205: AGEC Requirements

Effective Date: February 6, 2025
Purpose: To define the purpose, categories, criteria, and credit hour ranges for the new AGEC
Sources: Steering Committee meeting notes September 7, 2023
Responsibility & Approval: GEATF / AZTransfer Steering Committee

AGEC REDESIGN – CATEGORY, CREDIT RANGES AND CRITERIA

Categories and Credit Ranges (total of 32 to 35 credits)

1. Written and Oral Communication (6-10 credits; the first 6 must be composition/technical writing, and the remaining 3-4 credits can be in communication studies or languages)
2. Arts and Humanities (6-9 credits)
3. Quantitative Reasoning (3-4 credits)
4. Natural Sciences (4-8 credits)
5. Social and Behavioral Sciences (6-9 credits)
6. Institutions in the Americas (3 credits)

Note: Students will choose courses to align with transfer institution

CATEGORY CRITERIA

WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION

Composition courses in this category will meet at least four of the following criteria:
Instruction on

• the rhetorical situation of written and oral communication, including audience, purpose, and context
• the recursive writing process (strategies for generating ideas, drafting, revising, editing, and reflecting)
• the research process (collecting, evaluation, analyzing, and synthesizing primary and secondary research), the responsible use of sources (including digital/multimodal), and ethical citation of source material
• the importance of contextual/situational awareness in communication, including organizational schemas/strategies, development of ideas, and presentation, and may include instruction for academic and/or technical/professional purposes.
  

Communication or language course in this category will meet at least four of the following criteria:
Instruction on

• the syntax and mechanics of written and/or oral communication, including exploration of academic and rhetorically diverse contexts
• how to communicate orally and visually
• the structure and delivery of oral presentations
• the use of visual aids to effectively communicate
• the use of language(s) to explore and express ideas in a diverse society
  

ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Courses in this category will meet at least three of the following criteria:
Instruction on

• the analysis, interpretation, and/or creation of cultural, artistic, and/or intellectual artifacts
• the importance of global awareness, intercultural knowledge, and intellectual humility, objectivity, and/or curiosity, by situating cultural, artistic, and/or intellectual artifacts in a diverse range of cultural, historical, and intellectual contexts
• the exploration of ideological, philosophical, existential, and/or moral questions with the possibility of developing informed civic and ethical identities through study and/or creative self-expression
• the creation and/or re-creation or artistic works culminating in individual or group exhibition, publication, production, or performance
• the understanding or current global challenges (environmental, social justice, etc.), including exploration of strategies for positive change
  

QUANTITATIVE REASONING

Courses in this category will meet all the following criteria:
Instruction on

• mathematical, statistical, and/or logical techniques and methods, and then how to use those methods to understand and solve meaningful problems
• how to express quantitative information symbolically, graphically, and/or in written or oral language
• how to interpret, analyze, and critique information or a line of reasoning
• how to ask critical thinking questions, develop critical thinking skills and mathematical reasoning, and follow logical procedures step by step
  

NATURAL SCIENCES

Courses in this category will meet at least four of the following criteria:
Instruction on

• how to describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena using scientific, logical, and quantitative reasoning and empirical evidence from observation and experimentation
• the use of experimentation and/or observation to study natural phenomena, using the scientific method
• how to communicate information about the natural world using written, numeric, and/or visual formats; and when possible, how to use computational/simulation programming environments as a method for solving systems and simulating theoretical or experimental data
• the history of scientific development
• how to critically evaluate scientific information, including visual displays and quantitative data
• how the tools and techniques of the natural sciences are applied to global and local issues such as sustainability, climate change, etc.
• the importance of investigating and understanding how natural phenomena varies by culture and location, including perspectives of indigenous peoples
• the importance of examining assumptions about the natural world and implications those assumptions have for individual and societal decisions
  

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Courses in this category will meet at least four of the following criteria:
Instruction on

• the importance of understanding and respecting cultures through social, family, historical, political events and/or processes using social scientific theories, methods, principles, and/or perspectives
• how to apply social scientific methods of inquiry to generate knowledge about human behavior within individuals, societies, and across cultural groups
• the diversity of human development for individuals and/or social groups, including behaviors across time, culture, and historic/social/political/economic contexts
• the interactions among human thought, behavior, relationships, and actions through the lens of social scientific analytic frameworks
• the challenges of understanding the diverse natures of individuals and cultural groups who live together in a complex and evolving world
• how to think critically to better understand the range of human experience through time and to navigate stressful challenges inherent in the human condition
• how to investigate social consequences or large-scale and group economic, technological, scientific, political, ecological, and cultural change
• the importance of global awareness, intercultural knowledge, and intellectual humility, objectivity, and/or curiosity, by situating cultural, social, and/or intellectual artifacts in a diverse range of cultural, historical, and intellectual contexts
  

INSTITUTIONS IN THE AMERICAS

Courses in this category will meet at least four of the following criteria:
Instruction on

• the importance of developing civic and global engagement and participation as evidenced by: respectful dialogue, intercultural competence, self-awareness, civic identity, consideration of multiple perspectives
• the importance of exploring and/or examining how the histories and cultures of different people, including historically marginalized groups, inhabiting the geographic area now considered the United States have shaped current experiences and institutions of government
• governmental structures and/or philosophies important within United States and/or Tribal contexts by comparing them to non-U.S. structures and/or philosophies
• the basic principles of American constitutional democracy and republicanism and/or indigenous political theories and how they are applied through the analysis of the U.S. Constitution, Tribal governance systems, and/or other founding documents, significant treaties, and landmark court cases.
• how to critically assessing public policy options for personal and professional decision-making using basic economic, environmental, political, and intercultural knowledge
• the major religious or spiritual doctrines, philosophies, and communities that helped shape culture and policies
• how to analyze documentary evidence, and compare and contrast scholarly interpretations
• the multifaceted history European colonialism and imperialism and their effects, including diasporas, enslavement, war, and genocide, within North America and globally
• the importance of exploring ethics and how it applies to public policy and professional decision making