making appropriate personal and professional decisions.
3. Comprehend the concepts and perspectives needed to function in national and international societies.
4. Comprehend intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics.
5. Comprehend concepts and methods of inquiry in science and technology, and their applications for society.
6. Integrate knowledge and ideas in a coherent and meaningful manner.
7. Comprehend the need for lifelong learning.

General Education Requirements

• Courses Approved for General Education

General Education Category Descriptions

The following descriptions are elaborations of the general education categories approved by the Faculty Senate .

• Communication (C) is the clear, precise, and purposeful exchange of information in a variety of contexts, using either written or oral means.
• Cultural diversity (D) focuses on the social, personal, and interpersonal effects of variety and differences among cultures.
• Fine arts (A), as an integral component of the humanities, promote the appreciation of aesthetics and the expression of creativity.
• Global perspectives (G) focus on analysis of worldwide issues illustrating the interdependence of the world and its people.
• Humanities (A) systematically explore cultural and intellectual forces shaping events, individual expression, and social values.
• Quantitative reasoning (R) is an organized set of quantitative methods used to solve problems or extend knowledge. Quantitative methods are a set of principles and procedures that could be used to manipulate numerical data.
• Science (S) is an organized body of knowledge, including principles and procedures based on scientific methods, used to explain physical or biological phenomena.
• Social and behavioral sciences (B) use scientific methods to analyze the behaviors, structures, and processes of individuals and groups.
• Wellness (W) is a dynamic and integrative process of becoming aware of healthy lifestyles, of learning to make informed choices, and of developing a balanced approach to living.

General Education Program Assessment

General education assessment has three basic purposes:

1. To improve student learning and development by identifying the intended student outcomes for the program.
2. To provide feedback on the progress toward the intended student outcomes.
3. To use the feedback to modify aspects of the program to ensure that the outcomes are being achieved and that student learning is improved.

Assessment activities are valued at NDSU and include the participation of students. Results will not be used to penalize students or faculty. Student performance on assessment of the general education program will not become part of the transcript.

General Education Administrative Policies

1. General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education requirements and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable.
2. Departments or colleges may preclude their students from double counting general education courses with major courses.
3. Department or college requirements for graduation may include general education courses that exceed the university minimum required for general education.
4. Except for courses that meet the cultural diversity or global perspectives requirements, no course can fulfill the requirements for more than one general education category.
5. General education requirements can be met through the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) , DSST , International Baccalaureate (IB) , departmental examinations, the Advanced Placement program (AP) of the College Entrance Examination Board, or equivalents.
6. General education requirements can be met by successful completion of a course for which an approved general education course in the same department is a prerequisite or by successful completion of an advanced course in the same department with comparable course content.
7. No general education course may be taken for graduate credit.
8. Except for courses offered only on a pass/fail basis, no courses taken to meet the general education requirements may be taken for pass/fail grades.
9. The general education minimum requirements apply to all baccalaureate degree programs.
10. Transfer students who have only partially fulfilled general education category requirements by transfer-approved courses must complete the requirements in approved courses within the NDSU deficient categories. No category credit requirement may be deficient by more than a partial semester credit. However, in the communication category, if the transfer course(s) have been evaluated as equivalent to ENGL 110 College Composition I, ENGL 120 College Composition II, and COMM 110 Fundamentals of Public Speaking and total no less than eight semester credits, the lower-division category requirement has been met. Transfer students meet NDSU's general education "College Composition I and/or College Composition II" requirement in the lower-division Communication category if they have credit in any English course (in composition, composition and literature, or the equivalent) totaling at least 2.67 semester credits per course. The total for all general education categories must be at least 39/40 semester credits for new students.
11. Students may receive placement credit for ENGL 110 College Composition I based on a minimum English ACT score (or SAT equivalent) and satisfactory performance (grade of 'C' or better) in ENGL 120 College Composition II or equivalent.
12. A student who has completed a general education program in the United States or Canada consisting of a minimum of 36 semester credits at a regionally accredited institution and who transfers to NDSU or who pursues a second baccalaureate degree at NDSU is considered to have completed his or her lower-division general education requirements at NDSU. Transfer student coursework from outside the United States and Canada will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis.
13. General education courses at other accredited institutions, which do not have equivalent courses or general education status at NDSU, may be accepted in transfer as part of the general education requirements at NDSU.
14. All general education course syllabi and course web sites must identify the course as having been approved for meeting general education requirements and include the general education outcomes for which each course is approved. (See Syllabus Requirements )
15. Effective spring semester 2015, students who have completed basic military training will receive a waiver for the Wellness category. Military record documentation is required for the waiver; documentation is to be submitted to the Office of Registration and Records with a completed Appeal for Exception to General Education Requirements form. The waiver for the training will not lead to course credit, and all other minimum graduation requirements apply.

NDSU Study Abroad and Study Tour Experiences

UNIV 492: Study Abroad – three study abroad credits, completed successfully and transferred back to NDSU, will qualify for either of the general education categories of Cultural Diversity or Global Perspectives.   Six or more study abroad credits, completed successfully and transferred back to NDSU, will qualify for both Cultural Diversity and Global Perspectives categories.

(Prefix) 379: Study Tour – NDSU study tour instructors may apply for general education course approval in any category that pertains to the course content (including cultural diversity and global perspectives), especially but not only if the tour is offered with some regularity. Course approval for study tours requires a syllabus and a one-page rationale for how the tour addresses a general education outcome and should be sent to the Director of General Education for General Education committee review.  Study tours must actively and substantially address the outcomes requested (comparable to an approved 3-credit course).

General Education Transfer

Students transferring lower-division general education credits within the North Dakota University System need to consult with advisers in their academic programs at NDSU for two reasons. First, degree requirements of individual programs and colleges at NDSU may exceed the university-wide general education requirements. Second, meeting the university-wide lower-division general education requirements by transfer credits may not necessarily prepare students for advanced, upper-division study in an academic major at NDSU.

North Dakota University System General Education Requirements Transfer Agreement

The North Dakota University System (NDUS) General Education Requirements Transfer Agreement (GERTA) was established by the State Board of Higher Education to ease student transfers within the system. Although subject to revision by the board, the policies at the time of this printing were as follows:

• If students have completed the lower-division general education course requirements (36 credits or more) at one NDUS institution and transfer to another NDUS institution, then the lower-division general education requirements will have been met.

If the lower-division general education requirements have not been completed before transferring, the general education courses from the indicated areas are applicable to an appropriate general education requirement of the institution to which they are transferred. In these cases, the number of credits required to complete the general education requirement in each area is determined by the policies of the institution to which the courses are transferred.

Students transferring lower-division general education credits within the North Dakota University System need to consult with advisers in their academic programs at NDSU for two reasons. First, degree requirements of individual programs and colleges at NDSU may exceed the university-wide general education requirements. Second, meeting the university-wide lower-division general education requirements by transfer credits may not necessarily prepare students for advanced, upper-division study in an academic major at NDSU.

Students transferring from non-ND University System institutions will have their general education requirements evaluated on a course-by-course basis when they enter NDSU.