All institutions in the State University and Community College System of Tennessee (The Tennessee Board of Regents System) share a common lower-division general education core curriculum of forty-one (41) semester hours for baccalaureate degrees and the Associate of Arts and the Associate of Science degrees. Lower-division means freshman and sophomore courses. The courses comprising the general education curriculum are contained within the following subject categories:
Baccalaureate Degrees and Associate of Arts and Associate of Science Degrees*
| Communication |
9 hours** |
|
Humanities and/or Fine Arts
(At least one course must be in literature.)
|
9 hours |
| Social/Behavioral Sciences |
6 hours |
| History |
6 hours*** |
| Natural Sciences |
8 hours |
| Mathematics |
3 hours |
| Total |
41 hours |
| * |
Foreign language courses are an additional requirement for the Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degrees. Six hours of foreign language are required for the A.A. degree and twelve hours are required for the B.A. |
| ** |
Six hours of English Composition and three hours in English oral presentational communication are required. |
| *** |
Students who lack the required one unit (one year) of American history from high school as an admissions requirement must complete six (6) semester hours of American History or three (3) semester hours of American History and three (3) semester hours of Tennessee History to fulfill the history requirement in general education. Otherwise, students may choose from among the history courses approved at a particular institution to fulfill the six-semester hour requirement in history. |
Although the courses designated by Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) institutions to fulfill the requirements of the general education subject categories vary, transfer of the courses is assured through the following means:
Upon completion of an A.A or A.S. degree, the requirements of the lower-division general education core will be complete and accepted by a TBR university in the transfer process.
If an A.A. or A.S. is not obtained, transfer of general education courses will be based upon fulfillment of complete subject categories. (Example: If all eight hours in the category of Natural Sciences are complete, then this “block” of the general education core is complete.) When a subject category is incomplete, course-by-course evaluation will be conducted. The provision of block fulfillment pertains also to students who transfer within TBR universities.
Institutional/departmental requirements of the grade of “C” will be honored. Even if credit is granted for a course, any specific requirements for the grade of “C” by the receiving institution will be enforced. In certain majors, specific courses must be taken also in general education. It is important that students and advisors be aware of any major requirements that must be fulfilled under lower-division general education.
Courses designated to fulfill general education by Nashville State Community College are included in this catalog. A complete listing of the courses fulfilling general education requirements for all system institutions is available on the TBR Web site (www.tbr.edu) under Transfer and Articulation Information.
General Education Competencies
Graduates of all Nashville State degree programs are expected to demonstrate competence in six areas that demonstrate knowledge and skills needed for success in employment and in pursuit of additional education.
- Write clear, well-organized documents.
- Know how to locate, evaluate, and use information sources.
- Prepare and deliver well-organized oral presentations.
- Apply mathematic concepts to problems and situations.
- Use critical thinking skills.
- Apply scientific thought processes to a range of situations.
