RWU Extension School Associate Degree General Education Requirements
All students seeking an Associates of Science degree must complete:
- A minimum of 60 credits* (through any combination of study and learning experiences, including credit for previous college work, prior learning assessment, CLEP or other exams, and military experience).
- *A minimum of 61 credits for Professional Legal Studies (through any combination of study and learning experiences, including credit for previous college work, credit documentation, CLEP or other exams, and military experience).
- A minimum enrollment requirement of 15 credits taken at the University.
- A major academic program or concentration.
- A 2.0 average in all courses carrying a letter grade.
- A 2.0 average in all required major courses.
- A 2.0 average in all required minor courses (if minor is included in a student’s program).
- University College general education requirements.
- The last five remaining courses in your degree of study must be completed at RWU.
- All financial requirements must be met.
Transfer students should consult with a Resource Specialist to determine how the transfer guidelines apply to the general education requirements.
The general education requirements consist of courses from the arts, humanities, sciences, mathematics, writing and the social sciences. The University’s degree programs, including general education, provide students with communications skills; the ability for critical and logical analysis, scientific and quantitative reasoning; and the capability for continuing education. The general education requirements are designed to assure that all students have an awareness of and breadth of exposure to the disciplines and fields of study associated with communications skills, and the traditional liberal arts and general education areas and domains within higher education.
All University College students are required to complete a minimum of one-fourth of their degree requirements in general education (e.g., the equivalent of fifteen semester hours in an associate degree program). General Education requirements may be satisfied by credits granted for students’ prior college attendance, CLEP examinations, military training and experience (as recommended by the American Council on Education), and through prior learning examination of a student’s lived experiences.
Based on University guidelines, Resource Specialists determine which transfer courses may be considered equivalent to general education courses. After assessing the general education requirements which may be satisfied through their various sources of advanced standing, students who need general education courses are advised to enroll in courses designated as the University’s General Education courses (skills and interdisciplinary core courses) whenever they are scheduled or available in the University College as classroom or online course offerings. In addition to RWU’s skills and interdisciplinary core courses, courses may also be taken from the categories associated with the examinations of the College Board’s College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) to satisfy general education requirements. These categories include materials and subjects commonly taught during the first two years in many of the nation’s colleges and universities, and they include English Composition, Mathematics, Science, Humanities, Fine Arts, and Social Science. These areas correspond to the University’s general education curricular categories as reflected in the skills and interdisciplinary core courses.
Students who have attended accredited institutions may transfer credits for successfully completed courses (C or better and courses with Pass or Satisfactory grades if such grades are equivalent to C or better). Resource Specialists determine the application of transfer credit to degree and program requirements. Such determinations may be based on comparability of depth and content to courses offered at the University, as well as other considerations. Transfer students must consult a University College Resource Specialist to determine how the transfer guidelines apply to the Skills and General Education requirements. Students who have not successfully completed college-level courses in expository writing or post-algebraic mathematics may be required to take placement tests in writing and/or mathematics prior to enrollment in such courses.
University General Education Courses ( Total 18 credits)
Two of the five General Education Curriculum Courses
Choose two courses from two of the professional studies disciplines below:
- Social Science
- Humanities
- Fine Arts
- Natural Science
- History
Associates Degree Concentration ( Total 18 credits)
Take six courses from no more than two concentrations in social science or professional studies disciplines.
Associates Degree Free Electives ( Total 24 credits)
Core Curriculum (21 credits)
Includes two writing courses (Expository Writing and Writing in Professional and Public Contexts) a Mathematics skills course; Effective Speaking Across Audience; Social Science; one liberal arts electives and one of the following approved courses from the following categories: Natural Science, Humanities, Fine Arts.
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