General Education

Goals Of General Education

General education at the College of Western Idaho (CWI) provides a broad-based learning foundation designed to prepare students with durable skills for personal, community, and global responsibility. This is accomplished by completing general education coursework that empowers students to consider other contexts and viewpoints, communicate with clarity and accuracy, and apply solutions and ideas. Students will be prepared to move forward in their academic careers with a solid foundation from the general education courses they complete at CWI and equipped with the communication, critical thinking, and teamwork skills needed in today's workforce.

General education requirements apply to all associate degrees recognized by the Idaho State Board of Education (SBOE). A central component of SBOE policy is the requirement that a student working toward a degree must complete coursework in general education. The general education framework required by CWI for completion of the different types of degrees and certificates offered by the College is described in detail on the Degree and Certificate Requirements page.

Specific general education courses may be required for the fulfillment of program requirements, whether in the general education or major requirement portion of the program. Students should refer to their specific degree or certificate requirements in the CWI catalog prior to registration or transfer to ensure appropriate course selection to fulfill program requirements. Before changing majors, students should consider the additional courses that may be required and must meet with their advisor to discuss what options would be most advantageous.

General education coursework is an integral part of the degree programs at CWI and is comprised of the following competency areas:

General Education: Institutionally Designated Requirements

Connecting With Ideas

First Semester Student Success Course

• 3 credits required for AA or AS

Course List

Course	Course Title	Min Credits
CWI 101	Connecting With Ideas	3

Philosophy Statement

Connecting with Ideas helps students become engaged members of the academic community at College of Western Idaho and cultivates the habits of mind for lifelong achievement and success. The course encourages students to claim their education by learning how to learn. By linking critical and creative thinking with writing and discussion, students will explore thematic content in order to develop their own perspectives on learning and success. The course addresses academic expectations and strategies, college resources and services, as well as personal responsibility and engagement to prepare students for navigating college life and life beyond college.

Competencies

To meet the Connecting with Ideas requirement of general education, courses must cover the outcomes, criteria, and knowledge objectives below. Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Examine personal background and experience and how it influences perceptions and impacts relationships.
2. Utilize information literacy to critically evaluate information within academic discourse.
3. Apply appropriate strategies and solutions to becoming an effective student.

Global Perspectives

• 3 credits required for AA or AS

Course List

Course	Course Title	Min Credits
AGRI 120	Global Food Perspectives - Farm to Plate	3
ANTH 102	Cultural Anthropology	3
BUSA 256	Introduction to International Business	3
COMM 160	Communication and Culture	3
COMM 259	Communicating Through Web Design	3
CRIJ 280	Victimology	3
EDUC 200	Education Around the World	3
ENGL 115	Rhetoric and Popular Culture	3
ENVI 100	Environmental Science	3
FILM 121	Movies Around the World	3
FREN 102	Elementary French II	4
GEOG 102	Cultural Geography	3
GEOG 200	World Regional Geography	3
GEOS 105	Earth's Natural Resources	3
HIST 102	World History II	3
HLTH 280	Global Health	3
JAPN 102	Elementary Japanese II	4
MMBS 106	Making Sense of Microbiotic Me	3
MUSI 109	Survey of World Music	3
PHIL 111	World Religions	3
PHLT 110	Lifestyle Diseases and Their Global Burden	3
POLS 221	Introduction to International Relations	3
PSYC 211	Psychosocial Aspects of Dying and Death	3
PSYC 221	Gender	3
PSYC 231	Human Sexuality	3
SIGL 102	American Sign Language II	4
SOC 120	Global Issues	3
SPAN 102	Elementary Spanish II	4

Philosophy Statement

Through global perspectives, students should become informed, open-minded, and responsible people who are attentive to diversity across the spectrum of differences, and seek to understand how their actions affect both local and global communities.

Competencies

To meet the Global Perspectives requirement of general education, courses must meet the following outcomes, criteria, and knowledge objectives below. Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Demonstrate cultural self-awareness.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of cultural worldview frameworks.
3. Explain the consequences of personal, local, or national decisions.

Ethical Reasoning

Within the 37 credits required for general education fulfillment of an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree, CWI requires students to complete at least one course specifically designed to meet the "ethical reasoning" requirement. Ethical reasoning courses (referred to as E-designated courses) also count towards GEM fulfillment or institutionally designated category fulfillment, so students should intentionally choose one E-designated course when selecting classes to fulfill Mathematical, Scientific, Humanistic and Artistic, or Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing requirements, or the institutionally designated category of Global Perspectives.

Ethical Reasoning courses will also fulfill a GE requirement in either Ways of Knowing (i.e. a GEM course) or Global Perspectives.

• 3 credits required for AA or AS

Course List

Course	Course Title	Min Credits
AGRI 120	Global Food Perspectives - Farm to Plate	3
EXHS 155	Health and Wellness	3
HLTH 280	Global Health	3
PHIL 101	Introduction to Philosophy	3
PHIL 103	Introduction to Ethics	3
PSYC 250	Fundamentals of Social Science Research	4
SCIE 102	Ethics in Science	3
SOC 220	Sociology of Deviance	3

Philosophy Statement

Ethical reasoning is reasoning about right and wrong human conduct. It requires students to be able to assess their own ethical values and the social context of problems, recognize ethical issues in a variety of settings, think about how different ethical perspectives might be applied to ethical dilemmas, and consider the ramifications of alternative actions. Students’ ethical self-identity evolves as they practice ethical decision-making skills and learn how to describe and analyze positions on ethical issues.

Competencies

To meet the Ethical Reasoning requirement of general education, courses must meet the following outcomes, criteria, and knowledge objectives below. Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Demonstrate ethical self-awareness.
2. Understand different ethical perspectives and concepts.
3. Recognize ethical issues.
4. Apply ethical perspectives and concepts.

General Education: Ways Of Knowing Requirements

GEM 1: Written Communication

• 6 credits required for AA or AS
• 3 credits required for AAS

Course List

Course	Course Title	Min Credits
ENGL 101	Writing and Rhetoric I	3
ENGL 102	Writing and Rhetoric II	3

Philosophy Statement

Written communication is the development and expression of ideas in writing. Written communication involves learning to work in many genres and styles. It can involve working with many different writing technologies and mixing texts, data, and images. Written communication abilities develop through iterative experiences across the curriculum.

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Use flexible writing process strategies to generate, develop, revise, proofread, and edit texts.

2. Adopt strategies and genre that are appropriate to the rhetorical situation.

3. Use inquiry-based strategies to conduct research that explores multiple and diverse ideas and perspectives, appropriate to the rhetorical context.

4. Use rhetorically appropriate strategies to evaluate, represent, and respond to the ideas and research of others.

5. Address readers’ biases and assumptions with well-developed evidence-based reasoning.

6. Use appropriate conventions for integrating, citing, and documenting source material.

7. Read, interpret, and communicate key concepts in writing and rhetoric.

GEM 2: Oral Communication

• 3 credits required for AA, AS, or AAS

Course List

Course	Course Title	Min Credits
COMM 101	Fundamentals of Oral Communication	3
COMM 112	Argumentation and Debate	3

Philosophy Statement

Oral communication is a deliberate, spoken transaction (verbal and nonverbal) designed to increase knowledge, to influence attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors, or foster understanding (inform, persuade, relate).

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Research, discover, and develop information resources and structure spoken messages to increase knowledge and understanding.

2. Research, discover, and develop evidence-based reasoning and persuasive appeals for ethically influencing attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors.

3. Adapt spoken messages to the diverse personal, ideological, and emotional needs of individuals, groups, or contexts.

4. Employ effective spoken and nonverbal behaviors that support communication goals and illustrate self-efficacy.

5. Listen in order to effectively and critically evaluate the reasoning, evidence, and communication strategies of self and others.

6. Demonstrate knowledge of key theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts in the Communication discipline, as applied to oral communication. 

GEM 3: Mathematical Ways of Knowing

• 3 credits required for AA, AS, or AAS

Course List

Course	Course Title	Min Credits
FINA 109	Personal Finance and Business Math	3
MATH 118	Technical Math	2
MATH 118L	Technical Math Lab	1
MATH 123	Math in Modern Society	3
MATH 123P	Math in Modern Society	3
MATH 130	Finite Mathematics	4
MATH 143	Precalculus I: Algebra	3
MATH 143P	Precalculus I: Algebra	3
MATH 147	Precalculus	5
MATH 153	Statistical Reasoning	3
MATH 153P	Statistical Reasoning	3
MATH 160	Survey of Calculus	4
MATH 170	Calculus I	5
MATH 257	Math for Elementary Teachers II	4

NOTE: Choosing the right GEM 3 course for your career and academic goals is very important and some programs have a specific GEM 3 requirement. Students should always work with their advisor to confirm course selection. For further information about math placement options, see the Placement Testing catalog page.

Philosophy Statement

Coursework in this area is intended to develop an understanding of mathematical reasoning processes and the ability to utilize these processes to solve college-level mathematical problems.

Competencies

Upon completion of a course in this category, students are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Interpret mathematical concepts.

2. Represent information/data.

3. Use appropriate strategies/procedures when solving mathematical problems.

4. Draw reasonable conclusions based on quantitative information.

GEM 4: Scientific Ways of Knowing

• 7 credits required for AA or AS (from two [2] different disciplines/subjects with at least one laboratory or field experience)

Course List

Course	Course Title	Min Credits
AGRI 109	Principles of Animal Science	3
AGRI 109L	Principles of Animal Science Lab	1
ANTH 103	Introduction to Archaeology	3
ANTH 104	Biological Anthropology	3
BIOL 100	Concepts of Biology	3
BIOL 100L	Concepts of Biology Lab	1
BIOL 111	Biology I	3
BIOL 111L	Biology I Lab	1
BIOL 127	Human Structure and Function	3
BIOL 127L	Human Structure and Function Lab	1
BIOL 227	Human Anatomy and Physiology I	3
BIOL 227L	Human Anatomy and Physiology I Lab	1
BIOL 227P	Human Anatomy and Physiology I	3
CHEM 100	Concepts of Chemistry	3
CHEM 100L	Concepts of Chemistry Lab	1
CHEM 101	Introduction to Chemistry	3
CHEM 101L	Introduction to Chemistry Lab	1
CHEM 102	Essentials of Organic and Biochemistry	4
CHEM 102L	Essentials of Organic and Biochemistry Lab	1
CHEM 111	General Chemistry I	3
CHEM 111L	General Chemistry I Lab	1
ENVI 100	Environmental Science	3
ENVI 100L	Environmental Science Lab	1
EXHS 270	Motor Learning	3
EXHS 270L	Motor Learning Lab	1
FERM 120	Introduction to Fermented Foods	3
GEOG 100	Physical Geography	3
GEOG 100L	Physical Geography Lab	1
GEOG 270	Global Climate Change	3
GEOL 101	Physical Geology	3
GEOL 101L	Physical Geology Lab	1
GEOL 102	Historical Geology	3
GEOL 102L	Historical Geology Lab	1
GEOS 104	Natural Hazards and Disasters	3
GEOS 104L	Natural Hazards and Disasters Lab	1
GEOS 105	Earth's Natural Resources	3
GEOS 170	Earth's Weather and Climate	3
GEOS 270	Global Climate Change	3
HLTH 220	Fundamentals of Nutrition	3
MMBS 111	Introductory Microbiology	3
MMBS 111L	Introductory Microbiology Lab	1
PHYS 100	Survey of Physics	3
PHYS 100L	Survey of Physics Lab	1
PHYS 101	Survey of Astronomy	3
PHYS 101L	Survey of Astronomy Lab	1
PHYS 111	General Physics I	3
PHYS 111L	General Physics I Lab	1
PHYS 112	General Physics II	3
PHYS 112L	General Physics II Lab	1
PHYS 211	Physics for Scientists and Engineers I	4
PHYS 211L	Physics for Scientists and Engineers I Lab	1
SCIE 101	Foundations of Science	3

NOTE: To utilize a lab course that offers an associated lecture (i.e. BIOL 100 and BIOL 100L), students must complete both the lecture and the associated lab in order to have the courses fulfill their GEM 4 requirement. Students should always work with their advisor to confirm course selection.

Philosophy Statement

A person who is competent in scientific reasoning adheres to a self-correcting system of inquiry (the scientific method) and relies on empirical evidence to describe, understand, and predict natural phenomena.

Competencies

Upon completion of a non-lab course in this category, a student is able to demonstrate competencies 1-4. A student is able to demonstrate all five competencies (1-5) upon completion of a lab course: 

1.  Apply foundational knowledge and models of a discipline in the physical or natural sciences to analyze and/or predict phenomena.

2.  Apply scientific reasoning to critically evaluate assertions.

3.  Interpret and communicate scientific information via written, spoken and/or visual representations.

4.  Describe the relevance of specific scientific principles to the human experience.

5.  Test a hypothesis in the laboratory or field using discipline-specific tools and techniques for observation, data collection and analysis to form a defensible conclusion.

GEM 5: Humanistic and Artistic Ways of Knowing

• 6 credits required for AA or AS (from two [2] different disciplines/subjects)

Course List

Course	Course Title	Min Credits
ARTS 101	Prehistoric to Medieval Art	3
ARTS 102	Renaissance to Modern Art in the West	3
ARTS 105	Introduction to 2-D Art Foundations	3
ARTS 106	Introduction to 3-D Art Foundations	3
ENGL 175	Literature and Ideas	3
ENGL 215	Survey of World Mythology	3
ENGL 220	Medical Narratives	3
ENGL 230	Multicultural American Literature	3
ENGL 257	Survey of Western World Literature I	3
ENGL 258	Survey of Western World Literature II	3
ENGL 267	Survey of British Literature I	3
ENGL 268	Survey of British Literature II	3
ENGL 277	Survey of American Literature I	3
ENGL 278	Survey of American Literature II	3
FILM 110	Introduction to Film Studies	3
FREN 101	Elementary French I	4
FREN 102	Elementary French II	4
FREN 201	Intermediate French I	4
HIST 103	Western Civilization I	3
HIST 104	Western Civilization II	3
HUMA 207	Exploring the Arts and Cultures of the World	3
JAPN 101	Elementary Japanese I	4
JAPN 102	Elementary Japanese II	4
MUSI 100	Introduction to Music	3
MUSI 108	Survey of Jazz and Pop Music	3
PHIL 101	Introduction to Philosophy	3
PHIL 103	Introduction to Ethics	3
PHIL 240	Belief and Reality	3
SIGL 101	American Sign Language I	4
SIGL 102	American Sign Language II	4
SIGL 201	American Sign Language III	4
SIGL 202	American Sign Language IV	4
SPAN 101	Elementary Spanish I	4
SPAN 102	Elementary Spanish II	4
SPAN 111	Spanish for Healthcare	3
SPAN 201	Intermediate Spanish I	4
SPAN 202	Intermediate Spanish II	4
THEA 101	Theatre Appreciation	3

Philosophy Statement

The Arts and Humanities disciplines examine language, philosophical concepts, and the products and processes of creative expression. These courses emphasize an appreciation of, inquiry into, and interpretation of the human experience by challenging students to explore and reflect on the ethical, aesthetic, artistic, cultural, and intellectual dimensions of the human experience, past and present, in order to make thoughtful and imaginative contributions to their future world.

Competencies

To meet the humanities requirement of the general education core, courses must cover 5 out of 7 following outcomes, criteria, and knowledge objectives below. By the end of each of these courses, students will be able to:

1. Recognize and describe humanistic, historical, or artistic works within problems and patterns of the human experience.

2. Distinguish and apply methodologies, approaches, or traditions specific to the discipline.

3. Differentiate formal, conceptual, and technical elements specific to the discipline. 

4. Analyze, evaluate, and interpret texts, objects, events, or ideas in their cultural, intellectual, or historical contexts.

5. Interpret artistic or humanistic works through the creation of art, language, or performance.

6. Develop critical perspectives or arguments about the subject matter, grounded in evidence-based analysis.

7. Demonstrate self-reflection, widened perspective, and respect for diverse viewpoints.

GEM 6: Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing

• 6 credits required for AA or AS (from two [2] different disciplines/subjects)
• 3 credits required for AAS

Course List

Course	Course Title	Min Credits
ANTH 102	Cultural Anthropology	3
CRIJ 101	Introduction to Criminal Justice	3
CRIJ 103	Introduction to Law and Justice	3
ECON 201	Principles of Macroeconomics	3
ECON 202	Principles of Microeconomics	3
EDUC 120	Foundations of Education	3
EXHS 155	Health and Wellness	3
GEOG 102	Cultural Geography	3
GEOG 200	World Regional Geography	3
HIST 101	World History I	3
HIST 102	World History II	3
HIST 111	United States History I	3
HIST 112	United States History II	3
PHIL 111	World Religions	3
POLS 101	American National Government	3
POLS 102	Introduction to Political Science	3
PSYC 101	Introduction to Psychology	3
PSYC 140	Human Relations for Career and Personal Success	3
PSYC 250	Fundamentals of Social Science Research	4
SCIE 102	Ethics in Science	3
SOC 101	Introduction to Sociology	3
SOC 102	Social Problems	3
SOC 120	Global Issues	3
SOC 220	Sociology of Deviance	3

Philosophy Statement

The Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing disciplines offer a rigorous examination of human experiences. In studying various behavioral and social theories, research methods, perspectives of inquiry, and historical and cultural influences, students analyze the complex forces that shape human consciousness, interactions, activity, and social institutions.

Competencies

To fulfill the social sciences requirement of the general education core, courses must require that students meet or exceed course expectations in all five objectives:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of a particular Social Science discipline.

2. Describe self and the world by examining the dynamic interaction of individuals, groups, and societies as they shape and are shaped by history, culture, institutions, and ideas.

3. Utilize Social Science approaches, such as research methods, inquiry, or problem-solving, to examine the variety of perspectives about human experiences.

4. Evaluate how reasoning, history, or culture informs and guides individual, civic, or global decisions.

5. Identify the impact of the similarities and differences among and between individuals, cultures, or societies across space and time.

General Education Program Outcomes

CWI’s general education constitutes a program of study, and as such, general education programmatic outcomes are broad, comprehensive, and aligned with CWI’s Degree Outcomes. Program outcomes constitute a framework that guides teaching and learning throughout the general education program.