General Education

The following General Education curriculum is required of each student who is granted a baccalaureate degree at the Indiana University Kokomo campus. Total credit hours will typically number 42 or 44. Each course must be completed with a passing grade, and students must obtain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the General Education curriculum. If a student takes more than the required number of courses within a section, the course(s) with the highest grade(s) will be used in the GPA calculation. With the exception of courses jointly listed under Sections 1 and 2, no course can be used twice to satisfy multiple requirements. Some courses may have prerequisites. Students should consult with their advisor for more information.

Each student is subject to the General Education requirements in place when they were admitted to IU Kokomo. However, students are always allowed to adopt newer course/program requirements. General Education courses essentially qualify backward and forward within a given student’s academic career at IU Kokomo. Here are a few examples:

  • If a course is approved to satisfy an area of the General Education requirements after a student is admitted, the student can elect to use that course even if they took it before the course was approved for use in General Education.
  • If a course that was present when a student enrolled is removed from the General Education requirements (but is still offered), the course can be used even if it is completed after the above change.
  • If a removed course is no longer offered, students will need to adjust and enroll in other approved courses.

Below is the listing of the nine General Education sections, their outcomes, and the courses that fulfill them.

1. Communication Skills

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Students will read critically.
Component 1: Students will understand texts.
Component 2: Students will analyze texts.
Component 3: Students will evaluate texts.
Outcome 2: Students will write effectively.
Component 1: Students will exhibit rhetorical choices based on audience and purpose in written material.
Component 2: Students will organize the introduction, body, and conclusion effectively based on audience and purpose.
Component 3: Students will use appropriate writing conventions (grammar, spelling, sentence structure, documentation, and punctuation) in written materials.
Component 4: Students will synthesize research material effectively and ethically into written work.
Outcome 3: Students will listen effectively.
Component 1: Students will understand oral messages.
Component 2: Students will analyze oral messages.
Outcome 4: Students will speak effectively.
Component 1: Students will write an effective speech.
Component 2: Students will deliver an effective speech.
Outcome 5: Students will use technology appropriately to support communication.
Component 1: Students will use presentational aids effectively.
Component 2: Students will locate appropriate sources for papers and speeches.
Course Requirements

The following three courses are required (total of 9 credit hours):

  • ENG-W 131 (not required if student places into ENG-W 132)
  • ENG-W 132
  • SPCH-S 121

2. Information Literacy

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Students will determine the nature and extent of information needed.
Component 1: Students will choose appropriate types of information.
Component 2: Students will determine relevance of information.
Component 3: Students will determine currency of information.
Outcome 2: Students will access the needed information effectively and efficiently.
Component 1: Students will use appropriate library and web-based search tools.
Outcome 3: Students will evaluate information and its sources critically.
Component 1: Students will examine sources for bias.
Component 2: Students will examine sources for credibility.
Outcome 4: Students will identify ethical, economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the access and use of information.
Component 1: Students will practice ethical use of sources by avoiding plagiarism.
Outcome 5: Students will use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
Component 1: Students will employ appropriate information to support a specific aspect of a paper or speech.
Course Requirements

There is no incremental requirement for this category. The course requirements are satisfied by ENG-W 131, ENG-W 132, SPCH-S 121 above.

3. Quantitative Literacy

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Students will translate a verbal problem into mathematical symbols.
Component 1: Students will represent mathematical information symbolically.
Component 2: Students will represent mathematical information graphically.
Outcome 2: Students will solve the mathematical problem that models the verbal problem.
Component 1: Students will use algebraic methods to solve problems, using technology when appropriate.
Component 2: Students will use graphical methods to solve problems, using technology when appropriate.
Outcome 3: Students will use the solution of the mathematical problem to draw valid conclusions about the verbal problem.
Component 1: Students will draw inferences from mathematical models.
Component 2: Students will interpret empirical results.
Outcome 4: Students will use fundamental statistical information.
Component 1: Students will interpret data using tables and graphs (e.g. frequency tables, histograms).
Component 2: Students will compute and interpret basic descriptive statistics (e.g. mean, weighted mean, median, mode, standard deviation, percentiles).
Component 3: Students will understand basic concepts relating to sampling (populations/samples, random sampling).
Component 4: Students will use basic probability distributions (e.g. normal distribution, binomial distribution).
Component 5: Students will compute and interpret confidence intervals of a population parameter (e.g. proportion or mean).
Course Requirements

Choose from one of the following three options (total of 4–8 credit hours):

Option 1
MATH-M 118
or
MATH-M 119
or
MATH-M 215
and a statistics course at the major level:
AHLT-H 322
ECON-E 270
EDUC-K 490
MATH-K 310
MATH-M 366
NURS-H 355
PSY-K 300
SOC-S 355
Option 2
MATH-M 133
and
MATH-M 134

These courses have MATH-M 105 as a prerequisite and include the statistics content.

Option 3

Students pursuing the B.A. in Mathematics will satisfy the statistics requirement through MATH-M 366 or through an independent study project that will be assessed on the General Examination that is required to earn the degree.

4. Critical Thinking

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Students will recognize issues that have alternative interpretations.
Component 1: Students will understand and respect the potential differences in the perspectives of others.
Component 2: Students will summarize the explicit and implicit aspects of an issue.
Component 3: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the influences of audience and context on an issue.
Outcome 2: Students will compare the perspectives of others to their own.
Component 1: Students will articulate their own perspectives and recognize potential personal bias.
Component 2: Students will question the underlying assumptions of self and others.
Outcome 3: Students will assess the quality of supporting evidence.
Component 1: Students will consider the literature and new research in the field.
Component 2: Students will assess the accuracy and relevance of supporting evidence.
Component 3: Students will use a variety of techniques to assess the quality of supporting evidence.
Outcome 4: Students will assess the implications and consequences that result from proposed conclusions.
Component 1: Students will identify the pros and cons of different theoretical approaches.
Component 2: Students will articulate the implications and consequences of an argument.
Component 3: Students will compare recommendations resulting from applying different theoretical frameworks.
Course Requirements

Choose one course from the following list (total of 3 credit hours):

  • AHLT-R 406
  • BIOL-L 105
  • BIOL-L 364
  • BUS-J 401
  • CHEM-C 105/C 125
  • CJHS-J 201
  • EDUC-P 251
  • EDUC-P 255
  • ENG-L 202
  • HIST-J 495
  • INFO-I 303
  • MATH-M 216
  • NMAT-G 411
  • NURS-S 470
  • NURS-H 476
  • PAHM-V 379
  • PHIL-P 105
  • PHIL-P 150
  • PHIL-P 383
  • POLS-Y 490
  • PSY-P 259
  • SOC-S 340
  • SPCH-S 336

5. Cultural Diversity

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Students will demonstrate knowledge about diverse cultures, behaviors, systems, or societies.
Component 1: Students will define culture and identify cultural characteristics.
Component 2: Students will identify cultural patterns in terms of folk customs, ethnicity, class, gender, age, religion, or other cultural components.
Component 3: Students will identify the beliefs, values, and rights of others.
Outcome 2: Students will analyze the interconnectedness of global and local concerns.
Component 1: Students will identify global trends related to politics, health, economics, or education.
Component 2: Students will articulate the connections, similarities, and dissimilarities between local practices, problems, and opportunities and global practices, problems, and opportunities.
Component 3: Students will articulate the benefits of accommodating, adapting to, and/or incorporating cultural differences.
Course Requirements

Choose one course from the following list (total of 3 credit hours):

  • Any 100-level or above foreign language course
  • AHLT-H 415
  • BUS-D 301
  • CJHS-J 355
  • EDUC-M 210
  • EDUC-M 300
  • FOLK-F 101
  • HSS-I 100*
  • HSS-F 200*
  • INFO-I 356
  • NURS-B 223
  • NURS-B 248
  • NURS-B 304
  • PAHM-V 443
  • SOC-S 100
  • SPCH-S 302
  • SPCH-S 427

* To facilitate the graduation checklist process, records will need to be kept at the registrar level or the advisor level indicating the goal satisfied in any given semester (if any).

6. Ethics and Civic Engagement

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Students will identify the key elements and approaches to ethical situations and issues.
Component 1: Students will discuss ethical decision making processes with an emphasis on stakeholders.
Component 2: Students will analyze key components/factors of ethical issues in a structured fashion.
Outcome 2: Students will identify the benefits of making informed judgments with regard to individual and group conduct.
Component 1: Students will articulate personal and group ethical responsibilities.
Component 2: Students will compare/contrast alternative responses to ethical situations.
Component 3: Students will discuss ways in which difficult ethical situations can be prevented or ameliorated.
Outcome 3: Students will identify the benefits of civic engagement.
Component 1: Students will apply the ethics of advocacy to individuals, and/or groups, and/or populations.
Component 2: Students will engage in the sociopolitical environment of a community via service learning or simulation.
Component 3: Students will analyze global perspectives and contrast with a local community.
Course Requirements

Choose one course from the following list (total of 3 credit hours):

Courses are required to satisfy at least two of the three learning requirements.

  • AHLT-H 400
  • AHLT-R 407
  • AHLT-W 314
  • BUS-L 201
  • EDUC-H 340
  • EDUC-M 210
  • HPER-P 402
  • NURS-S 472
  • NURS-S 474
  • PAHM-V 171
  • PHIL-P 100
  • PHIL-P 140
  • PHIL-P 242
  • PHIL-P 342
  • PHIL-P 375
  • PHIL-P 383
  • SPCH-S 223
  • SPCH-S 233

* To facilitate the graduation checklist process, records will need to be kept at the registrar level or the advisor level indicating the goal satisfied in any given semester (if any).

7. Social and Behavioral Sciences

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the methods of inquiry used by social or behavioral scientists.
Component 1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the importance of systematic data collection.
Component 2: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the basic features of various research methods.
Outcome 2: Students will demonstrate an understanding of how political, social, or historical processes shape societies.
Component 1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the functions and impact of societal (e.g., political, economic, and/or cultural) institutions.
Component 2: Students will demonstrate an understanding of fundamental societal (e.g., political, economic, and/or cultural) changes and the factors that contribute (or have contributed) to them.
Outcome 3: Students will demonstrate an understanding of behavior using social or behavioral science concepts.
Component 1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of important concepts, theories, and empirical patterns.
Component 2: Students will be able to apply concepts and theories to novel situations.
Course Requirements

Choose two 3 credit hour courses, each from a different area, from the following list (total of 6 credit hours):

Each course must satisfy at least two of the three outcomes.

  • CJHS-J 101
  • ECON-E 175
  • ECON-E 200
  • ECON-E 201
  • ECON-E 202
  • HIST-H 105
  • HIST-H 106
  • HIST-H 113
  • HIST-H 114
  • POLS-Y 103
  • POLS-Y 217
  • POLS-Y 219
  • PSY-P 103
  • SOC-S 100
  • SOC-S 101
  • HSS-E 104* The area in which this falls will depend on the topic of the course–this is not a separate area.

* To facilitate the graduation checklist process, records will need to be kept at the registrar level or the advisor level indicating the goal satisfied in any given semester (if any).

8. Humanities and Arts

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Students will articulate how intellectual traditions have helped shape present cultures.
Component 1: Students will analyze the influence of tradition(s) on a present culture.
Component 2: Students will explain the inter-relationship of tradition and culture.
Outcome 2: Students will evaluate various literary, philosophical, or historical works and approaches.
Component 1: Students will interpret various meanings of a work.
Component 2: Students will identify the approach inherent in a work.
Component 3: Students will explain contextual influences.
Component 4: Students will evaluate the impact of the work.
Outcome 3: Students will demonstrate aesthetic appreciation through the experience of fine or performing arts.
Component 1: Students will describe the personal emotional impact of a piece of fine art or performance.
Component 2: Students will describe the personal intellectual impact of a piece of fine art or a performance.
Component 3: Students will describe the importance of aesthetics.
Course Requirements

Choose one 3 credit hour course from each of the following two areas (total of 6 credit hours):

Literature and Philosophy
Any ENG-L course or ENG-E course
Any PHIL course except PHIL-P 150
HSS-E 103*
SPAN-S 360
Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts
EDUC-M 323
EDUC-M 333
ENG-W 203
FINA-A 101
FINA-A 102
FINA-A 200
FINA-A 262
FINA-A 280
FINA-A 333
FINA-A 340
HSS-E 103*
HUMA-U 101
HUMA-U 102
HUMA-U 103
HUMA-U 305
MUS-M 174
MUS-U 320
MUS-X 001
MUS-X 040
MUS-X 070
or any music performance course
NMAT-D 207
any NMAT-S XXX studio art course
THTR-T 120

* To facilitate the graduation checklist process, records will need to be kept at the registrar level or the advisor level indicating the goal satisfied in any given semester (if any).

9. Physical and Life Sciences

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Students will apply the methods natural scientists use to explore natural phenomena.
Component 1: Students will analyze, process and/or interpret data.
Component 2: Students will evaluate the significance of the interpreted data.
Outcome 2: Students will distinguish between scientific facts and other information.
Component 1: Students will distinguish between beliefs and opinion versus theory.
Component 2: Students will recognize what constitutes scientific evidence.
Component 3: Students will understand the requirement of objectivity in data collection and treatment.
Component 4: Students will recognize the self-correcting nature of science.
Outcome 3: Students will demonstrate understanding of the basic scientific principles in the biological or physical sciences.
Component 1: Students will recognize the interrelation of principles and concepts within a branch of science.
Component 2: Students will recognize the complexity of the natural and/or physical world.
Outcome 4: Students will recognize the interaction of humans and the natural environment.
Component 1: Students will recognize the effect of the environment on biological and physical systems.
Component 2: Students will recognize the implications of human modification of the environment.
Component 3: Students will recognize the consequences of the modifications.
Course Requirements

Choose one 5 credit hour course with a lab and one 3 credit hour course from a different area, from the following list (total of 8 credit hours):

Biology
ANAT-A 215 (5 cr.)
BIOL-L 100 (5 cr.)
BIOL-L 105 (5 cr.)
BIOL-L 270 (3 cr.)
BIOL-L 370 (3 cr.)
MICR-J 200 (3 cr.)
PHSL-P 215 (5 cr.)
PLSC-B 203 (5 cr.)
PLSC-B 364 (5 cr.)
SCI-E 105*
Physics
AST-A 100 (3 cr.)
AST-A 110 (3 cr.)
PHYS-P 100 (5 cr.)
PHYS-P 201 (5 cr.)
SCI-E 105*
Chemistry
CHEM-C 100/C 120 (5 cr.)
CHEM-C 101/C 121 (5 cr.)
CHEM-C 105/C 125 (5 cr.)
CHEM-C 109 (3 cr.)
CHEM-C 390 (3 cr.)
SCI-E 105*
Geology
GEOG-G 107 (3 cr.)
GEOG-G 315 (3 cr.)
GEOL-G 100 (5 cr.)
GEOL-G 133 (5 cr.)
GEOL-G 400 (3 cr.)
GEOL-T 312 (3 cr.)
SCI-E 105*

* To facilitate the graduation checklist process, records will need to be kept at the registrar level or the advisor level indicating the goal satisfied in any given semester (if any).

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