General Education Core

General Education Core Goals

General Education Core Courses 

The General Education Core prepares students to navigate a world of evolving opportunities. Core courses are distributed across the areas of Humanities and Fine Arts, Communication, History, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. 

Spanning disciplines, the Core emphasizes the interconnectedness of knowledge and the relationship between individuals and society. 

The Core develops skills in analyzing and applying information and in communicating effectively through written, oral, digital, artistic, scientific, and mathematical expression. Students strengthen their ability to think critically, reason logically, solve complex problems, and engage thoughtfully with diverse perspectives. 

Through the General Education Core, students cultivate intellectual curiosity, ethical awareness, cultural understanding, and respect for differing viewpoints in a global society. Courses within each degree program are aligned with the seven General Education Core Competencies: 

• Scientific Inquiry & Mathematical Reasoning 
• Critical Thinking 
• Information Literacy 
• Communication 
• Ethical Reasoning 
• Creative & Artistic Expression 
• Global & Cultural Awareness 

Career/Technical Goals

In addition to the general education core goals required by each program, the career/technical degree programs at Volunteer State Community College, although diverse in intent, share a set of career/technical goals with expected outcomes.

As these goals are achieved in the individual career/technical degree curricula, the degree of student success is measured against a set of expected outcomes.  Successful completion of a two-year degree in a career education program will provide opportunity to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic foundations and theories directly or indirectly related to functions of the career
• Master the terminology within the career
• Demonstrate knowledge of rules and regulations of applicable boards and agencies
• Apply the ethical and professional standards of conduct expected in the career
• Identify and make informed decisions about career options within a program of study
• Demonstrate the use of skills and knowledge of technology necessary to perform the duties within the career
• Develop and apply problem-solving and decision-making skills

University Parallel and TTP General Education Core Curriculum

The general education core curriculum is designed to assist the student in attaining the knowledge and outcomes represented by the General Education Core Goals of the College. The program of study listed below leads to the Associate of Science Degree, Associate of Arts Degree, Associate of Fine Arts Degree and the Associate of Science in Teaching Degree. Students wanting to earn the Associate of Arts Degree must also complete a minimum of two semesters of the same college-level foreign language. Foreign language taken at the high school level will not count toward the language requirement for the Associate of Arts.  The ^ symbol denotes courses that fulfill general education core requirements for university parallel degrees.
Total Degree Requirements 60 Credits

Effective Fall Semester 2004, each institution in the State University and Community College System of Tennessee (the Tennessee Board of Regents System) will share a common lower-division general education core curriculum of forty-one (41) semester hours for baccalaureate degrees and the Associate of Arts, Associate of Science and Associate of Science in Teaching degree and 35 hours for AFA degree. Lower-division means freshman and sophomore courses. The courses comprising the general education core curriculum are contained within the following subject categories:

Associate of Arts¹, Associate of Science, Associate of Science in Teaching

Communication 9 Credits²
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 9 Credits (At least one course must be in literature)
Social/Behavioral Sciences 6 Credits
History 6 Credits³
Natural Sciences 8 Credits
Mathematics 3 Credits
Total 41 Credits
Total Degree Requirements 60 Credits

Associate of Fine Arts Degree

Music AFA

Communication 9 Credits²
Humanities and/or Fine Arts (MUS 1030 - Introduction to Music) 3 Credits
Social/Behavioral Sciences 6 Credits
History 6 Credits
Natural Sciences 8 Credits
Mathematics 3 Credits
Total 35 Credits
Total Degree Requirement 60 Credits

Art AFA

Communication 9 Credits²
Humanities and/or Fine Arts (ART 2000 & ART 2020) 9 Credits
Social/Behavioral Sciences 6 Credits
History 6 Credits
Natural Sciences 8 Credits
Mathematics 3 Credits
Total 41 Credits
Total Degree Requirement 62 Credits

¹Foreign language courses are an additional requirement for the Associate of Arts (A.A.).  The A.A. degree requires proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to a minimum completion of one year of college-level work.

²Six hours of English Composition and three hours in English oral presentational communication are required.

³Students who plan to transfer to a Tennessee university should take six hours of United States History (three hours of Tennessee History may substitute). Students who plan to transfer to University of Tennessee System universities or to out-of-state or private universities should check the requirements and take the appropriate courses.

Although the courses designated by TBR institutions to fulfill the requirements of the general education core subject categories vary, transfer of the courses is assured through the following means:

• Upon completion of an A.A., A.S, and A.S.T. degree, the requirements of the lower-division general education core will be complete and accepted by a TBR university in the transfer process.
• If an A.A. A.S., A.S.T., and A.F.A degree is not obtained, transfer of general education core courses will be based upon fulfillment of complete subject categories. (Example: If all eight hours in the category of Natural Sciences are complete, then this “block” of the general education core is complete.) When a subject category is incomplete, course-by-course evaluation will be conducted. The provision of block fulfillment pertains also to students who transfer among TBR universities.
• Institutional/departmental requirements of the grade of “C” will be honored. Even if credit is granted for a course, any specific requirements for the grade of “C” by the receiving institution will be enforced.
• In certain majors, specific courses must be taken also in general education core. It is important that students and advisors be aware of any major requirements that must be fulfilled under lower-division general education core.

Associate of Applied Science General Education Core Curriculum

The general education core of courses included in the curriculum provides the student with a foundation of general education core on which to base specialized career-oriented course work. Courses are also designed to assist the student in attaining the knowledge and outcomes represented by the seven General Education Core goals of the College.

Associate of Applied Science Degree

English Composition (ENGL 1010) 3 Credits
Humanities/Fine Arts 3 Credits
Natural Science/Mathematics 3-4 Credits
Social/Behavioral Sciences 3 Credits
One additional course 3-4 credits from the categories of:
Communication
Humanities/Fine Arts
Social/Behavioral Sciences
or Natural Science/Mathematics
Total General Education Core 15-17 Credits
Total Degree Requirements 60-75 Credits

Courses Designated to Fulfill General Education Core Requirements

Courses designated to fulfill general education core requirements by Volunteer State Community College are following. Although the courses fulfilling the common lower-division general education core curriculum may vary in actual design among institutions, many contain similar content. The actual courses designated by each institution to fulfill the common lower-division general core, including courses that may not be a part of the common course prefix and numbering patterns, are denoted in the catalogs by the ^ symbol.

A comprehensive list of courses that fulfill the General Education Core requirements is available on the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) website under the General Education Core Landscape. Courses not listed in the area of study, but which satisfy the General Education Core curriculum requirement, may be used to meet the graduation requirement.  Students who believe they have satisfied a requirement not appearing on their degree audit should speak with their advisor.

 Communications Credits: 

• COMM 2025 ^Fundamentals of Communication (3)    

         OR COMM 2045 ^Public Speaking (3)  

• ENGL 1010 ^English Composition I (3)   
• ENGL 1020 ^English Composition II (3)   

Humanities and/or Fine Arts Credits:

• ART 1035 ^Introduction to Art (3)    
• ART 2000 ^Art History Survey I (3)       
• ART 2020 ^Art History Survey II (3)   
• ENGL 2860 ^Introduction to Film (3)      
• MUS 1030 ^Introduction to Music (3)  
• PHIL 1030 ^Introduction to Philosophy (3)  
• PHIL 1040 ^Introduction to Ethics (3)      
• PHIL 2430 ^Philosophy of Religion (3)   
• THEA 1030 ^Introduction to Theatre (3)  

Humanities and/or Fine Arts: Literature Credits:

• ENGL 2045 ^Introduction to Literature (3)   
• ENGL 2055 ^African American Literature (3)  
• ENGL 2110 ^Early American Literature (3)   
• ENGL 2120 ^Modern American Literature (3)   
• ENGL 2310 ^Early World Literature (3)   
• ENGL 2320 ^Modern World Literature (3)  

 History Credits: 

• HIST 2010 ^Early United States History (3)   
• HIST 2020 ^Modern United States History (3)  
• HIST 2030 ^Tennessee History (3)   
• HIST 2060 ^African American History (3)   
• HIST 2310 ^Early World History (3)   
• HIST 2320 ^Modern World History (3)   

 Mathematics Credits: 

If a 4-hour math course is used to satisfy this requirement, the extra credit hour will count as elective credit toward graduation. Students should consult their advisor and the catalog of the institution to which they wish to transfer to determine the level of general education core mathematics required.

• MATH 1010 ^Math for General Studies (3)  
• MATH 1111 - ^Fundamentals of Algebra and Statistics (3)   
• MATH 1130 ^College Algebra (3)   
• MATH 1530 ^Introductory Statistics (3)  
• MATH 1630 ^Finite Mathematics (3)  
• MATH 1710 ^Precalculus Algebra (3)  
• MATH 1720 ^Precalculus Trigonometry (3)  
• MATH 1730 ^Precalculus (5)  
• MATH 1830 ^Applied Calculus (3)  
• MATH 1910 ^Calculus I (4)   

Credit toward graduation cannot be received for both courses in any of the following pairs:

• MATH 1130 ^College Algebra (3) , MATH 1710 ^Precalculus Algebra (3)        
• MATH 1710 ^Precalculus Algebra (3) , MATH 1730 ^Precalculus (5)   
• MATH 1720 ^Precalculus Trigonometry (3) , MATH 1730 ^Precalculus (5)    
• MATH 1830 ^Applied Calculus (3) , MATH 1910 ^Calculus I (4)   

 Natural Sciences Credits: 

• ASTR 1030 ^Astronomy (4)       
• BIOL 1010 ^Introduction to Biology (4)   
  OR BIOL 1030 ^Essentials of Biology (4)   
  OR BIOL 1110 ^General Biology I (4)   
• BIOL 1020 ^Diversity of Life (4)     
  OR BIOL 1030 ^Essentials of Biology (4) ​ 
  OR BIOL 1120 - ^General Biology II (4)   
• BIOL 1050 ^Introduction to Environmental Studies (4)  
• BIOL 1060 ^Environmental Science (4)   
• BIOL 2010 ^Human Anatomy and Physiology I (4)  
• BIOL 2020 ^Human Anatomy and Physiology II (4)   
• CHEM 1030 ^Fundamentals of Chemistry (4)    
  OR CHEM 1110 ^General Chemistry I (4)     
• CHEM 1120 ^General Chemistry II (4)   
• GEOL 1030 ^Survey of Geology (4)  
  OR GEOL 1040 ^Physical Geology (4)   
• GEOL 1050 ^Historical Geology (4)      
• GEOL 1060 ^Earth’s Environments (4)   
• ISCI 1030 ^Science, Society and Sustainability (4)   
• PHYS 1030 ^Survey of Physics (4)        
  OR PHYS 2010 ^Non-Calculus Based Physics I (4)   
  OR PHYS 2110 ^Calculus-Based Physics I (4)   
• PHYS 2020 ^Non-Calculus Based Physics II (4)   
• PHYS 2120 ^Calculus-Based Physics II (4)   
• PSCI 1030 ^Survey of Physical Science (4)    

Credit toward graduation cannot be received for both courses in any of the following pairs unless specifically required by a Tennessee Transfer Pathway (TTP) or an agreement with another Higher Education institution.

• BIOL 1010 ^Introduction to Biology (4) ,   BIOL 1110 ^General Biology I (4)   
• BIOL 1020 - ^Diversity of Life (4) ,    BIOL 1120 - ^General Biology II (4)   
• BIOL 1030 ^Essentials of Biology (4) ,   BIOL 1010 ^Introduction to Biology (4)    
• BIOL 1030 ^Essentials of Biology (4) ,   BIOL 1020 ^Diversity of Life (4)  
• BIOL 1030 ^Essentials of Biology (4) ,   BIOL 1110 ^General Biology I (4)   
• BIOL 1030 - ^Essentials of Biology (4) ,    BIOL 1120 - ^General Biology II (4)  
• CHEM 1030 ^Fundamentals of Chemistry (4) ,   CHEM 1110 ^General Chemistry I (4)     
• GEOL 1030 ^Survey of Geology (4) ,   GEOL 1040 ^Physical Geology (4)        
• PHYS 1030 ^Survey of Physics (4) ,   PHYS 2010 ^Non-Calculus Based Physics I (4)     
• PHYS 1030 ^Survey of Physics (4) ,   PHYS 2110 ^Calculus-Based Physics I (4)     
• PHYS 2010 ^Non-Calculus Based Physics I (4) ,   PHYS 2110 ^Calculus-Based Physics I (4)   

 Social/Behavioral Sciences Credits:

• CRMJ 1010 ^Introduction to Criminal Justice (3)  
• CRMJ 2312 ^Criminology (3)  
• ECON 2100 ^Principles of Macroeconomics (3)  
• ECON 2200 ^Principles of Microeconomics (3)  
• GEOG 1012 ^Cultural Geography (3)  
• GEOG 1015 ^Physical Geography (3)   
• GEOG 2010 ^World Regional Geography (3)    
• HED 120 ^Introduction to Wellness (3)  
• POLS 1010 ^Introduction to Political Science (3)  
• POLS 1030 ^American Government (3)  
• POLS 2025 ^State and Local Government (3)  
• PSYC 1030 ^Introduction to Psychology (3)  
• PSYC 2120 ^Social Psychology (3)  
• PSYC 2130 ^Lifespan Development Psychology (3)  
• SOCI 1010 ^Introduction to Sociology (3)  
• SOCI 1040 ^Social Problems (3)  
• SOCI 2000 ^Criminology (3)