<p>Can anyone explain about the General Education Program requirements? The website talks about “curricular areas”. I guess this is areas 1-5? It says that “each curricular offers a choice between 2 course clusters that include several foundations courses and a large number of second-level courses”. But, for example, in area 2, there are many courses that do not have a foundation and a second level course; for example- in Area 2, there is only 1 course for Government #105 and no second level course. Does that mean that you can’t take this class #105 as part of your general education requirement? You can only take those classes that have a 100 level AND a 200 level course with the same prefix (COMM, GOVT, LIT, etc?) Thanks to anyone who can explain this.</p>
<p>Karen, that’s outdated information. The new system is easier–or at least, less constraining. American has done away with the “foundations” and “second level” requirement. The current GenEd information is here: [General</a> Education Program](<a href=“http://www.american.edu/provost/gened/index.cfm]General”>American University Washington D.C.).</p>
<p>Also, depending on a student’s field of study, it may be the case that certain courses required for her major will also satisfy her GenEd requirements. In my daughter’s case, SIS requires students to take SIS 105 and SIS 140, which satisfy Area 3, and ECON 100 and ECON 200, which satisfy Area 4.</p>
<p>It’s really heartening to see that the Gen Ed requirements were simplified. Trying to figure out what to take under the old system was like playing three dimensional chess. I’m sure it sounded good to someone on paper, but when real students were trying to set up workable class schedules, while at the same time trying to be somewhat selective about courses and professors, it was a nightmare. Nice to see that AU recognized the problem and addressed it.</p>
<p>Certainly makes us happy at my house, MommaJ! My kid gets to use the new system.</p>
<p>Note also that some AP courses fulfill certain Gen Ed requirements. Not many, but some.</p>
<p>Between APs and double-dipping on courses required for her major, I think my daughter will only have to take courses in a single area specifically for the purpose of fulfilling Gen Ed requirements.</p>
<p>Addendum for Karen: my wife saw my earlier post and said, “I’m looking at that information right here on the AU web site.” So, I want to clarify. I know you can find all that stuff still on AU’s site. I like a lot of things about American, but their web site is absolutely not one of them. The architecture of the site, like the peace of God, passes all understanding, and a number of things need updating. But, honest, you don’t need to worry about “foundation courses” and “second-level courses” in the different areas of GenEd.</p>
<p>I hope my first post in this thread didn’t sound judgmental, or critical of you in some way. It wasn’t meant to.</p>
<p>Sikorsky, no, not taken as critical at all. Thank you for the input. Now I understand why I was so confused about the info in the website. I wll ignore the part about the foundation and second level courses and just follow what the link that you provided says. Thanks so much for clarifying that!</p>
<p>The Freshman Guide is apparently down until Tuesday morning. Kind of a pain since Monday is the official deadline. They sent out an e-mail saying that they will understand if you submit it after the deadline. They’re probably trying to fix some of the glitches…</p>
<p>Monday is the official deadline for what?</p>
<p>Freshman Guide. And actually, I thought the deadline was yesterday.</p>
<p>We got an e-mail saying that the Freshman Guide deadline is 5/28 (Monday) but they understand that some will be submitted late due to the system outage.</p>
<p>Interesting. It must have been only my daughter’s advisor who asked for the Guides by May 26. I wonder whether she moved the deadline earlier, or hit the wrong key on the keyboard.</p>
<p>Either way, this seems like one of those things what won’t really matter any more by August.</p>
<p>Sikorsky, did your D complete hers yet? My S noticed some glitches when he was working on his before the outage (instructions telling you to choose second-level Gen Ed Courses in the right-hand column, but there was no right-hand column; section numbers disappearing every time you went to the next page, etc.) . I believe that’s why they took it down - to fix the glitches. Now my S will have to finish it on Tuesday when he gets home from school. It will be nice when these tasks (Freshman Guide, roommate selection, etc.) are all done.</p>
<p>My D sent hers in before the problem and heard back that her selections are approved. Wondering how the actual registration process works. What if the classes are full when she tries to register?</p>
<p>LR4150, actually my daughter has fallen victim to one of the glitches. She was admitted a year ago, in 2011, and taken a gap year. So she completed her Freshman Guide last May. Now it needs some updating, but you can’t update your Freshman Guide online. To complicate matters further, even though she’s in a developed and industrialized country, she’s currently in a dormitory with rather limited Internet. (I know, right? What kind of dormitory doesn’t have Internet?) So I’ve been talking to her on the phone, and then corresponding with her advisor by email. It’s cumbersome.</p>
<p>Bubmom, it’s a possibility that some of the classes will be full. Upperclassmen get to register ahead of freshmen. That’s why the Freshman Guide asked for alternates. (It did, didn’t it? I forget now what was the Guide, and what was in emails with the advisor–see above.) But they probably won’t all be full. Remember, all those upperclassmen who’ve registered have probably already taken the things your daughter will be registering for. They’ve half-finished, or even finished, their GenEd; they’ve met the writing requirement; they’ve met the math requirement; they’re more advanced in their foreign language. Your daughter may not get everything on her list this semester, but she’s highly unlikely to be completely shut out, too.</p>