Huge Dilemma Regarding GE

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I really put myself in a hole with this one, and this was probably one of the stupidest mistakes I made. When I registered for my Fall semester classes, I thought that my 20th Century U.S. History class (HIST361) was part of Category I: Western Cultures and Traditions for General Education. I just checked my STARS report and noticed that it actually wasn't fulfilling General Ed requirements.</p>

<p>I've been taking this class for a whole semester, attending every lecture, studying hard, and taking every essay exam. The course's material ties closely with "Western Cultures and Traditions" and a significant amount of writing was required for the exams. I was seriously under the impression that it was a GE Category I class. My advisor did not inform me about this either.</p>

<p>I'm thinking of asking my advisor if it I could get general education credit for Category I for this class. Is it possible? Would asking my professor to write a letter of appeal help? Has anyone ever been in a situation where they've gotten GE credit for taking a non-GE class?</p>

<p>I really don't want to have wasted an entire semester taking a 4-unit course that wasn't required at all.</p>

<p>Any help regarding this situation would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>1st - there's nothing your advisor nor professor can do directly. Whereas most advisors have the power to "punch in" a replacement course into the computer for your major requirements (like I got MATH 225, linear algebra, substituted with EE 441, a more advanced linear algebra, just by asking my advisor), they have no such control with GE's. The system won't let them.</p>

<p>Also, they tend to be really sticky with GE and university-wide requirements, because there's certain procedures which are followed to get courses approved for GE credit.</p>

<p>But, I think you have a legit shot at getting it applied for GE cat 1. You do want to see an advisor in your department/school because what you want them to do is help you put together a petition to the CAPP (Committee on Academic Policies and Procedures) which requests GE credit for that course. You probably want to see your advisor as soon as possible, but it's not extremely urgent - just make an appointment with them for sometime after they're done with the mobs of people currently registering for spring.</p>

<p>jbusc,</p>

<p>Thanks so much for all your insightful and helpful responses! I appreciate the time and effort you put into responding to my posts. </p>

<p>Do you know anything about the petition process? Is it long and difficult? What is the success rate for petitions filed to the CAPP?</p>