Housatonic Community College

General Program Information

• Terms You need to Know
• General Education Core
• Computer Fundamentals Requirement
• Course Elective Codes

Terms You Need to Know

Certificate programs - short-term programs, usually 30 credits or less, intended for occupational training, upgrading, or retraining. Students receive a Certificate upon successfully fulfilling all requirements and applying for graduation.

Degree programs - academic programs requiring 60 to 68 credit hours to complete and which earn Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees.

Distance Learning or Online Courses - courses offered through computer Internet connection, no regularly scheduled on-campus classes. For more information, Students should contact the Director of Distance Learning, (203) 332-8571. Orientation or final assessment may be scheduled on campus.

Electives - credit courses selected by the student to supplement the required courses in the program of study. Students should consult with their faculty advisors when choosing electives. The courses from which electives may be selected are specified in the program of study.

Hybrid is a name given to describe courses that combine traditional classroom lecture with online coursework.

Prerequisite Course - a course that must be successfully completed before a student can enroll in the next course. Often a grade of "C" or higher is required.

Parallel Course - a course that must be taken either before the course or during the same semester.

Behavioral Sciences electives - courses included in the behavioral sciences (anthropology, psychology, sociology).

Social Sciences electives - courses included in the social sciences (economics, geography, government, history) and SOC* E220 and SOC*E222.

Business electives - courses included under the following headings: accounting, business administration, business office technology, computer science, and economics.

Fine Arts electives - courses in ART* (except ART* E209 and ART* E290), music, theater (except THA* E120), and creative writing (ENG* E281).

Humanities electives - courses in humanities, literature (except ENG* E281), philosophy, religion, and foreign languages.

Mathematics electives - any mathematics course (except MAT* E075 and MAT* E095).

Open electives - courses whose credits can be applied toward graduation, numbered 100 or higher.

Computer Science electives - any computer science course except CSA* E106, CSA* E163, CSA* E220, CSA* E231, and CST* E112.

Science electives - any course listed under biology, chemistry, engineering, natural science, and physics. Students planning to transfer should seriously consider selecting a science elective with a laboratory.

General Education Core

All degree programs at HCC share a common core of learning. This core, considered General Education, is that aspect of the College's instructional program that develops and integrates the student's knowledge, skills, and experiences so that the student can engage effectively in a lifelong process of inquiry and critical thinking.

*In addition to the General Education core students must complete a computer fundamentals requirement.

Goals and Objectives of the General Education Core

The student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a general knowledge of the liberal arts and sciences:

1.1 Demonstrate a knowledge of the humanities and their methods;
1.2 Demonstrate a knowledge of the behavioral and social sciences and their methods;
1.3 Demonstrate a knowledge of the sciences and their methods;
1.4 Demonstrate a knowledge of fine arts and their methods;

2. Develop the ability to think critically:

2.1 State a problem clearly;
2.2 Observe data accurately;
2.3 Analyze and organize facts and ideas;
2.4 Draw reasonable inferences from facts and ideas.

3. Develop the ability to communicate effectively:

3.1 Write and speak clearly in standard English;
3.2 Receive and comprehend written and oral information;
3.3 Develop and explain a main idea;
3.4 Develop an argument to persuade an audience.

4. Develop the ability to use print and electronic information systems:

4.1 Collect and organize information about a topic;
4.2 Access information from libraries using printed and electronic sources;
4.3 Know the fundamentals of computer operation.

5. Develop the ability to make informed judgments concerning ethical issues:

5.1 Recognize both personal and public ethical issues;
5.2 Understand the consequences of a decision or a course of action.

6. Develop the ability to reason quantitatively

6.1 Apply arithmetic and basic algebraic skills to problem-solving;
6.2 Interpret numerical information as presented in charts and graphs.

Computer Fundamentals Requirement

All students enrolling in a degree program are required to demonstrate basic computer literacy. The College has defined the fundamentals of computer literacy as “the ability to use computers effectively. At the basic level, this means knowing how to turn a computer on and off, how to start, manipulate and stop simple application programs, and how to save and print information.” Students must satisfy this computer requirement before they graduate from the associate degree program in which they are enrolled. This requirement can be met in any one of the following ways:

• Successful performance on a College-administered computer literacy exam;
• Completion of a high school computer course with a grade of “C” or higher (an official high school transcript must be submitted with course description);
• Successful performance on a CLEP or DSST (DANTES) exam in computer science and applications;
• Successful completion of a computer applications course from another accredited college or university (an official transcript must be submitted);
• Successful completion of any one of the Housatonic computer-related courses, identified in Course Descriptions.

Completion of any of these courses can be used to satisfy another degree requirement. Fulfillment of the Computer Fundamentals Requirement does not increase the total number of credits needed to finish a degree. This requirement affects all degree students who enrolled for the first time during the Fall 1997 semester or later.

Course Elective Codes

All degree and certificate programs require various courses that must be completed to meet graduation requirements. Many programs include elective courses in addition to specific courses.

The following codes are used after course titles to help you and your advisor determine which elective the course will meet upon its successful completion. In addition to the codes indicated, all courses except those with course numbers less than 100 (ENG* E073, as example) qualify as open electives. You are advised to pay special attention to program footnotes when planning your electives.

Codes: