Welcome, from the Office of General Education! As prospective students we would like to share some basic information with you. As of Fall 2010 all incoming students will be under the new Foundational Studies Program. Please reference the Foundational Studies Program if you have any questions, or contact the Office of General Education at (812) 237-3940.
The General Education Program at ISU has two components: Basic Studies and Liberal Studies. The Basic Studies courses are designed to strengthen your abilities in written and spoken communication, quantitative literacy, and foreign language and to enhance your physical fitness. The Liberal Studies courses are designed to develop your abilities for: independent thinking, critical analysis, and reasoned inquiry; generating meaning through writing, speaking, reading, and listening; making informed judgments and responsible choices; acquiring the knowledge and intellectual skills that encourage participatory citizenship, develop the value of learning, and facilitate adaptation to social, technological, ecological, economic, and political changes; and ensuring that you have studied within a variety of areas.
All students completing a bachelor’s degree at ISU are required to complete a minimum of 14 General Education courses, including from four to nine courses in Basic Studies [depending on your major and pre-college level of preparation] and ten courses in Liberal Studies. Students completing an associate’s degree complete a modified General Education Program.
If you are not sure about a major or minor, General Education can help you there, too. You can use General Education courses to pursue areas of interest and to investigate career possibilities. If you are already sure of your major, your General Education program can help you choose a minor that complements your professional goals.
Going to college is not just about getting a job. It’s about developing the analytical skills necessary to make sound decisions, the communication skills necessary to convey those decisions to others, the ethical values and intellectual skills that facilitate collaboration with others and promote participatory citizenship, and the aesthetic sensibility that fosters lifelong appreciation of the liberal arts and humanities, and of the human condition.
All approved Liberal Studies courses promote the four common goals of the General Education Program:
• Critical Thinking - develops your capacity for independent thinking, critical analysis, and reasoned inquiry.
• Communications Skills - enhances your writing, speaking, reading, and listening abilities.
• Issues of Value and Belief - enhances your capacities for making informed and reasonable choices.
• Lifelong Learning - helps you develop the knowledge and intellectual skills that encourage participatory citizenship, acknowledges the value of learning, and facilitates adaptation to change.
The program you follow depends on your major. General Education courses work around what your major is; they also complement your minor.
When choosing a track, you should speak with your Academic Advisor.