Northeast State requires a core of general education courses as part of each degree program. The purpose of general education is to provide students with a common set of learning experiences as a foundation for:

• solving problems of everyday life
• participating intelligently in civic affairs
• preparing for jobs, vocations, or professions
• recognizing major elements of human culture and one’s own cultural heritage
• understanding the natures and functions of social organizations
• preparing for lifelong learning

What students need to know to function in an increasingly technological workplace and in everyday life has its basis in both competencies and areas of understanding as a preparation for lifelong learning.

Learning Outcomes - Students completing the general education core will minimally demonstrate competencies in each of the following areas:

• Read effectively, differentiate one’s personal opinions from a writer’s, and develop a functional vocabulary.
• Write clearly, coherently, and grammatically correct expository prose and record, analyze, interpret and transmit information.
• Communicate orally and articulate effectively in a clear, persuasive, and grammatically correct manner.
• Analyze, discuss, and use quantitative information, demonstrate a reasonable level of facility in mathematical problem-solving, and recognize connections between mathematics and other disciplines.
• Apply information technologies including word processing, graphical presentation, electronic communication and information gathering.
• Develop effective decision-making skills based upon careful analysis and evaluation of known facts and opinions.
• Use the methods and symbols of mathematics and the sciences to solve real-life problems.
• Respond to changes in science and technology.

Areas of Understanding - Northeast State Technical Community College graduates will demonstrate a general understanding of the relationships between the various areas of academic study. In addition to the competencies referenced earlier, Northeast State graduates will have:

• Acquired scientific and mathematical ways of thinking necessary for informed decision-making.
• Developed through the multiple perspectives of different academic disciplines a perception of self in a social, historical, and multi-cultural context.
• Developed an appreciation for beauty in nature, in literature, in music, and in other art forms.
• Recognized the value and dignity of human life, of making ethical decisions, and of responsible citizenship in a democratic society.
• Improved abilities in critical thinking, problem-solving, higher order thinking, and reasoning.

University Parallel Degree Requirements in the Tennessee Board of Regents System

Effective Fall Semester 2004, each institution in the State University and Community College System of Tennessee (The Tennessee Board of Regents System) will share a common lower-division general education core curriculum of 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    9 hours
  (At least one course must be
  in literature)
• 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. The B.A. degree requires proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to completion of two years of college-level work. The A.A. degree requires proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to completion of one year of college-level work.

** Six hours of English Composition and three hours in English oral presentational communication are required.

*** Students who plan to transfer to Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) universities should take six hours of United States History (three hours of Tennessee History may be substituted.) Students who plan to transfer to the University of Tennessee System universities or to out-of-state or private universities should check requirements and take appropriate courses.

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 fulfilling 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 among 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 Northeast State are published below. A complete listing of the courses fulfilling general education requirements for all system institutions is available on the TBR website (www.tbr.state.tn.us) under Transfer and Articulation Information.

Associate of Applied Science Degree Requirements in the Tennessee Board of Regents System

According to Tennessee Board of Regents policy, associate of applied science degree programs require a minimum of 60 semester college-level hours. Credit hours earned in remedial or developmental courses are institutional credit and are not applicable to credit hours required for a certificate, associate, or baccalaureate degree. Each student studying for an associate of applied science degree must complete a minimum of 15-16 semester credit hours of general education and a minimum of 45-46 semester credit hours in the technical specialty. Components of the basic core of general education in associate of applied science degree programs consist of a minimum of one course in the following areas.*                                                                        

Subject Area                                                                                      Credit Hours

• English Composition                     3
• Humanities/Fine Arts                    3   
• Social/Behavioral Sciences              3
• Natural Science/Mathematics             3
• One additional course from the
  categories of Communication,
  Humanities/Fine Arts,
  Social/Behavioral Sciences,
  or Natural Science/Mathematics          3-4
• Total                                   15-16

*Consult the Approved Courses for General Education section of this catalog for a list of approved courses.

Course Selections

Programs

• •  Approved Courses for General Education
• •  Electives