General Education: Ethical Citizenship for the 21st Century (Fall 2019 and forward)

Department Contact:

Office of General Education: 814-472-3149
Interim Director: Dr. Jessica Lieb Cammarata, jcammarata@francis.edu

General Education Mission Statement

General Education, as an integral component in the achievement of the Mission of Saint Francis University, provides a means for the University to honor many of its most important commitments. Ever mindful of the rapidly changing world around us and the need for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiry to address complex problems, General Education is dedicated to providing students with the values, skills, and knowledge necessary to meet future challenges. True to the liberal arts roots and Franciscan heritage of the University, the program encourages students to examine ethical issues, demonstrate global awareness, become actively involved in community service, and prepare for life-long learning of new skills and knowledge.

General Education contributes to the development of the whole person, allowing individuals to achieve more rewarding and purposeful lives. General Education strives to achieve 8 goals that collectively represent the values, skills, and knowledge deemed most important by Saint Francis University. These include:

Goal 1: Understand moral and ethical questions.
Goal 2: Demonstrate an understanding of and appreciation for cultural diversity.
Goal 3: Build the foundations for commitment to lifelong learning, personal well-being, and community service.
Goal 4: Develop effective communication skills.
Goal 5: Demonstrate proficiency in quantitative literacy and scientific reasoning.
Goal 6: Develop critical and creative skills, abilities, and reasoning.
Goal 7: Conduct research using discipline-appropriate materials and methods.
Goal 8: Understand the demands of active citizenship.

General Education

General Education encompasses the learning Saint Francis University wants for its students generally, regardless of academic major or professional ambition. At Saint Francis University, general education is a multi-year program that weaves together core curriculum courses plus other program components including first-year experiences such as the Summer Orientation and Academic Registration (SOAR) program, a summer reading program, the First-Year Seminar, and the First-Year Cornerstone Franciscan Course (Franciscan Goals for Today); co-curricular offerings such as the college-wide Community Enrichment Series (CES); other curricular requirements such as the Writing Competency Examination and upper-level Keystone Seminar to create a connected, coherent academic experience that provides a foundation for life-long learning.

All Saint Francis University undergraduate students will complete the revised General Education program, “Ethical Citizenship for the 21st Century.”

Important Definitions:

General Education - a multi-year program that incorporates core curriculum courses plus other program components to create an academic experience that provides the foundation for life-long learning.
Keystone Seminar- a course that enables students to make connections based on material, information, and ideas encountered and developed during their undergraduate years.

General Education Core Curriculum

Ethical Citizenship for the 21st Century: A Program for General Education

This program is to be completed by all Saint Francis University undergraduate students.

Firmly rooted in Franciscan heritage and values, “Ethical Citizenship for the 21st Century” includes the learning that Saint Francis University wants for all of its students. Starting with the First-Year Seminar and the First-Year Franciscan Cornerstone Course, which includes a service-learning component, the program offers curricular and co-curricular experiences designed to provide students with the values, skills and knowledge necessary for responsible, engaged citizenship in today’s world. This general education program is a multi-year program that weaves together core curriculum courses and other program components to create a connected, coherent academic experience that provides a foundation for life-long learning. The program includes some common core courses as well as some choices within well-defined parameters. This curriculum culminates in a Keystone Seminar that offers the opportunity to reflect upon the student’s entire academic experience at the university level. In addition to the core courses, students engage in the university’s Summer Academic orientation and Registration (SOAR), a first-year summer reading program, and an institution-wide community enrichment series (CES). In order to assure that graduates can express complex thought and write at an appropriate level, all students must either pass a junior-level writing competency examination or complete WRIT 199 , WRIT 385 , or WRIT 387 with the grade of C or better.

EXAM 301: The Writing Competency Exam

The Writing Competency Exam (WCE) is part of the General Education requirements of Saint Francis University. The exam is designed to “assess ability to write a clear, developed, and organized essay”. Passage of the exam is a requirement for graduation, juniors (students with 60 completed credits, but no more than 95) who have not yet either passed this exam or completed WRIT 199 , WRIT 385 , or WRIT 387 with the grade of C or better will be automatically enrolled in the exam. Students will not be allowed to drop the exam except under extraordinary conditions and with the approval of their advisor and the Director of General Education. Students who are enrolled in the exam, but fail to take it, will receive an “F” on their transcripts

Students who fail the WCE will automatically be enrolled for the WCE each semester until they pass it, unless they petition the Office of General Education to be allowed to miss a semester (for study abroad, etc.). Students who are automatically enrolled for the WCE cannot drop it without permission from the Office of General Education. Students who wish to withdraw from the WCE after the drop/add period has passed must get permission from the Office of General Education. Students who are enrolled for the WCE, but fail to take the exam, will receive an F.

Students who have not passed the WCE or completed WRIT 199 , WRIT 385 , or WRIT 387 with the grade of C or better by the first semester of their senior year (or by the first semester after they have earned 96 credits), regardless of whether they have attempted the WCE or not, will automatically be enrolled in CORE 199 , a required 5-week writing remediation course. Students in CORE 199 will take EXAM 301 at the completion of the course and will not be permitted to sit for EXAM 301 until CORE 199 has been completed. If a student in CORE 199 does not pass the WCE, a grade of CN will be recorded and the student will be required to take CORE 199 again. This requirement will be deferred for one semester for students who transfer in as seniors, and may be deferred for other causes by petition to the Office of General Education.

Requirements for Graduation: Ethical Citizenship for the 21st Century

General Education Requirements: 48-51 credits

CORE 103 - Community Enrichment Series
CORE 104 - Community Enrichment Series
CORE 113 - First-year Seminar
EXAM 301 - Writing Competency Exam Or completion of WRIT 199 , WRIT 385 , Or WRIT 387 with a grade of C or better
WRIT 102 - Research Writing
LIT 104 - Introduction to Literature Or any of the following: LIT 201 , LIT 202 , LIT 222 , LIT 204 , LIT 207 , LIT 270
RLST 105 - Franciscan Goals for Today
PHIL 205 - Discovering Philosophy Reasoning and Responsibility
One additional 3-credit RLST or PHIL course
Any 3-credit HIST course at the 100 or 200 level
One of the following science courses: BIOL 103 , BIOL 104 , BIOL 105 , CHEM 105 , PHYS 101 , PHYS 102 , SCI 101 , SCI 201 , or any natural science, computer science, or engineering course that has an associated lab, if the lab is also completed.
MATH 101 - General Mathematics Or any MATH course numbered 105 or higher
One additional 3- or 4-credit course in Math, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, or any of the natural sciences
One 3-credit Fine Arts course (FNAR, ART, MUS, THTR)
One 3-credit language course at the 102 level or above (ASL, FREN, GERM, ITAL, LANG, LATN, SPAN)
Two 3-credit courses (6 credits) from two different disciplines from the following list: ECON 101 , PSYC 101 , any PLSC course at the 100 or 200 level, any SOC course at the 100 or 200 level
One additional course (3 credits) in any of the social science disciplines, i.e. ECON, PLSC, PSYC, SOC. EDUC 150 will fulfill this requirement for Education majors.
One 3-credit designated diversity course form the list below (course may be double counted with another General Education requirement)
CORE 407 - General Education Keystone Seminar Or an approved major-specific upper-level 3-credit seminar

Diversity Requirement

Every student must complete a diversity course or experience as defined in the list below. Such courses may fulfill general education, major, or collateral requirements as well as fulfilling the diversity requirement.

Additional Policies:

All first-time full-time matriculating students will be required to enroll, at some point in their academic careers at Saint Francis, in the following CORE courses in order to earn a degree: CORE 103 , CORE 104 , CORE 113 , and CORE 407 . This policy applies without regard to the number of college credits any student may have earned prior to attending Saint Francis University as a first time freshman.

Students who have matriculated on a full-time basis at another college or university prior to attending Saint Francis may be exempt from one or more CORE courses according to the number of credits they have transferred in:

Students transferring in more than 14, but fewer than 28 earned credits, excluding AP, College in High school and CLEP credits, are required to take either CORE 103 or 104, but not both.

Students transferring in 28 or more earned credits, excluding AP, College in High school and CLEP credits, are exempt from CORE 103 and CORE 104.

The requirement of CORE 113 is waived for students transferring in 28 or more credits, excluding AP, College in High school and CLEP credits.

Students who, upon admission, transfer in a composition course from an accredited college or university (including college in high school classes) or who have earned a “4” on the Advanced Placement exam for English Language and Composition or English Literature and Composition, will be eligible to complete a research writing assessment. Students who receive a passing grade on the assessment will have the transferred composition course or AP exam grade substituted for WRIT 102 Research Writing . First-time full-time matriculating students earning a “5” on the Advanced Placement exam for English Language and Composition or English Literature and Composition will receive credit for WRIT 102 Research Writing .

Students enrolled in Francis Worldwide programs may take RLST 205 instead of RLST 105. RLST 205 is offered only online and only to students in Francis Worldwide online programs. Except by permission of the chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, either RLST 105 or RLST 205 must be completed at Saint Francis University.