Gen Ed Transfer Advising Pages 2016-17 Catalog

1. There are two different General Education Programs in effect for new students enrolling this Fall 2016 through Spring 2017.  The choice of a program is dependent on the student’s selected degree.  Page 1 lists degrees for Gen Ed Program 1 and Program 2.  Program 1 degrees follow last year’s General Education Program with a COMM and a HLTH requirement, still totaling 31-34 credits.  COMM and HLTH courses are OPTIONAL for students in Program 2 degrees (including all General Studies AA’s, Business, and Computer Science/Information Systems).  In the Business degree, COMM is required, so it is important to look at the Catalog Program (Major) Outline to view requirements for all degrees.
   
2. The most important difference in the two programs is the choice of Health courses for students.  Students in Program 2 can ONLY choose from the 6 HLTH courses shown here:  HLTH 131, 160, 170, 212 or 225.  There are 14 HLTH course choices in Program 1.  Please be sure to point out this difference to students.
   
3. Program 2 HLTH courses (the six mentioned in #2 above) are all part of the Behavioral/Social Science Distribution (BSSD).  While Program 2 allows students to choose one HLTH course as a GEIR (Institutional Requirement) and they may also choose another HLTH as a BSSD, students may find that a transfer school may only accept one HLTH and elect not to accept a HLTH as a BSSD.  The Maryland State Transfer Policy only assures the acceptance of a course into a General Education category but it does not require transfer schools to accept courses in the same category that they were taken, so a four-year institution has the right to not accept two HLTH courses as a both an Institutional Requirement and as a BSSD.  The SAFE advice is to recommend that students include select only ONE Health (HLTH) course from the General Education List rather than advising students to take two - one as the GEIR requirement and another as a BSSD.   The safest transfer scenario is to take one HLTH as a GEIR-Institutional Requirement.
   
4. Program 2 COMM courses are now listed in the Humanities Distribution (HUMD).  While it may be unlikely, students should be advised to take only one COMM from 108 or 112.  The “or” has been added to this Transfer Advising Notes Gen Ed page because UM College Park considers both COMM 108 and COMM 112 to be equivalent to their COMM 107, so students cannot receive transfer credit for both courses.
   
5. MATH 170 Calculus for the Life Sciences is a new addition to the Math Foundation list.  This course was designed to be an equivalent to UM College Park’s Calculus for Life Sciences, and UMCP’s Biological Sciences program now accepts either MATH 170 & 171 or MATH 181 & 182 Calculus I and II as the calculus sequence; however, UMBC and UMUC accept MATH 170 as an Elementary Applied Calculus only and consider MATH 171 to be an elective only.  Science students who are uncertain about a transfer destination should take MATH 181 & 182 Calculus I & II.  MATH 170 & 171 are safe choices for UMCP only.
   
6. The General Education Program totals have changed for students in Program 2.  The new total is 30 credits for AA degrees, so we need to be careful not to state that completion of the MC Gen Ed Program will satisfy most of the lower-level general education requirements at Maryland public transfer institutions.  For example, students who previously completed 34 credits of Gen Ed transferred to UMCP and needed to take only 6 credits – two more courses of Gen Ed courses to finish the UMCP Program of 40 credits.  Now students under Program 2 will transfer with 30 credits and will need to take 10 additional credits of Gen Ed courses at most schools after transfer.
   
7. Students who entered MC PRIOR to the Fall of 2016 can follow MC’s 2016-17 General Education Program 1 list without having to go back and find last year’s list.  There are new courses added to Arts, Humanities, and Behavioral & Social Sciences.   The rule of thumb is that if a course is considered a Gen Ed during the year that it is taken, then it will count as Gen Ed, so students under an older catalog can take GHUM 101, HIND 101, or COMM 108/112 as a Humanities Distribution this coming year to fulfill a HUMD or an ARTD, etc.
   
8. As always, courses in BOLD & ITALICS on the Gen Ed List are typically more transferable to out-of-state and private institutions. 

I am happy to answer questions about transfer issues related to the General Education program; however, if you have any general General Education Programs, please ask the General Education Committee!

Anne Schleicher

Transfer Counselor and MC Curriculum Committee Resource Member