University Common
Requirements
ACADA Roundtable Presentation
April 25, 2012
Susan Poch
Associate Dean, University College
Associate Dean, University College
What is UCORE?
FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE: 3 semester credit hours
[ROOT] Roots of Contemporary Issues (3 cr.)
FOUNDATIONAL COMPETENCIES: 9 semester credit hours
[QUAN] Quantitative Reasoning (3 cr.)
[WRTG] Written Communication (3 cr.)
[COMM] or [WRTG] Communication course (3 cr.)
WAYS OF KNOWING: 16 semester credit hours
[SSCI] Inquiry in the Social Sciences (3cr.)
[HUM] Inquiry in the Humanities (3cr.)
[ARTS] Inquiry in the Creative and Professional Arts (3cr.)
[BSCI] [PSCI] [SCI] Inquiry in the Natural Sciences (7 cr.)
INTEGRATIVE AND APPLIED LEARNING: 6 semester credit hours
[DIVR] Diversity (3 cr.)
[CAPS] Integrative Capstone (3 cr.)
University COmmon REquirements
• UCORE provides a degree of balance between a
major and the broader objectives of higher
education.
• UCORE is intended to be flexible enough to work
for all majors (and portable!).
• UCORE applies to new freshmen students who
enter WSU in fall 2012.
• Transfer students who enter WSU in Fall 2012 will
follow the current General Education Requirements.
• Current students will continue to follow the General
Education Requirements as outlined in the catalog.
What’s Changed…
• UCORE total required credits—34 credits
GERs
had 40 credits
• UCORE required Science credits—7 credits
GERs
had 10 required Science credits
• A maximum of three, 3-credit UCORE courses
may also be used to fulfill major requirements.
What’s Changed for the
College of Arts and Sciences
Graduation Requirements for the College of Arts
and Sciences (CAS) are:
 Foreign
Language: 2 years of high school (must be
the same language) or 1 year of college-level
foreign language study
 Additional
3 credits of [SSCI], [HUM], or [ARTS] for
a total of 12 UCORE/CAS requirements
 Additional
1 lab credit of [BSCI] or [PSCI] for a total
of 8 credits and 2 labs (UCORE/CAS requirements).
What’s Not
Changed…
• UCORE courses cannot be
taken on a pass/fail basis.
• Two “communication
proficiency” courses:
--[WRTG] (ENGLISH 101)
+ [COMM] OR [WRTG]
• Honors students continue
with Honors requirements.
FAQ’s
(answers found in the companion UCORE handbook!)
• Can UCORE courses ‘double dip?’
• Can a UCORE course count for a GER?
• Can current students switch to UCORE from
GERs?
• Can new transfer students switch from GER to
UCORE?
• What about World Civ?
• [M] courses?
Let’s talk about
Transfer Students
By definition, transfer students are students who
earned ANY amount of credits after high school,
excluding summer after high school. Students
who earned credit while still in high school are
freshmen.
• For Fall 2012 transfers, it matters WHEN the
credits were completed, not how many.
• Transfer students who enter Fall 2012 will follow
current GER curriculum.
TRANSFER STUDENTS
FALL 2013 (AND AFTER)
IF THEY HAVE:
THEY NEED:
An approved transferable AA (DTA)
Integrative Capstone [CAPS]
An approved transferable
Associate of Science (AST)
Roots of Contemporary
Issues [ROOT]
Second [COMM] or [WRTG]
Diversity [DIVR]
Integrative Capstone [CAPS]
No approved transferable degree
UCORE using course-bycourse matches of
transferred and UCORE
categories
Washington 45!
Presented here for information and examples of equivalencies
• Legislative Mandate
• Students who complete these courses at a public
CTC in Washington may transfer them as general
education requirement to any public BI in the
state.
• Students may transfer a maximum of 45 quarter
credits under this agreement.
(see chart in guidebook)
Example Degree Plans with UCORE
Two majors are presented here to show how
UCORE courses are integrated into a
schedule of studies:
• Look for UCORE courses may also fulfill a
major requirement.
• Look for UCORE designations:
UCORE courses are designated by function, i.e.
once a requirement is fulfilled the UCORE
designation will not appear again on subsequent
UCORE courses.
Communication and Society
First Year
Second Year
First Term
Hours First Term
Hours
COM 101 3 Diversity [DIVR]
3
COM 210
3
ENGLISH 101 [WRTG]
3
COM 295
3
HISTORY 105 [ROOT]
3
Humanities [HUM]
3
Quantitative Reasoning [QUAN]
3
Major Specialization2
3
Second Term
Biological Sciences [BSCI] or
SCIENCE 101 [SCI]1
3 or 4
Physical Sciences [PSCI] or
SCIENCE 102 [SCI]1
3 or 4
Second Term
COM 102 [COMM]
3
COMSOC 301
3
COM 105
3
Creative & Professional Arts [ARTS]
3
Social Sciences [SSCI]
3
Electives
9
Electives
3
Complete Writing Portfolio
Apply for and Certify in Major
Take Writing Certification Exam
Third Year
Fourth Year
First Term
Hours
First Term
Hours
COMSOC 321
3
300-400-level Electives
3
COMSOC 324 [M]
3
COMSTRAT 409
3
Electives
9
Integrated Capstone [CAPS]
3
Major Elective or COMSOC 4952 3
Major Specialization3
3
Major Elective or COMSOC 4952 3
Second Term
Hours
Electives
COM 470
3
Second Term
Hours
COM 420
3
9
Major Elective or COMSOC 4952 3
Major Specialization 3
3
Electives
6
Biology-General Option
First Year
First Term
Second Year
Hours
First Term
Hours
Biol 106 [BSCI]
4
Humanities [HUM]
3
Chem 105 [PSCI]
4
Chem 345
4
Engl 101 [WRTG]
3
3
Roots of Contemporary
Issues [ROOT]
3
Communication Prof
[COMM or WRTG]
Phys 101 or 201
4
Second Term
Hours
Second Term
Hours
Biol 107
4
Biol 301
4
Chem 106
4
MBioS 303
4
Math 140 or 171 [QUAN]
4
Phys 102 or 202
4
Social Sciences [SSCI]
3
Complete Writing Portfolio
Third Year
First Term
Fourth Year
Hours
First Term
Creative and
Prof Arts [ARTS]
3
Program Option Courses
or Electives
Biol 372 [M]
4
Biol 405
Program Option Courses
or Electives
Second Term
Diversity [DIVR]
Stat 212, 412,
or Psych 311
Program Option Courses
or Electives
8 or 9
Hours
3
3 or 4
9
Second Term
Hours
10
3
Hours
Biol 352 or MBioS 401
3
Program Opt Courses
or Biology Elective
7
Capstone [CAPS]
3
Questions?