1. General Educational Objectives
   
   

   Graduates from BCC will have acquired and demonstrated the knowledge and proficiencies they need to successfully transfer to a four-year baccalaureate program and/or to work in their chosen fields. They will be well-informed, globally aware, engaged world citizens making a meaningful contribution to society. They will be self-directed, committed to their physical and mental well-being, and to lifelong learning.
   

2. General Education Proficiencies
   
   
   1. Communication
      Use reading, writing, listening and speaking to find, interpret, and communicate information in various modes, including aesthetic, statistical, symbolic and graphic.
      
      
   2. Reasoning and Analysis
      Use abstract reasoning, including the ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate and integrate information; apply the results; and formulate and solve problems.
      
      
   3. Mathematical Methods
      Use mathematics/statistics to solve problems.
      
      
   4. Scientific Methods
      Use the scientific method to understand the natural and physical worlds.
      
      
   5. Information Literacy
      Use information technology to support professional and academic careers.
      
      
   6. Personal Growth and Professional Development
      Use continued self-development to examine personal values and civic responsibilities. Navigate college and career requirements with academic, personal, and professional integrity and accountability.

BCC faculty and staff are dedicated to helping students become proficient in these areas throughout all of their educational experiences at the College, both in liberal arts and science courses, courses in the major, and in many programs on our campus that feature learning experiences outside the classroom. Consistent use of integrative learning experiences is intended to provide students with multiple opportunities to learn from a wide scope of perspectives.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When and how will I develop General Education proficiencies at BCC?  BCC faculty are engaged in many efforts to provide you with opportunities to develop them.  For example, to help students develop writing proficiency, all associate degree students take two Writing Intensive courses in various subject areas that use writing to advance learning. A list of WI courses appears each semester in the Schedule of Classes. These courses are intended to help you build proficiency in writing at the same time that you gain understanding and knowledge of a subject area in an academic discipline. Writing Intensive courses may be taken in the major (Specialization), as well as in Core or Required Areas of Study.
   
   
2. Do ENG 10/11 and ENG 12 fulfill the Writing Intensive requirements? No. ENG 10/11, Fundamentals of Composition and Rhetoric / Composition and Rhetoric I, is required in all degree programs; and ENG 12, Composition and Rhetoric II, is also required in many programs.  In addition to these courses, students are required to take two Writing Intensive courses in other subjects.
   
   
3. What about other General Education proficiencies? Students in all programs take mathematics (Nursing students take a computational course in pharmacology). In addition, other courses include topics and units in which students use mathematical skills to solve problems.  For example, students taking courses in biology, business, chemistry, nursing, or sociology learn how to apply quantitative reasoning skills in these areas.
   
   
4. Are there proficiencies in any other courses?  Yes.  For example, BCC faculty who teach CMS 11, ENG 10/11 and HIS 10/11 have designed special units, assignments and projects that focus on General Education goals and proficiencies together with learning in the courses’ subject areas.  Coursework in other academic areas is also under development for General Education enhancement, and the College is committed to supporting faculty in these efforts.
   
   
5. What about using computers?  Another example of becoming proficient in General Education is using information technology to access, evaluate and use information on the internet.  For more information with respect to development of these and other proficiencies within your degree program, you may contact your adviser or degree program coordinator in the appropriate academic department
   
   
6. Will I have to prove that I have developed these proficiencies to graduate?  The City University requires all students who complete 45 credits with a GPA of 2.0 or better to take the CUNY Proficiency Exam.  The exam is intended as a way for students to demonstrate their “ability to understand and think critically about ideas and information presented in print and the ability to write clearly, logically, and correctly…Specifically, the CPE tests some of the skills that you have developed through the course work that you have taken: reading and interpreting textbooks and material of general interest; organizing and presenting your ideas about what you have read and connecting those ideas to other information or concepts; writing clearly and effectively for an audience; and interpreting and evaluating material presented in charts and graphs.”
   
   
7. Will the liberal arts and sciences courses I take at BCC transfer to CUNY senior colleges after I complete my associate degree program here?  Yes, BCC’s General Education complies with CUNY policy.  CUNY transfer policy affirms this by recognizing that the liberal arts and science course credits taken at BCC will count toward fulfilling the first 60 credits of baccalaureate programs at CUNY senior colleges. Many of BCC’s programs have articulation agreements which provide seamless transfer of all courses, including courses in the major.