Goals and Purposes
A Clarion University education consists of both disciplinary and general education. Disciplinary education aims to prepare a student in a particular vocation, profession, discipline, or area of study. General education aims to assist the student's development as a person and as a citizen.
A baccalaureate program at Clarion University provides students with both a specialized and a liberal education. A specialized education provides depth of knowledge in an academic discipline and in a career area. A liberal education provides the basis for specialized studies and for life within and beyond the university.
Students have the freedom to select the academic major and elective courses in which they are interested. The general education curriculum provides students with the opportunity to explore a variety of subjects that not only serve their interests but community needs as well.
Students lay out their disciplinary and general education curriculum. Here is an outline of general education requirements:
General Education Requirements
I. Liberal Education Skills
(in writing, mathematics, and communication)–12 credit hours to include:
A. College Writing
B. A mathematics course
C. A selection of courses from academic support, computer information science, communication, elementary foreign language, English composition, logic, mathematics, and speech communication.
II. Liberal Knowledge
(about society, its individuals, culture, and environment)–27 credit hours distributed among three categories:
A. Physical and biological sciences–9 credits
B. Social and behavioral sciences–9 credits
C. Arts and humanities–9 credits
At least two disciplines must be represented within each of the three categories.
III. Health and Personal Performance
(with focus on wellness, creative activities, and use of leisure time)-three credits to include:
A. Health and wellness (one course)–2 credits
B. Personal performance (one course)–1 credit
IV. General Education Elective
(for further exploration of areas of interest and continued broadening of studies)-sufficient course work to bring the total for general education to 48 credits from an approved list in areas of skills or liberal knowledge. These may not be in your major, and only one hour of personal performance is permitted.
General Education Flags
Among the courses meeting requirements in both general education and the major, there are courses having "flags" or special designations.
These flags denote courses that address such practical qualities as the ability to understand and discuss values, to write effectively, and to engage in quantitative reasoning. You will need to be sure courses selected in general education and in the major show a total of five flags in the following categories:
In general education:
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One first-year Values Flag-
promotes reflections on personal values, interpersonal values, and societal values.
In the major or general education:
-
Two Writing Intensive Flags-
engage in higher order reasoning and communication in specific disciplines. These two writing courses count for credit beyond general education as part of the total academic experience, either in the major or in support courses for the major. -
A Quantitative Reasoning Flag-
to develop skills associated with learning from data, quantitative expression, evidence and assertions, and quantitative intuition. -
A second Values Flag-
encourages exploration in human values, applied values, or ethics in a particular context.
Students have the freedom to select the academic major and elective courses that are of interest. The general education curriculum provides the opportunity to explore a variety of subjects that not only serve student interests but community needs as well.
