General Education Courses

I. INSTITUTIONAL ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

FRESHMAN SEMINAR COURSE

(UNIV 100 = Freshman Seminar - 1 credit)

Who is required to take this course?

This course is required for all incoming freshman (including transfer students) with 23 hours or less who have not completed an equivalent course at another institution.

When must this course be taken?

This course must be taken during the first semester of the freshman year at Dickinson State University unless the student is a mid-year transfer, then the course will be taken during the second semester of the freshman year.

What is the purpose of this course?

The skills and knowledge imparted through this course will help students survive the freshman year successfully and provide a firm foundation for their future academic career.

The course will help students adjust to college in their academic, personal, and social lives.

The course will help develop and strengthen decision - making, problem solving, critical thinking, and career exploration skills.

II. NORTH DAKOTA UNIVERSITY SYSTEM GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENT TRANSFER AGREEMENT (GERTA)

Please review the following Dickinson State University General Education courses in section III. GERTA approved courses are specified in each area below. Only those courses will count toward either Phase I or Phase II of the North Dakota University System General Education Requirement Transfer Agreement (GERTA). Be aware any course identified below an exception to GERTA will not count toward meeting the GERTA regulations.

GERTA-approved general education courses in the areas of communications, arts and humanities, social sciences, mathematics, science, and technology taken at any North Dakota University System (NDUS) institution count upon transfer toward the general education requirements at all NDUS institutions in one of the following two ways:

If the general education course work includes courses from each of these areas totaling at least 36 semester hours and completes the general education requirements of the institution from which the student transfers then the student is deemed to have completed the lower division general education requirements of the institution to which the courses are transferred.

In all other cases 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.

Within the stipulated areas, each institution shall indicate in its catalog and other student advisement materials its courses which are approved for general education. NDUS institutions may establish program/institute specific requirements. A student should consult the institution to which he/she intends to transfer relative to these program/institution requirements.

III. GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM

In alignment with Dickinson State University's mission, the General Education Program both complements and transcends individual academic emphases. Through the General Education curriculum, students demonstrate the following proficiencies: effective communication, critical and creative thinking, citizenship, and integrative learning. In meeting these proficiencies, students mature into independent life-long learners.    

In addition to major and minor requirements, all four-year degree students are required to complete a minimum 39 credits of general education course work within the six curriculum groups outlined below. Selected lower division courses numbered 100 and 200 are used to fulfill general education requirements. Exceptions to this rule are the upper division courses numbered at the 300 level approved in the general education curriculum.

Note: Students seeking a degree from Dickinson State University, who have already earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, will be considered complete with respect to their general education requirements. However, specific general education classes which are also considered program requirements with respect to specific majors for licensure or certification program requirements will need to be completed before the degree will be granted.

Any course substitutions/waivers related to general education requirements must be approved by the Department Chair that controls the specific class or group.

General Education Learning Outcomes

Communication

Definition: Communication is the sharing of ideas through written, oral, and symbolic language. It involves the active expression and reception of ideas through multiple technologies, physical and spoken language, mixed texts, data, and images.

Goal Statement: Students will apply multiple conventions of expression to achieve shared understanding of meaning.

Student Outcomes:

 Written Communication

• Adapt modes and styles of writing to different purposes, audiences, media, and contexts
• Develop effective pre-writing, researching, drafting, revising, proofreading, and editing processes
• Utilize writing technologies crucial to performance in today’s writing-intensive professions

Oral Communication

• Organize and convey a central message via oral communication, using supporting evidence and adapting language and delivery for audience
• Initiate and negotiate in a collaborative setting by listening to, building upon, verifying, or challenging others’ ideas and conclusions.

Symbolic Communication

• Use symbolic expression for problem solving, presenting, and/or critically evaluating. Relay and interpret information in terms of the given symbolic system;
• Utilize symbolic manipulation to understand the relationship between symbols and situations

Critical and Creative Thinking

Definition:  Critical and creative thinking are intellectual skills in which knowledge and literacy are used to process information, construct understanding, apply knowledge, solve problems, and conduct inquiry. 

Goal Statement:  Upon completion of the General Education curriculum, students will consciously and correctly use critical and creative thinking skills while gaining knowledge of the Arts and Humanities, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.

Student Outcomes:

• Process information by collecting, generating, organizing, retrieving, recognizing underlying assumptions, or validating evidence.
• Construct understanding by analyzing, synthesizing, revealing meaning, or validating knowledge.
• Apply knowledge by performing, modeling, being creative in a new context, or validating results.
• Solve problems by identifying components, structuring information, anticipating consequences, or creating and improving solutions.
• Conduct inquiry by formulating research questions, obtaining evidence, explaining knowledge, depicting knowledge, validating or evaluating scholarship.

Citizenship

Definition: Citizenship involves individuals attuned to the multiple perspectives inherent in our socially and culturally diverse world. Citizens are cognizant of their own health and well-being, demonstrate an understanding of the impact one has on the arenas outside of the self, and engage with complex, authentic issues both locally and globally.

Goal Statement: Students will progressively maintain their personal health and well-being and consider diverse social-cultural perspectives as they navigate and evaluate approaches to local and global issues.

Student Outcomes:

• Identify and incorporate strategies leading to individual health and well-being
• Predict and analyze the effects that one’s decisions have on the well-being of others
• Navigate political, social, and cultural structures, utilizing multiple viewpoints, to contribute to a community’s values and practices
• Apply technology effectively, safely and ethically in an evolving society

Integrative Learning Category

Definition: Integrative Learning is the awareness and application of skills in multiple contexts, which lead to new insights, as well as personal, social, and intellectual development.

Goal Statement: Students will understand the broader implications of discipline-based knowledge and demonstrate an ability to connect ideas and methods across contexts and apply them to new problems.

Student Outcomes

• Integrate concepts and analytical frameworks from multiple perspectives to develop one or more of the following: more comprehensive descriptions, multi-causal explanations, new interpretations, or deeper explorations of issues.

• Analyze and reflect upon insights gained from integrating multiple perspectives in a project or experience.

• Describe, evaluate, or interpret problems using concepts and methods from at least two diverse disciplines. 

Courses that are listed both as general education requirements/selections and as requirements for a MAJOR or MINOR will satisfy both requirements but will not reduce the total credit requirements for graduation.