This seems like more than just a renaming of the current 6 GE requirements. Starting with those entering in Fall 2015 there are now 6 new GE’s required:
Category A: The Arts
Category B: Humanistic Inquiry
Category C: Social Analysis
Category D: Life Sciences
Category E: Physical Sciences
Category F: Quantitative Reasoning
I wonder how this impacts those who are transfers and thought they had their GE’s already taken care of. It could well be that some of these overlap with the old GE’s…
Just read the proposal here http://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/1/docs/undergraduate/GE/Proposal_for_the_New_General_Education_Program.pdf Unless they changed the categories where 2 courses were required (maybe they reduced it to one apiece?), this in effect means two additional GE courses from the the number required of my older son (graduated in May 2014). For kids who like to explore as many electives as possible, this is too bad.
Wow - 10 classes total based on the pdf. Spread over 4 years it doesn’t seem so bad and the Arts, for instance, includes options for creativity, etc. But was talking to kidlit who only has to complete 6 GE’s which gives flexibility to add classes for her minor, etc. Asking for ten GE’s from incoming Freshman and transfer students using Community college as a cheaper way to get them out of the way is a game changer for sure.
I did note that undergrads can “double count” their global classes for the core literacy requirements which, if done right, can bring the GE total down to 8. But it’s still an increase.
Also saw this:
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It’s possible what it’s in that proposal has been reduced. On the USC website, it doesn’t say anything about any of the categories requiring two courses, so I’m hopeful that with the “double dipping” of global perspectives to core literacies (similar to double dipping w/ the old diversity requirement) it’s still the same number it used to be - 8 including the two writing requirements.
I wonder if the two writing courses and Diversity are in addition to these GE’s. It’s not clear.
than GE/Core). Diversity was listed with the precursor to these categories, so my guess is it’s been eliminated or worked in to the new categories.
Not sure what happened to my last post. I said that the Writing requirements were never specifically a part of the GE/Core and that I seriously doubt that they would ever go away.
If I’m interpreting this correctly, the last two “new” categories can be “double-dipped” to satisfy the first 6 categories if chosen properly, and at the end of the day, the number of courses can be the same as it was before:
http://dailytrojan.com/2015/01/23/core-curriculum-changes-to-take-effect-in-fall-2015/
It’s also good to see that this does not impact Transfer students!
So 8 GE courses now, am I understanding that correctly? That is what I got out of the article above but from the posts here, I seem to be missing something. So in essence, a year of tuition on GEs?
Two of the second set can also qualify the first set if chosen properly (like the old Diversity requirement could be “double-dipped”), so it could be 6 just like in prior years. Plus there have always been two required writing courses in addition to GE. This is pretty standard with schools like USC. I can’t explain it any better. If students choose the right courses, the number is the same as always.
Here’s the comparison: This is the GE requirement for Freshman students in 2013’s catalogue:. New requirements are 10 classes versus the 8 now (which include writing). But saavy students can reduce to 8 by double dipping two classes.
Here’s the new one: (and I think it does affect Transfer students as they now must complete at least two GE’s on campus rather than knocking them out at community college.)
Here is what I suspect if you parse the language USC is using in the following article:
http://dailytrojan.com/2015/01/23/core-curriculum-changes-to-take-effect-in-fall-2015/
It is likely the writing component remains a separate category. It doesn’t address writing in the PDF of the new proposal. Currently, USC lists the Foundations and Case Studies component under General Education and the Writing component separately. So it is possible students will see 2-4 more requirements than current students depending on how they choose classes in addition to two writing classes which are not considered “GE’s”.
I don’t envy a new student trying to navigate the double counting on their own. Some advisers are better than others at helping with course selections.
I think GE 4 and 6 were also always required to be taken at USC even for transfers.
Sigh. ArtsandLetters: You posted the proposal. That is not necessarily what was approved. Online on current website and in the Daily Trojan article above, no categories say they require TWO COURSES. And two of the first eight can be “double-dipped” to satisfy the second group. if you parse the language further and read where it talks about if they choose the right courses for the new “themes,” they can satisfy the first list of 8. Please re-read carefully the article written AFTER the new GE requirements were approved that I linked. Here it is again: http://dailytrojan.com/2015/01/23/core-curriculum-changes-to-take-effect-in-fall-2015/
Also as a parent of a USC graduate I can assure you the “double dip” courses are EASILY identified in WEB reg. Other than that,I give up.
Is this poker? I raise your sigh and add a groan.
Thank you for the kind admonishment to “read carefully.” Since that’s what I do for a living, and since I have a kid CURRENTLY at the school - the consensus is that even with double dipping new Freshman will have to take two more courses than before. What is not to understand - even in your current link?
And as someone who interviews hundreds of kids - one can not assume that what is easily identified by someone of your esteemed parent stature is not always obvious to children navigating the landscape of college for the first time.
But thanks for playing! What a joy you must derive from lecturing us during what had been a jovial discussion and inquiry. If you disagreed, you could have simply added to the discourse politely.
Your link says:
“Two new” will supplement, not replace. But you know - that pesky parsing problem makes it hard to understand language sometimes.
For the record, I was at Dornsife meeting when the Dean clearly told parents they intended to raise the bar on GE’s.
I read it differently. Looks like the same number to me as before as long as they double dip the two “themes” the way many double dipped the old Diversity requirement my son had (which the two new “themes” are replacing). That, since none of the new GE A-F categories seem to require two courses, as originally proposed. Here is the language implying that double-dipping will be possible with both “themes”:
“General education courses will have tags indicating these themes. When people choose these, they will satisfy both their general education core classes and their themes.”
Raising the bar could easily mean many things, including better courses with smaller numbers of students, as discussed in the Trojan article, and the possibility of more courses, if students don’t choose carefully.
I know you read it differently. That was clear. My only point was to add to the discussion by posting the existing information from USC as it was offered.
I think it best then, to wait until the real specifications are posted in the catalogue. For now they aren’t up and running yet. According to current students - the general buzz is there will be more required.
It is clear - in the proposal, that two of the six listed required two courses outside of the second category. Perhaps that changed - but there is nothing in your link to suggest otherwise. And for the record - when the Dean said raise the bar - the conversation included talks of “more course requirements.” I remember specifically the groans coming from the audience. So let’s just agree to disagree until the facts are in.
Hi Everyone, this was very confusing to me. I’m a transfer student and finished almost everything last year. However, with this new policy, I’m not sure if I’m suppose to take these new courses. Does that mean all the classes i took back then does not count ?
Im a freshman at a cc planning to transfer to USC and I already registered for my classes when the new GE’s came out but luckily, they still matched up. I think the new requirements are more flexible though.