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General Education: Purpose and Philosophy

The associate degree represents more than an accumulation of units. Instead, it embodies completion of a well-defined pattern of learning experiences designed to develop certain capabilities.

Title 5, Section 55061 describes completion of general education as a learning experience that demonstrates:
“the ability to think and to communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing; to use mathematics; to understand the modes of inquiry of the major disciplines; to be aware of other cultures and times; to achieve insights gained through experience in thinking about ethical problems; and to develop the capacity for self-understanding.”

In 1993, the Yuba College Curriculum Committee adopted the following philosophy statement.

Yuba College General Education Philosophy Statement

General Education at Yuba College is more than a set of required courses. It is a course of study designed to assist the student in beginning an effective lifelong learning process in which the interrelationships of human knowledge and experience are recognized.

Embodied in this design is recognition of the student’s need to:

  • Think and communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
  • Use mathematics
  • Understand the modes of inquiry of the major disciplines
  • Be aware of other cultures and times
  • Achieve insights gained through experience in thinking about ethical problems
  • Develop the capacity for self-understanding
  • Understand issues related to health and well-being and ways to maintain them

General Education Criteria

Required criteria (all GE courses must meet these)

A general education course shall:

  1. Reflect the ideals of the Yuba College General Education Philosophy Statement.
  2. Fit the definition of the area into which it will be placed.
  3. Contain a rigorous collegiate-level presentation of theory, abstraction, practical information, and knowledge.
  4. Expose students to the appropriate exercise of learning skills.
  5. Expose students to a broad spectrum of beliefs or knowledge of the general subject matter area.

Additional criteria (a GE course may also meet one or more of these)

Further, a general education course shall generally:

  1. Require students to make critical comparisons within the general subject matter area.
  2. Enable students to examine, evaluate, and express individual values.
  3. Further the understanding of the cultural, scientific, political, and social contributions of women and ethnic minorities.
  4. Integrate specific information with that of different subject areas.
  5. Include historical information, technological development, artistic expression, and intellectual ventures and—where appropriate—consider implications for the future.
  6. Further the development of students’ emotional and physical well-being.

Note: All courses shall meet the required criteria listed above. Courses qualifying for general education may also satisfy one or more of the additional criteria.

General Education Areas (Title 5, Section 55061)

If a course meets the criteria for a general education course, it may be considered for application toward Areas 1 through 6.
The area definitions from Title 5, Section 55061 are listed below.

Area 1: English Composition, Oral Communication, and Critical Thinking

  • 1A: English Composition — Courses fulfilling this requirement must be baccalaureate-level and include expository and argumentative writing.
  • 1B: Oral Communication and Critical Thinking — Courses fulfilling this requirement must be baccalaureate-level and may include oral communication and critical thinking courses.

Area 2: Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning

Courses fulfilling this requirement must be at least college-level and may include mathematics or quantitative reasoning courses, including logic, statistics, computer languages, and related disciplines.

Area 3: Arts and Humanities

Courses in the humanities study the cultural activities and artistic expressions of human beings. Such courses develop students’ awareness of how people throughout the ages and in different cultures respond to themselves and the world around them in artistic and cultural creation, and develop students’ aesthetic understandings and abilities to make value judgments.
Courses fulfilling this requirement may include introductory or integrative baccalaureate-level courses in the visual and performing arts, art history, foreign languages, literature, philosophy, religion, and related disciplines.

Area 4: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Courses in the social and behavioral sciences focus on people as members of society and develop awareness of the methods of inquiry used by the social and behavioral sciences. They stimulate critical thinking about how people act and have acted in response to their societies and promote appreciation of how societies and social subgroups operate.
Courses fulfilling this requirement may include introductory or integrative baccalaureate-level courses in cultural anthropology, cultural geography, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology, and related disciplines.

Area 5: Natural Sciences

Courses in the natural sciences examine the physical universe, its life forms, and its natural phenomena, helping students appreciate and understand the scientific method and the relationships between science and other human activities.
Courses fulfilling this requirement may include introductory or integrative baccalaureate-level courses in astronomy, biology, chemistry, general physical science, geology, meteorology, oceanography, physical geography, physical anthropology, physics, and other scientific disciplines.

Area 6: Ethnic Studies

Courses fulfilling this requirement may include baccalaureate-level courses in the four autonomous disciplines within Ethnic Studies: Black Studies; African American Studies; Africana Studies; Native American Studies; Chicano/a/x Studies; Latino/a/x Studies/La Raza Studies; and Asian American Studies.

Health/Physical Education/Kinesiology Graduation Requirement

Complete a minimum of 1.0 unit of the Health/Physical Education/Kinesiology requirement as listed in the catalog. Students who will be completing degrees in Nursing, Radiologic Technology, Basic Police Academy, Firefighter 1 Academy, Fire Technology, LVN to RN Career Mobility, Veterinary Technology, and students who submit documentation of active military service are exempt from this requirement.