New General Education Requirements Effective July 1

[jch]

Just received this email: 

New General Education Requirements Effective July 1
Changes offer greater flexibility and more elective options for undergraduate students.

Dear <student>,

In keeping with TESU's commitment to continuous improvement, the University will implement revisions to its General Education program, effective July 1, 2021.

General Education requirements in the University’s bachelor’s degree programs will be reduced from 60 to 45 credits. For associate degree-seeking students, the General Education requirements have been revised to align with peer community college degree structures. The revised requirements also better align with evolving state and national degree program conventions. Additionally, the changes are expected to increase transfer-in options for new students, create greater flexibility for enrolled students, reinforce quality assurance standards, and strengthen the overall academic integrity of our undergraduate programs.

The new General Education requirements include:

• A reduction in required credit hours from 60 to 45 in all bachelor’s degree programs.
  
• Elimination of General Education electives.
  
• An increase in free elective options for most degree programs and areas of study.
  
• A revised credit distribution for bachelor’s programs including a change in the “Knowledge of Human Cultures” category (from 9 to 15 credits) and a change in the “Scientific Knowledge” category (from 4-7 credits to 6).
  
• History courses will now satisfy both history and humanities requirements, though they will no longer satisfy social science requirements.
  
• In response to these changes, adjustments were made to most TESU undergraduate degree programs and area of study requirements and credit hours were redistributed.
  
• Greater transparency in TESU publications surrounding General Education requirements, credit distribution requirements, and definitions of each General Education category.
  

Please note, bachelor’s degree program completion will still require students to earn a minimum of 120 credit hours and associate degree program completion will still require 60 credit hours to complete.

Wondering how these changes will affect you? Enrolled students may choose to move into the new catalog year to take advantage of the revised General Education requirements or remain in their current degree plan. If you need guidance with this decision, or in planning your courses for the upcoming term, we can help. Make an advising appointment, email academicadvising@tesu.edu, contact the Student Success Center or call 609-777-5680 today.

Sincerely,
Filomela A. Marshall
Cynthia Baum, PhD
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Major changes coming in the 2021-2022 catalog! It doesn't appear to be live quite yet. We'll definitely be digging through it once it drops. Overall, this seems largely positive. Electives will be much more flexible. The increased knowledge of human cultures credit requirement could drive more students to pursue non-English languages. 
Of course, enrolled students can remain in their current catalog if desired.