Texas Core Curriculum - questions and very confused (as usual)

[....]

If you know anything about the Texas Core Curriculum, can you help me understand this?

 

This is the first I've heard about this (we're not from Texas) and we have a ton of college under our collective belts here.

 

So, everyone who goes to college as an undergrad here in Texas has to take the *exact* same 42 credits worth of classes??  And if you finish the 42 credit hours and transfer to another college, they get transferred as a "block" and you don't have to retake the classes?

 

Am I understanding this correctly?  Where we went to college, every university had their own graduation requirements...well, and we walked to school uphill, both ways, in the snow...  

 

Edited to add: OK, so now I found a list online of the core curriculum on our college's website (the college we're interested in)...  Art?  An entire year of US history??  Speech?  PE?????  That sounds like stuff they should've done in high school.  We didn't have to take courses like that in college.    

 

Sorry, I'm just weirded out about this.  The more I start looking at college for my kids, the more it's starting to look like high school!? 

Edited June 8, 2017 by Evanthe

[Guest]

Yes, that's pretty much how it works. The idea is to make well-rounded students. I actually support the idea, especially for students who start college as undeclared majors.

 

But it's not the exact same classes. For example, you have to take a class to fulfill the fine arts requirement. So you can take art, music, theater, dance, art appreciation, etc.

 

There are a few that are the same. English Comp is one example. And Texas state government is another.

 

Hope this helps.

[Bristayl]

 Art?  An entire year of US history??  Speech?  PE?????  That sounds like stuff they should've done in high school.  We didn't have to take courses like that in college.    

 

Sorry, I'm just weirded out about this.  The more I start looking at college for my kids, the more it's starting to look like high school!? 

 

 

That's why we're doing most if not all of the core curriculum while still in high school through dual enrollment, CLEP, and AP.

[Guest]

I just wanted to say that this is not a new idea. I attended college 1990-1994 and core curriculum was a thing at the two colleges I attended (in Texas, one public, one private) .

Edited June 8, 2017 by Kinsa

[....]

Yes, that's pretty much how it works. The idea is to make well-rounded students. I actually support the idea, especially for students who start college as undeclared majors.

 

But it's not the exact same classes. For example, you have to take a class to fulfill the fine arts requirement. So you can take art, music, theater, dance, art appreciation, etc.

 

There are a few that are the same. English Comp is one example. And Texas state government is another.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thank-you for taking the time to reply.  My husband was saying that I was misreading it.  No, it says that on the college's website!  Lol.  We were all looking at the list trying to figure out how they have time to take all those extra classes.  I was a STEM major and would've freaked out if I had to take art, PE, government, etc.  Also, I would've been upset if one of those classes messed up my GPA.

 

Anyway, thanks for clearing that up!

[....]

That's why we're doing most if not all of the core curriculum while still in high school through dual enrollment, CLEP, and AP.

 

We are very seriously thinking about doing dual enrollment next year (and that originally wasn't our plan).

[....]

I just wanted to say that this is not a new idea. I attended college 1990-1994 and core curriculum was a thing at the ywo colleges I attended.

 

I graduated in 2001 from a university in Illinois.  They just had vague requirements...like, OK, everybody take a foreign language, a couple of humanities classes, a science, English 101 and 102...  There weren't so many of those requirements and they weren't so - um, standardized.

[retiredHSmom]

I graduated from a Texas College in 1993 with an engineering degree and had to take all those core curriculum courses.  I remember fondly getting to take PE and Arthurian Literature and Child Development.  It was a nice break from my engineering classes.

[Caroline]

Thank-you for taking the time to reply. My husband was saying that I was misreading it. No, it says that on the college's website! Lol. We were all looking at the list trying to figure out how they have time to take all those extra classes. I was a STEM major and would've freaked out if I had to take art, PE, government, etc. Also, I would've been upset if one of those classes messed up my GPA.

 

Anyway, thanks for clearing that up!

I graduated in 1992 with an engineering degree from Virginia Tech and I had 36 hours of core requirements to meet on top of my engineering requirements. My son just graduated from Georgia Tech with a mechanical engineering degree and also had core requirements to take. I'm not sure how many hours, but it was more than a class here and there. There were specific requirements.

[Twigs]

You  mentioned a year of US history, don't forget the year of government - 1 semester US + 1 semester TX!  I took 3 of those 4 semesters + a semester of psych (needed for my AAS major) in 1 summer to get them out of the way.

[emzhengjiu]

The one semester of TX government seems overkill to me.  My daughter finished the course last year and said it could have been covered as a section in the regular government class rather than an entire semester.

[Guest2]

dp

Edited June 9, 2017 by Silver Brook

[Guest2]

We took core classes in the midwest when I went to school. I always thought it was the norm. Engineering students had less core curriculm.

 

For most majors, in most schools, a person does not need to complete all 42 hours prior to tranfer. Look at the websites or google transfer and name of school. The majors drive the requirements needed pror to transfer, 24 is usually the minimum. The more competitive the progam, the more difficult to transfer in in both terms of GPA and number of coursework. Hth

https://admissions.utexas.edu/apply/transfer-resources/tccn-transfer-guides

https://admissions.tamu.edu/transfer/majors

http://www.depts.ttu.edu/admissions/apply/status/transfer/

Edited June 9, 2017 by Silver Brook

[....]

You  mentioned a year of US history, don't forget the year of government - 1 semester US + 1 semester TX!  

 

I know, right?  I understand different colleges require core classes of some kind, but we did NOT have to take this big list of stuff like PE, art, US history, US government, Texas government, speech, and so on at our university...I would've totally remembered PE.   :tongue_smilie:   I thought that was stuff everyone took in high school.  And US government, that was a required class for all kids in 8th grade where I went to school.  You didn't even take that in high school, so I thought it was strange that people were taking it in high school.  But now, here it is required in college, too!  And why would Texas state government need its own class??    

 

OK, so I have a couple of questions - since you guys know a lot more than I do about this.  The private colleges in Texas don't follow the Texas Core Curriculum, right?  I was trying to google it and the answers were vague, but it sounds like this is just for the state colleges/universities.  So, if my kids started taking these classes at community college and transferred to a private college, it would be a waste, right?  Because the private colleges have their *own* core curriculum??

 

Even though it sounds like I'm contentious (I'm an INTJ, unfortunately), I do appreciate all of your replies.  I actually learned a lot today reading about college here in TX.

[Twigs]

…  And why would Texas state government need its own class??    I'm not sure there is a reasonable answer for this question! 

 

…  The private colleges in Texas don't follow the Texas Core Curriculum, right?  Correct.

 

I was trying to google it and the answers were vague, but it sounds like this is just for the state colleges/universities.  Correct. See 

Brief History of Texas Core Curriculum:

The legislation provided for the adoption and evaluation of general education core curricula by Texas public colleges and universities.

 

So, if my kids started taking these classes at community college and transferred to a private college, it would be a waste, right?  Because the private colleges have their *own* core curriculum?? Depends on what you think of as waste. I work at a community college (tutor) and when I get asked questions about transferring, my response is to always check with the institution you are transferring to (not from). Check not only with the admissions/transfer office, but also with the major department. The private college may also require PE or history or whatever, so I think it wise to get a degree plan from the private college so you won't be surprised later. The TX core courses may also transfer in as general electives.

 

Even though it sounds like I'm contentious (I'm an INTJ, unfortunately), I do appreciate all of your replies.  I actually learned a lot today reading about college here in TX.

 

I hope this info is helpful. Best wishes.

 

[MarkT]

 

Communication (6 SCH)

Mathematics (3 SCH)

Life and Physical Sciences (6 SCH)

Language, Philosophy and Culture (3 SCH)

Creative Arts (3 SCH)

American History (6 SCH)

Government/Political Science (6 SCH)

Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 SCH)

The Component Area Option (6 SCH)

 

OK what's a "Component Area Option" ?  your major??

[Nan in Mass]

Required classes vary by university and by school within the university and by degree. Some have none. Some have lots. I know nothing about Texas and its core curriculum, but I suspect that legislators there decided that if they were partially paying for the education, they wanted to have a say in what was taught as part of that education, and a class in Texas goverment is in there because the branch of the government that made the decision wants good future citizens of Texas and that requires educating and indoctrinating them.

 

All three of my children went to technical colleges. They all had required classes in humanities and gym. There were multiple ways of fulfilling the gym requirement. The gym requirement doesn't look anything like my high school gym class. It is an attempt to encourage students to find a way to excersize that works for them and that they enjoy, so they can continue to do this for the rest of their lives. That's what we were told at all the colleges, anyway.

 

Nan

[chiguirre]

Communication (6 SCH)

Mathematics (3 SCH)

Life and Physical Sciences (6 SCH)

Language, Philosophy and Culture (3 SCH)

Creative Arts (3 SCH)

American History (6 SCH)

Government/Political Science (6 SCH)

Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 SCH)

The Component Area Option (6 SCH)

 

OK what's a "Component Area Option" ?  your major??

 

The Component Area Option is for the specific college to put its own spin on the Core Curriculum. That's where you'll usually find the PE requirement. For example, Lonestar College requires ENG 1301 and a speech or comm class for Communications. It requires PE and ENG 1302 for the Component Area Option. But, UT Austin doesn't require a speech or comm class as part of its core, it requires ENG 1301 and a lit class instead. However it requires 3 science classes instead of 2 like most colleges do. Each school is slightly different, that's why it is a good idea to finish up your whole 42 credits at one place. Then they transfer as a block and you don't have to worry about those slight differences. If you're not "core complete" you may have to take a third science or lit or find that your art didn't count.