OVERVIEW
Academic Programs fulfills one segment of the three part mission of LCSC. It offers undergraduate instruction in the liberal arts and sciences and professional programs tailored to the educational needs of Idaho. Academic Programs is composed of six academic divisions and the library. The academic divisions are Business, Education, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Nursing and Health Sciences and Social Sciences. There are 23 different baccalaureate degree majors, 6 associate degree majors, 2 post baccalaureate certificate programs and 41 minors available in Academic Programs at LCSC. Academic Programs of primary emphasis at LCSC include Business, Justice Studies, Nursing, Social Work and Teacher Education.

The Academic Dean, in conjunction with the Academic Division Chairs and the Director of the Library, support the vision that academic programs will:

• Provide access to education
• Promote a culture of empowerment to serve and support learning
• Promote a stimulating, innovative learning environment
• Maintain high academic standards and provide the means for students to achieve them
• Promote a safe and collegial environment in which to work and learn
• Provide a caring environment that promotes student, faculty and staff success
• Promote open and effective communication
• Hire, evaluate, develop, reward and retain quality faculty and staff
• Model professionalism at all times

GENERAL EDUCATION CORE
General education is intended to nurture the development of literate, well-informed graduates who are competent life-long learners. This is the basis of LCSC’s mission. General education “connects learning to life” by providing students with the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary for continued learning about their natural and social worlds, thinking clearly about them, communicating ideas about them effectively, and functioning comfortably in a variety of social institutions. These broad goals are part of all programs. The General Education Core Curriculum is the foundation for courses that students take in their major programs. The Core Curriculum includes three aspects: learning skills, basic knowledge, and values
clarification. Communication, computation and human relations are building blocks for success in college programs and effective life long learning. Basic knowledge introduces students to the content and methodology of the major areas of knowledge the humanities and fine arts, the natural sciences, mathematics, and the social sciences and provides an opportunity for students to examine the linkages among different areas of knowledge. The Core Curriculum enables students to recognize different value systems and to understand and refine their personal values. The Core Curriculum is a series of courses that are essential to all baccalaureate and academic associate degree programs. LCSC’s General Education Core Curriculum conforms to the Idaho State Board of Education’s credit and course requirements. While the Core Curriculum provides foundations in learning skills and basic knowledge, the major programs provide a sustained emphasis on general education goals in order to refine those skills and relate basic knowledge to the purposes of their programs. Additionally, ethics and values are a more explicit part of program objectives.

LCSC GENERAL EDUCATION GOALS
SKILLS COMPONENTS

Communication Component

• To express ideas in clear, logical and grammatically correct written English.

Courses which fulfill this requirement teach students the fundamental skills involved in writing personal, descriptive, expository, and persuasive essays and/or research papers, with attention to correct logic, spelling, punctuation, grammar, and manuscript style.

• To understand how to obtain information in order to identify, retrieve, and use resources for study or research.

Courses which fulfill this requirement will have a significant focus on utilizing library resources, both in print and electronic, and will improve students’ internet literacy skills.

• To express ideas clearly, correctly, logically, and persuasively in spoken English.

Courses which fulfill this requirement teach students how to express themselves clearly, correctly, logically, and persuasively in spoken English in one or more of the following contexts: interpersonal
communication, small group communication, and/or public communication.


Mathematics Component

• To understand mathematics and quantitative methods as logical constructs and employ this understanding to solve problems and manipulate associated abstract symbols.

Courses which fulfill this requirement introduce students to the axiomatic nature of mathematics, ensure a minimum level of algebraic competency, help students understand how mathematics both reflects and models the observable world, give students the ability to generalize these ideas and modify them to solve quantitative problems in a changing world.


DISTRIBUTIVE COMPONENT

Natural Sciences Component

• To understand science as a way of knowing and how it explains the natural world, and, by understanding these fundamentals, be able to employ critical thinking skills.

Courses which fulfill this requirement will teach students how to employ the scientific method, recognize the importance of science in their every day lives, and write in a scientifically meaningful way through critical analysis of primary literature and laboratory experimentation.


Humanities Component
• To understand how literature explores the human condition and examines human values.

Courses which fulfill this requirement will teach students how literature both reflects and shapes human experience and values, including freedom of thought and expression, and how literature illuminates human experience across the dimensions of time, geography, culture, language, and imagination.

• To understand how philosophy influences human thought and behavior.

Courses which fulfill this requirement (1) address how the discipline of philosophy approaches questions and problems, particularly focusing on learning how to apply a philosophical reasoning to fundamental questions, and (2) develop an introductory level understanding of major philosophers’ views on epistemology, metaphysics and especially ethics (practical reason and virtue).

• To understand the creative processes, aesthetic principles, and the historical traditions of one or more of the fine arts.

Courses which fulfill this requirement will lead students to demonstrate (1) understanding of creative and aesthetic principles involved in the creation of art, i.e., one or more of the domains of music, drama, dance, film or visual art* (painting, drawing, design, sculpture, architecture, etc.), (2) understanding of the historical development of one or more of the arts, with particular emphasis on the relationship between art and culture, and (3) familiarity with classic or iconic works of art and the lives of their creators.

*A studio art class will not fulfill this Goal.

• To develop communication skills in a second language and an understanding of that language’s cultural context**

Courses which fulfill this requirement increase students’ ability to communicate in a foreign/heritage language and understanding of that languages’ culture context.

* *Second language skills are required by many majors and for all Bachelor of Arts degrees. See particular program for details. Second language credits are IN ADDITION to the 38 hours General Education Core Requirements.


Social and Behavioral Sciences Component

• To understand how the social sciences explain the relationship(s) between individuals, communities, and global structural forces, such as political and economic institutions.

Courses which fulfill this requirement increase students’ knowledge of how social scientists discover, describe, and explain the behaviors and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, and ideas.

• To understand the dynamic elements of a society’s culture, as well as a culture’s holistic aspects and its influence on all aspects of society.

Courses which fulfill this requirement stress 1) the concept of culture; 2) the distinction between a society and a culture; 3) the concept of cultural holism, dynamism, and interrelationships; 4) the adaptive nature of culture; 5) the tools by which to analyze a society’s culture; 6) a cross-cultural perspective on our pluralistic society, and on the world in general.

• To understand the historical development of the contemporary world and how history explains the past.

Courses which fulfill this requirement 1) increase students’ knowledge of the methods and data that historians employ to explain the past 2) examine institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures.

INTEGRATIVE COMPONENT

Ethics/Values Component

• To apply values or ethical principles in evaluating potential solutions to current social or environmental problems.

Courses which fulfill this requirement will focus value and ethical questions of contemporary society.


Diversity Component
 
• To increase awareness and appreciation for the diversity that exists in society relative to historical and contemporary experiences from the perspectives of women and men of diverse races, ethnicities, social class, religions, sexual orientation, ages and abilities.

Courses which fulfill this requirement increase students’ ability to understand historical and contemporary experiences from the above perspectives.

ASSESSMENT OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION CORE

Assessment of the General Education core is completed by the Dean of Academic Programs and the General Education Committee. Particular emphasis is placed upon outcomes assessment of each component of the Core Curriculum. Some areas of particular value in General Education Core
assessment include but are not limited to:

• Effective prerequisite enforcement and course placement
• Assessment of writing and mathematics competencies using nationally normalized, standardized exams
• Writing Portfolios at conclusion of English core
• Student feedback after completion of the General Education core.

Information gained from the General Education core assessment is provided to those Academic Divisions delivering core courses to aid in future course development and improvement.

Note: Students are expected to enroll in an appropriate composition course in their first semester and appropriate communications and math courses within the first two semesters. Students must complete the entire skills component of the Core curriculum and achieve junior standing before enrolling in the integrative component.

General Education Core Requirements (37-40 credits) 2009-2011 [pdf]
 

BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN GENERAL STUDIES
The General Studies Majors serve the needs of students who desire a strong liberal arts programs, thorough pre-professional preparation coursework or as preparation for a variety of graduate programs.
The Majors are designed for students who desire a broad spectrum of coursework from a number of related disciplines.

Each General Studies Major is centered within an academic Division. Choices include Business; Education; Humanities; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; or Social Sciences. The General Studies Major allows for both concentration and breadth within a Division’s offerings. In addition to the General Education Core and the General Studies Major, a student has sufficient elective credits to complete any of the College’s Minor programs, or simply to explore subjects of interest outside of their Major program.

Each Division specifies certain required courses, or areas from which a student must choose coursework, but overall a General Studies Major is marked by its flexibility. Within the guidelines provided by the program as well as any specific Divisional requirements, it is possible for a student, in consultation with an advisor, to tailor a course of study that is suited to his or her academic and professional goals.

GENERAL STUDIES MAJORS ALLOWED COURSEWORK
General Studies: Business
Coursework from the following disciplines: Accounting (AC), Business (BUS), Economics (ECON) and Computer Science (CS).

General Studies: Education
Coursework from the following disciplines: Education (ED), Gifted & Talented (EDGT), Health (HLTH), Kinesiology (KIN), Reading (RE), Recreation (RC), Special Education (SE), Addiction Studies (ADS).

General Studies: Humanities
Coursework from the following disciplines: Art (ART), Communications (COMM), English (ENGL), Humanities (HUM), Music (MUS), Nez Perce (NP), Spanish (SPAN), Theater (THEA).

General Studies: Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Coursework from the following disciplines: Biology (BIOL), Chemistry (CHEM), Computer Science (CS), Engineering (ENGR), Geology (GEOL), Graphic Information Systems (GIS), Mathematics (MATH), Natural Science (NS), Physics (PHYS).

General Studies: Social Sciences
Coursework from the following disciplines: Anthropology (ANTH), Geography (GEOG), History (HIST), Justice Studies (JS), Political Science (POLS), Psychology (PSYC), Social Science (SS), Social Work (SW), Sociology (SOC).

Any specific requirements for the General Studies Majors are listed on individual program plans.

GENERAL STUDIES MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
A student who chooses one of the General Studies Majors must complete the following for a baccalaureate degree:

1. Declare a General Studies Major within one of the above divisions. This requires completion of a Program Information Form (PIF) from the appropriate Division Office, at which time the student will be assigned an academic advisor.

2. Complete the General Education Core requirements for a baccalaureate degree.

3. Complete a 60-credit General Studies Major within a declared

Division of emphasis (see General Studies Major areas above).
From those 60 credits a student will :

• Take one course from at least four of the disciplines specified for that Division’s General Studies Major; these four courses may not duplicate any of the student’s General Education Core coursework.

• Complete a minimum of 30 upper division credits (300/400) within the major area, from that Division’s specified disciplines.

• Complete any other coursework set by Division, according to its General Studies Major Program Plan.

• Limit experiential coursework (e.g. practicums; internships; co-op education) within the 60 credit requirement to 6 credits; additional experiential credits may apply to the 30 credits of Electives.

4. Complete 30 credits of electives, from any courses numbered 100 or higher.

5. Complete two years (16 credits) of the same college-level foreign/ heritage language (through the 202 level) for a Bachelor of Arts degree; there is no language requirement for a Bachelor of Science degree. The 16 credits will be from the elective coursework unless the student has declared a General Studies: Humanities Major.

6. Complete all other College requirements for graduation. These include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Satisfactory completion of 128 semester credits, with a minimum of a 2.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) and a minimum of a 2.0 cumulative grade point average for the General Education Core.

• A minimum of 32 credits from Lewis-Clark State College.

• Satisfactory completion of a Major program as outlined above.

• A minimum of 36 upper division credits, from any coursework, including the upper division General Education Core, the Major program, or Elective courses.


BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
The Interdisciplinary Studies major is designed to provide students with the opportunity to major in an interdisciplinary program that can be tailored to meet unique and specific career opportunities, or to meet specific requirements for entry into an interdisciplinary graduate program. A student opting for this program selects two or three academic subject areas which integrate to form a coherent program of study. Selected subjects may not be used for a minor program.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
1. Completion of a PIF (Program Information Form) declaring a BA or BS in Interdisciplinary Studies.
     l• The Division the PIF is generated from shall be the student's primary area.
      • The PIF must include at least two advisors' signatures (one from each subject area).

2. Completion of two or three academic subjects with a minimum total of 60 credits.
     • Students are NOT allowed to use course work from more than ONE subject per area unless approved by Division Chair of the area. (For example: primary area is English; this means all course must be ENGL - they cannot be a mixture of subjects within the Humanities Division.)

3. Completion of a minimum of 21 semester credits in each subject. At least 15 of the 21 credits in each subject must be in upper division course work (300-400 level).

4. Completion of a capstone senior seminar/research project approved by the primary area advisor. The capstone course must be selected from existing discipline capstone courses.

5. Students graduate with an Interdisciplinary Studies major from the Division of the primary area discipline. The two of three discipline areas will not display on the diploma, nor will they appear on the transcript.

DISCIPLINE OPTIONS
Academic subjects may be chosen from the following:

• Business Division: BUS, AC

• Education Division: ADS, HLTH, KIN (kinesiology discipline allows a maximum of 3 activities credits), RE

• Humanities Division: ART, COMM, ENGL, MUS, NP, SPAN, THEA

• Natural Sciences Division: BIOL, CHEM, CS, MATH,

• Social Sciences Division: ANTH, HIST, JS, POLS, PSYC, SOC, SS,

See Divisions for other specifically designed Interdisciplinary Studies options.

DUAL CREDIT IN ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Dual credit courses are offered each semester in Academic Programs. These courses allow high school students to receive academic credit both at their local high school and at LCSC. All academic courses offered at regional high schools are overseen by the Academic Divisions and are identical in content and assessment to courses delivered at the College. Community Programs provides administrative oversight between high schools and the Academic Divisions. For more information about dual credit visit the following website: http://www.lcsc.edu/Admissions/acl/home.htm.

DEFINITIONS OF INDIVIDUALIZED STUDY

COOPERATIVES (CO) ... Course numbers 196, 296, 396, 496
Cooperatives are a learning experience whereby students formally integrate their studies with work experience in cooperative employer organizations. By integrating classroom theory with the real world of work. Cooperatives provide students with a broader perspective and understanding of their career field. Students are required to attach a syllabus outlining learning objectives, activities and evaluation
methods with the application form.

DIRECTED STUDY (DS) ... Course numbers 190, 290, 390, 490
Directed Study courses allow students to pursue a special interest in an area not covered by a regularly offered course. Directed Study courses are also used by students who are not able to attend a regularly scheduled course, however students may not enroll in a Directed Study course during a term when the course if offered. Students are required to attach a syllabus of the course with the application form.

INTERNSHIP (IN)... Course numbers 194, 294, 394, 494
Internships award academic credit for extended on-the-job experience in an area of interest or in a student’s major. Internships are supervised by college faculty.

PRACTICUM (PR)... Course numbers 195, 295, 395, 495
Practicums provide valuable field-based experience in students’ area of interest. Students work either alone or in teams under the guidance of on-site supervisors.

RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP (RA) ... Course numbers 199, 299, 399, 499
Student Research Assistantship is an appointment which may be provided to a student in good standing who performs personal research, and/or who assists others performing research that is relevant to the student’s academic goals.

SERVICE LEARNING (SL) ... Course numbers 193, 293, 393, 493
Service-learning enhances learning and fosters civic responsibility though active involvement in academically-based community service. Students engage in service-learning projects with the guidance of college faculty and in coordination with the Community Warriors Student Volunteer Center. See the Community Program section for more information on service learning.

Regarding all of the individualized study options
• Students wishing to enroll in these types of courses must complete the application form which is provided in the Division Offices or from the Registrar’s Office.

• Students must acquire all required signatures on the application form before submitting it to the Registrar’s Office for processing.


• Students must have a minimum of a 2.0 cum GPA to enroll.

• Students are limited to 12 credits individualized study in one semester.

• Students are limited to 24 credits individualized study that will apply toward fulfilling graduation requirements.

• Student transcripts with courses listed above will have the respective two letter prefix before the title of the course.

• Grades earned in any courses with these options do not figure in to Academic Standing calculations.

ATTENDANCE POLICY FOR ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
In general, class attendance is required at the discretion of the instructor. Students officially enrolled for a course(s) at the time final grades are issued will be awarded a final grade, whether or not the student has attended any class session. No absences, whether approved by the College for participation in College sponsored activities, or necessitated by sickness or other personal emergency, are excused in the sense of relieving the student of responsibility for work assigned for the class during absence. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange make-up work with instructors. Field trips are considered an integral part of some courses. Students registered for courses in which field trips are announced are expected to participate. Costs involved are part of the educational expense which students are expected to bear.