- An informed understanding of history, science, art, government, humanities, geography,
other cultures, and much else - Good oral and written communication skills
- Technological skills
- Evaluating the quality of information
- Problem-solving skills
- Proficiency in college level math
- Effective team building skills
- Knowing how to learn on their own
Another way of thinking about general education is that it is those skills and knowledge that
students will carry with them long after they have graduated.
The college is currently in the process of developing our own learning outcomes for general
education. If you would like to provide some input regarding them, please go to: http://www.austincc.edu/gened/feedback.php
Core Curriculum. The Core Curriculum is defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. As put into practice at ACC, a student must take 42 credit hours spread across several disciplines, including:
- English comp (6 credit hours)
- Communications (3 credit hours)
- Mathematics (3 credit hours)
- Natural Sciences (6 credit hours)
- Humanities (6 credit hours)
- Visual and Performing Arts (3 credit hours)
- History (6 credit hours)
- Government (6 credit hours)
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 credit hours)
General education touches on nearly every aspect of a student’s academic experience. The student learning outcomes associated with general education are supported by activities in the classroom,
in the lab, in the field, and even outside of class. They tie directly into student learning outcomes
at the course-level, program-level, and higher.
For example, the writing skills a student develops from classroom activities in, say, English Composition, directly support their achievement of written communication skills. But so too does writing a review for a history class or a laboratory report in a chemistry class. Although the work done
in a particular course is performed so as to support the student’s achievement of the expected outcomes of that course, they also support the outcomes that a graduate of that program would be expected to attain.
As the example above with writing shows, the same skills are typically reinforced in many different courses in many different programs and are thus taught across the curriculum as the student progresses through their academic career.