| (a) General.
(1) In accordance with Texas Education Code, §§61.821
- 61.832, each institution of higher education that offers an undergraduate
academic degree program shall design and implement a core curriculum,
including specific courses composing the curriculum, of no less than
42 lower-division semester credit hours.
(2) No upper-division course shall be approved to fulfill
a foundational component area requirement in the core curriculum if
it is substantially comparable in content or depth of study to a lower-division
course listed in the Lower-Division Academic Course Guide Manual.
(3) Medical or dental units that admit undergraduate
transfer students should encourage those students to complete their
core curriculum requirement at a general academic teaching institution
or public junior college.
(b) Texas Core Curriculum. Each institution of higher
education that offers an undergraduate academic degree program shall
develop its core curriculum by using the Board-approved purpose, core
objectives, and foundational component areas of the Texas Core Curriculum.
(1) Statement of Purpose. Through the Texas Core Curriculum,
students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and
the physical and natural world, develop principles of personal and
social responsibility for living in a diverse world, and advance intellectual
and practical skills that are essential for all learning.
(2) Core Objectives. Through the Texas Core Curriculum,
students will prepare for contemporary challenges by developing and
demonstrating the following core objectives:
(A) Critical Thinking Skills: to include creative thinking,
innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information;
(B) Communication Skills: to include effective development,
interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual
communication;
(C) Empirical and Quantitative Skills: to include the
manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting
in informed conclusions;
(D) Teamwork: to include the ability to consider different
points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared
purpose or goal;
(E) Personal Responsibility: to include the ability
to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making;
and
(F) Social Responsibility: to include intercultural
competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to
engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.
(3) Foundational Component Areas with Content Descriptions,
Core Objectives and Semester Credit Hour (SCH) Requirements. Each
institution's core curriculum will be composed of courses that adhere
to the content description, core objectives, and semester credit hour
requirements for a specific component area. The foundational component
areas are:
(A) Communication (6 SCH).
(i) Courses in this category focus on developing ideas
and expressing them clearly, considering the effect of the message,
fostering understanding, and building the skills needed to communicate
persuasively.
(ii) Courses involve the command of oral, aural, written,
and visual literacy skills that enable people to exchange messages
appropriate to the subject, occasion, and audience.
(iii) The following four Core Objectives must be addressed
in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical
Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility.
(B) Mathematics (3 SCH).
(i) Courses in this category focus on quantitative
literacy in logic, patterns, and relationships.
(ii) Courses involve the understanding of key mathematical
concepts and the application of appropriate quantitative tools to
everyday experience.
(iii) The following three Core Objectives must be addressed
in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical
Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, and Empirical and Quantitative
Skills.
(C) Life and Physical Sciences (6 SCH).
(i) Courses in this category focus on describing, explaining,
and predicting natural phenomena using the scientific method.
(ii) Courses involve the understanding of interactions
among natural phenomena and the implications of scientific principles
on the physical world and on human experiences.
(iii) The following four Core Objectives must be addressed
in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical
Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Empirical and Quantitative
Skills, and Teamwork.
(D) Language, Philosophy, and Culture (3 SCH).
(i) Courses in this category focus on how ideas, values,
beliefs, and other aspects of culture express and affect human experience.
(ii) Courses involve the exploration of ideas that
foster aesthetic and intellectual creation in order to understand
the human condition across cultures.
(iii) The following four Core Objectives must be addressed
in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical
Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Personal Responsibility, and
Social Responsibility.
(E) Creative Arts (3 SCH).
(i) Courses in this category focus on the appreciation
and analysis of creative artifacts and works of the human imagination.
(ii) Courses involve the synthesis and interpretation
of artistic expression and enable critical, creative, and innovative
communication about works of art.
(iii) The following four Core Objectives must be addressed
in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical
Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Teamwork, and Social Responsibility.
(F) American History (6 SCH).
(i) Courses in this category focus on the consideration
of past events and ideas relative to the United States, with the option
of including Texas History for a portion of this component area.
(ii) Courses involve the interaction among individuals,
communities, states, the nation, and the world, considering how these
interactions have contributed to the development of the United States
and its global role.
(iii) The following four Core Objectives must be addressed
in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical
Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Personal Responsibility, and
Social Responsibility.
(G) Government/Political Science (6 SCH).
(i) Courses in this category focus on consideration
of the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions of
the states, with special emphasis on that of Texas.
(ii) Courses involve the analysis of governmental institutions,
political behavior, civic engagement, and their political and philosophical
foundations.
(iii) The following four Core Objectives must be addressed
in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical
Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Personal Responsibility, and
Social Responsibility.
(H) Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 SCH).
(i) Courses in this category focus on the application
of empirical and scientific methods that contribute to the understanding
of what makes us human.
(ii) Courses involve the exploration of behavior and
interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, and events,
examining their impact on the individual, society, and culture.
(iii) The following four Core Objectives must be addressed
in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical
Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Empirical and Quantitative
Skills, and Social Responsibility.
(4) Component Area Option (6 SCH).
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this
paragraph, each course designated to complete the Component Area Option
must meet the definition and Core Objectives specified in one of the
foundational component areas outlined in paragraph (3)(A) - (H) of
this subsection.
(B) As an option for up to three (3) semester credit
hours of the Component Area Option, an institution may certify that
the course(s):
(i) Meet(s) the definition specified for one or more
of the foundational component areas; and
(ii) Include(s) a minimum of three Core Objectives,
including Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, and one
of the remaining Core Objectives of the institution's choice.
(C) For the purposes of gaining approval for or reporting
a Component Area Option course under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph,
an institution is not required to notify the Board of the specific
foundational component area(s) and Core Objectives associated with
the course(s).
(5) Applicability of Texas Core Curriculum.
Cont'd... |
