Definition of General Education Courses and Pre major Courses The Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degree programs in the North Carolina Community College System require a total of sixty or sixty-one semester hours credit for graduation (see Appendix D) and are transferable to Signatory Institution of North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities. The degrees are comprised of both lower-division general education and pre-major courses. The curricula reflect the distribution of discipline areas commonly included in institution- wide, lower-division general education requirements for the baccalaureate degree. The Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degree programs include general education requirements that represent the fundamental foundation for success and include study in the areas of English composition, communications, humanities and fine arts, natural sciences and mathematics, and social and behavioral sciences. Within these discipline areas, community colleges must include opportunities for the achievement of competence in reading, writing, oral communication, fundamental mathematical skills, and basic computer use. Students must meet the receiving senior institution’s foreign language and/or health and physical education requirements, if applicable, prior to or after transfer to the senior institution. The AA and AS degree programs of study are structured to include: – the Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) which includes a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit, and –additional general education, pre-major, and elective courses that prepare students for successful transfer into selected majors at the senior institution and bring the total number of hours in the degree programs to 60-61 semester hours. To ensure maximum transferability of credits, students should select a transfer major and preferred transfer institution before completing 30 semester hours of credit at the community college. Each receiving senior institution will identify community college course equivalencies and publicize an equivalency course crosswalk to ensure transfer of credit uniformity and transparency. Additional general education, pre-major, and elective courses in the associate degree should be selected based on a student’s intended major and the baccalaureate degree plan published by the senior institution. The specific number and distribution of courses used to fulfill the requirement in each of these areas will be identified by each community college a...
