From: College Governance Council
To: College and Campus Curriculum Committees
CC: Pres. McKay
Re: Review of Curriculum Proposals that do not comply with College core graduation requirements
As a result of the SUNY Seamless Transfer mandate, consideration of local graduation requirements has become an
issue. The College Academic Standards Committee is currently reviewing local graduation requirements in light of
this mandate, but unless and until new graduation requirements are approved through our faculty governance
process, the College Governance Council remains committed to existing requirements.
However, we recognize that some programs may be experiencing difficulty in maintaining the academic integrity of
their programs while attempting to meet the 64-credit cap. Therefore, we would like to provide some additional
guidance for our curriculum committees as they review proposals intended to bring programs into compliance with
the mandate.
What must remain in the program
1.
2.
3.
The academic excellence of the program must be maintained.
All SED degree requirements must be met.
SUNY General Education requirements must be met for all A.A./A.S. proposals

7 of 10 of the general education areas must be met, including basic communication and mathematics*

30 credits of SUNY general education must be met
4.
All transfer path requirements must be met*
5.
All external accreditation requirements must be met
6.
According to the President's Memo, dated November 13, 2014, the following local requirements must be
maintained:
 ENG101
 Laboratory Science
 ENG102 (or another writing class)
 Freshman Seminar
 Mathematics
Other local requirements
Ensuring the academic excellence of our programs is a primary goal of our curriculum committees, and the following
guidelines should not undermine the ability of our curriculum committees and faculty proposers to meet this goal.
The College Governance Council acknowledges the complexities of curriculum development and believes our
curriculum committees are best suited to make curriculum proposal approvals. However, to promote fairness,
consistency and academic integrity in the review of proposals that do not comply with the other existing local
graduation requirements on page 88 of the College catalog, the following guidelines should be observed:
1.
Programs with External Accreditation Seeking to meet SUNY 64-Credit Cap
If external accreditation requirements in combination with local requirements force the program to exceed
64 credits, the curriculum committees may consider approving the proposal as long as it can demonstrate
that the revised program can meet the College's Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs).
2.
Programs Seeking a SUNY Waiver from 64-Credit Cap
SUNY has instituted a waiver process for programs that must exceed the 64 credit cap for such reasons as
external accreditation requirements. However, SUNY also has labeled those courses that fulfill local
graduation requirements but go beyond SUNY general education requirements as “extraneous,” and
therefore will not grant 64 credit cap waivers to programs that still include such “extraneous” credits.
Therefore, if the disciplinary demands of the degree require the program to seek to obtain a SUNY waiver to
exceed the 64-credit cap mandate, and doing so requires that the program eliminate a local graduation
requirement SUNY considers “extraneous,” the curriculum committees may consider approving the
proposal as long as it can demonstrate that the revised program can meet the College's Institutional
Learning Outcomes (ILOs).
Suffolk County Community College
Institutional Learning Outcomes and Objectives
At Suffolk County Community College students will develop the skills they need for lifelong
learning and acquire the disciplinary knowledge relevant to a career or transfer degree. SCCC
is committed to academic integrity and promoting honesty, hard work, and the determination
to translate personal and professional principles into behavior.
Aesthetic Literacy: Students will be able to recognize, appreciate, and interpret aesthetic
expressions, for example visual, musical, dramatic, literary, etc.
Objective 1: Students will be able to recognize aesthetic expressions
Objective 2: Students will be able to explain aesthetic expressions in the context
in which they are found
Objective 3: Students will be able to demonstrate awareness of aesthetic
expressions and properties
Collaboration and Problem Solving: Students will be able to design, evaluate and
implement a strategy in a group to answer an open-ended question or achieve a desired goal.
Objective 1: Students will be able to design a strategy in a group
Objective 2: Students will be able to implement and evaluate a strategy in a
group
*Critical and Creative Thinking: Students will be able to explore issues, ideas, artifacts,
and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion. Students will be able to
combine or synthesize ideas, images, or expertise in original ways, characterized by a high
degree of innovation, divergent thinking, and risk taking.
Objective 1: Students will be able to explore issues, ideas, artifacts, and events
before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion
Objective 2: Objective 2: SWBAT combine or synthesize ideas, images, or
expertise in original ways, characterized by a high degree of innovation,
divergent thinking, and risk taking.
Environmental Awareness: Students will understand the scientific and philosophical
issues that underpin environmental sustainability.
Objective 1: Students will understand the scientific issues that underpin
environmental sustainability.
Objective 2: Students will understand the philosophical issues that underpin
environmental sustainability.
Ethical Reasoning: Students will be able to assess their own values in social, historical,
environmental and global contexts and assess, decide, implement and reflect on their own
actions and assume responsibility for those actions.
Objective 1: to be able to assess their own values in social, historical,
environmental and global contexts
Objective 2: to be able distinguish moral values from other types of values
Objective 3: to be able to implement the skills of ethical reasoning and decisionmaking
Health Awareness: Students will know how to achieve a state of optimal physical, mental,
and social well-being.
Objective 1: Students will know how to achieve a state of physical well-being
Objective 2: Students will know how to achieve a state of mental well-being
Objective 3: Students will know how to achieve a state of social well-being
*Historical Awareness: Students will be able to examine human institutions over time
leading to an understanding of the relationship among events, ideas, and artifacts.
Objective 1: Students will be able to examine human institutions over time and
draw conclusions about the relationship among events, ideas, and
artifacts.
*Information Literacy: Students will know when there is a need for information, and how
to locate, evaluate, and use that information effectively and ethically, while understanding the
economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information.
Objective 1: Students will know when there is a need for knowledge
Objective 2: Students will be able to ocate, evaluate, and use information
effectively and ethically
Objective 3: Students will understand the economic, legal and social issues
surrounding the use of information.
Intercultural and Global Knowledge: Students will understand cultures and world
views different than one’s own.
Objective 1: Students will understand different cultures and worldviews
*Quantitative Reasoning: Students will be able to: organize and analyze numerical data.
Objective 1: Students will be able to organize numerical data.
Objective 2: Students will be able to analyze numerical data.
*Scientific Reasoning: Students will understand the methods scientists use to explore
natural phenomena and the application of scientific data, concepts, and models.
Objective 1: Students will understand the methods scientists use to explore
natural phenomena.
Objective 2: Students will be able to apply scientific data, concepts, and models.
*Technological Competency: Students will be able to select and apply contemporary
technology to compile information or solve problems.
Objective 1: Students will be able to select appropriate contemporary
technology for compiling information or solving problems.
Objective 2: Students will be able to apply contemporary technology for
compiling information or solving problems.
*Written and Oral Communication: Students will be able to create effective and
purposeful texts and presentations designed to increase knowledge, foster understanding, or
promote change in the audience’s attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors.
Objective 1: Students will be able to create effective and purposeful texts
designed to increase knowledge, foster understanding, or promote
change in the audience's attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors.
Objective 2: Students will be able to create effective and purposeful oral
presentations designed to increase knowledge, foster
understanding, or promote change in the audience's attitudes,
values, beliefs, or behaviors.
*Required by Middles States