The General Education Model and Goals

General education requirements (GER) are those courses or groupings of courses that each student, regardless of major or degree, must take to graduate. The purposes of GER include the acquisition and development of skills and knowledge deemed essential to living as productive and responsible citizens. The GER at YSU are founded in thirteen goals adopted by the YSU Academic Senate in May 1994, enumerated in the undergraduate bulletin, available online.

The purpose of the general education requirements is to foster:

• Qualities such as curiosity, intellectual honesty, fairness, civility, and an openness to ideas and the sharing of knowledge

• Thinking that is critical, independent, and objective

• Integration of knowledge across disciplines

• The ability to function effectively in a technological society

• Understanding of the importance of studying the past and present

• Appreciation of literature and the arts as expressions of human culture

• Recognition of the importance of acting as informed, responsible, democratically-minded citizens and members of the global community

• And an attitude that learning is a personal and a collaborative process exercised over a lifetime.

  ---

View the model for both types of degrees by clicking the links in the navigation bar at the top of the page.