Program Overview
The General Education Foundational Skills Credential recognizes students as they complete the state's general education curriculum (GT Pathways), as well as the University of Northern Colorado’s U.S. Multi-Cultural and International Studies requirement*.
The credential provides the essential skills and competencies students gain through general education as they work toward completing their degree. These skills are highly sought after by employers and were built on employer feedback. They provide a mechanism for students to communicate their skills to potential employers, and include:
· Written communication: Develop and express ideas in writing, learning to work in many genres and styles, and with many different writing technologies, and mixing texts, data, and images.
· Quantitative literacy: Apply numeric, symbolic and geometric skills to formulate and solve quantitative problems.
· Problem solving: Design, evaluate and implement a strategy to answer an open-ended question or achieve a desired goal.
· Inquiry and analysis: Explore issues, objects or works through the collection and analysis of evidence that results in informed conclusions or judgments and break complex topics or issues into parts to gain a better understanding of them.
· Critical thinking: Comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion.
Credential Requirements — 31-37 credits
31-37 credits as follows*:
- Written Communication skills (6 credits)
· Sequence of two gtP courses satisfying the Written Communication category
- Quantitative Literacy, Inquiry & Analysis skills (10 credits)
· One gtP course satisfying the mathematics category
· One gtP course of at least 4 credits satisfying the Natural Sciences SC-1 sub-category
· One additional gtp course of at least 3 credits satisfying either the Natural Sciences SC-1 or SC-2 sub-category
- Information Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking skills (15 credits)
· at least one gtP course satisfying the History category
· at least two gtP courses satisfying the Arts & Humanities category
· at least one gtP course satisfying the Social & Behavioral Sciences category
· one additional gtP course satisfying History, Arts & Humanities, or Social & Behavioral Sciences
- Diversity & Global Learning skills: (6 credits; typically, double count with one of above categories)
· at least two courses satisfying gtP sub-categories SS2 (Geography) or SS3 (Human Behavior, Culture, or Social Frameworks), OR
· One course satisfying UNC's Multicultural Studies designation and One course satisfying UNC's International Studies designation, OR
· One course satisfying either UNC's Multicultural Studies designation or UNC's International Studies designation and One course satisfying gtP subcategory SS2 (Geography) or SS3 (Human Behavior, Culture, or Social Frameworks).
*U.S. Multicultural Studies and International Studies Requirements
· At least one course (3 credits) must carry a U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS] designation, and at least one course (3 credits) must carry an International Studies [IS] designation. To complete the Liberal Arts Curriculum within the minimum of 31 credit hours required by the state general education program, students should select at least one Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences course that carries an IS designation, and at least one course that carries an MS designation (6 credits total).