Definitions You Need to Know When Selecting Your Program and Courses
- Credit Hours (cr.) - College work is measured in units called credit hours. A credit-hour value is assigned to each course and is normally equal to the number of hours the course meets each week. Credit hours may also be referred to as semester hours.
- Contact Hours - The actual number of hours required in a class or lab.
- Lecture Hours (lec.) - The number of clock hours in the fall or spring semester the student spends each week in the classroom. This time frame is different for the shorter summer sessions.
- Laboratory Hours (lab.) - The number of clock hours in the fall or spring semester the student spends each week in the laboratory or other learning environment. This time frame is different for the shorter summer sessions.
- Prerequisite - A course that must be successfully completed or a requirement such as related life experiences that must be met before enrolling in another course.
- Corequisite - A course that must be taken during the same or earlier semester as the course in which one is enrolling.
- General Education Requirements - A term which refers to courses that meet the eleven General Education Competencies. (See next page.)
- Electives - Courses which may be chosen from items 9 10 or 11.
- Liberal Arts Electives - All course subjects listed in the General Education Core, modern languages, ESL, and advanced courses with the same designations. Exceptions: Horticulture, Business, and Allied Health courses do not qualify.
- General Electives - All credit courses numbered 100 or higher listed in the catalog. Students should consider transferability of courses when choosing general electives.
- Directed Electives - Credit courses that satisfy specific program requirements. These courses are listed with each program area.
- Foreign Language Equivalencies - The following equivalencies satisfy the modern language requirements:
- 3 years of high school work in a single foreign language ancient or modern or
- 2 years of high school work and an added semester of a college course at a more advanced level in a single foreign language or
- 2 semesters of a single foreign language in college.
Note: Students may also take CLEP (College Level Examination Program) to satisfy the modern language requirements. Information on these tests is available from the Testing Center.
Note: ESL students may use up to six credits of Intermediate and Advanced levels of ESL courses to fulfill the Modern Language requirements.
- Non-Credit - A course of study that does not apply towards a college degree; college credit is not earned. Typically designed as short courses, workshops, and customized programs; non-credit programs focus on knowledge and skills that can be applied directly to the job or personal and professional growth.
- Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Certificates - CEU certificates are awarded in conjunction with mandatory continuing education requirements across different fields including: teacher professional development real estate nursing allied health insurance appraisal. Prior approval from the learner’s Local Education Association must be obtained. Typically CEU’s are awarded on a 1:10 ratio (i.e. one CEU for every ten hours of qualified instruction).
This College continues to add and adjust courses course designations and course numbers to its offerings. The General Education and the definitions will be adjusted accordingly.
Our Philosophy and Requirements
Naugatuck Valley Community College considers general education an important component of its degree programs. While an appropriate level of mastery in occupations and technologies is clearly essential students are better prepared to live in the world and use this mastery only if they are also capable of understanding fundamental theory weighing values and forming independent judgments.
The College defines General Education in terms of the following competencies and goals:
Appreciation of the Aesthetic Dimensions of Humankind
3 credits |
Students will understand the diverse nature, meanings, and functions of creative endeavors through the study and practice of literature, music, the theatrical and visual arts, and related forms of expression. |
Appreciation of the Ethical Dimensions of Humankind
(Across the Curriculum) |
Students will identify ethical principles that guide individual and collective actions and apply those principles to the analysis of contemporary social and political problems. |
Continuing Learning and Information Literacy
3 credits |
Students will be able to use traditional and digital technology to access, evaluate, and apply information to the needs or questions confronting them throughout their academic, professional, and personal lives. |
Critical Analysis and Logical Thinking
(Across the Curriculum) |
Students will be able to organize, interpret, and evaluate evidence and ideas within and across disciplines; draw reasoned inferences and defensible conclusions; and solve problems and make decisions based on analytical processes. |
Historical Knowledge and Understanding
3 credits |
Students will study the interrelatedness of various realms of human experience from multiple historical perspectives. |
Oral Communication
3 credits |
Students will be prepared to develop oral messages of varying lengths and styles that communicate effectively and appropriately across a variety of settings. |
Quantitative Reasoning
3 credits |
Students will learn to recognize, understand, and use the quantitative elements they encounter in various aspects of their lives. Students will develop a habit of mind that uses quantitative skills to solve problems and make informed decisions. |
Scientific Knowledge and Understanding
3-4 credits |
Students will gain a broad base of scientific knowledge and methodologies in the natural sciences. This will enable them to develop scientific literacy, the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes essential for personal decision making and understanding scientific issues. |
Scientific Reasoning
3-4 credits |
Students will become familiar with science as a method of inquiry. Students will develop a habit of mind that uses quantitative skills to solve problems and make informed decisions. |
Knowledge and Understanding of Social Phenomena
3 credits |
Students will develop an increased understanding of the influences that shape a person’s or group’s attitudes, beliefs, emotions, symbols, and actions and how these systems of influence are created, maintained, and altered by individual, familial, group, situational, or cultural means. |
Written Communication
(6 Credits and Across the Curriculum) |
Students will be prepared to develop written texts of varying lengths and styles that communicate effectively and appropriately across a variety of settings. |
General Education Core Course Requirements
Focusing on the above competencies, course work in the General Education Framework ensures that NVCC students gain the fundamental skills, knowledge, and values needed for success in their academic, professional, and personal lives. A list of courses that fulfill each competency may be found under the “Approved Courses” link on the General Education website: http://www.nv.edu/GEACC. Students will fulfill General Education Requirements by completing the requisite number of credits in courses associated with each competency. For competencies identified as “Across the Curriculum” students should adhere to program requirements in order to fulfill these areas.
Scientific Knowledge or Reasoning Requirement
Students must successfully complete at least one Scientific Reasoning or Scientific Knowledge course that contains a lab component.
General Education Program Oversight and Assessment
The General Education Requirements are reviewed and assessed by the General Education Assessment and Curriculum design Committee (GEACC). This committee is composed of one library representative, and 10 faculty as well as non-voting members from the Registrar, Center for Academic Planning and Student Success (CAPSS), Curriculum and Educational Affairs (CEAC) and the Dean and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, and the Dean of Academic Affairs. The committee must have at least one member with expertise in each competency area, and each academic division must have at least one and no more than 3 members.
The duties of the committee include identifying and approving college courses used to fulfill competency requirements. The committee is also responsible for researching, scheduling, and assisting in the implementation of assessment methods to determine if students are achieving competency outcomes.
General Education for Connecticut State University Transfer Students
In order to ease transfer between state colleges and universities within the Connecticut State Colleges and University system NVCC’s General Education program reflects the system’s General Education Framework. Based on this Framework students graduating with an Associate degree who complete NVCC’s General Education Requirements will be granted General Education credit upon transfer to any Connecticut State University or Community College. Please consult with the University or College to which you are transferring regarding which credits will be accepted.
NVCC General Education Requirements (including the TAP Framework 30)
With a few exceptions, all programs at NVCC will contain courses from all Core Competencies. See particular program requirements for program-specific requirements in how these competency areas will be met. Generally any given course can only be used to satisfy one competency area, even if it appears in multiple areas. If the program requirement is an “elective” from the competency, any course listed in that group may be used. Courses “taken sequentially” can be taken in any order as long as prerequisites are met. Note: Letter H appears in all NVCC course numbers; it is the code letter for our college in the CT Community College system. Since it is redundant for our college, the H is not reproduced below. The * denotes the Common Course Numbering; courses with the * all have the same number as similar courses at other community colleges in Connecticut, though the other colleges will insert their appropriate code letter.
TAP-specific Gen Ed Competency Areas: Creativity and Global Knowledge
(only required for certain TAP Transfer Ticket degrees: please see requirements for specific program)
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