General Education Philosophy
The faculty of the University of Maine at Fort Kent affirm that humankind is best served by a society that is equitable and just. Society moves towards this ideal when its members are ethical in their actions and open-minded in their consideration of alternative social values, individual beliefs, and the pursuit of knowledge through humanistic and scientific study. To instill this ideal, the faculty affirms that students will develop an appreciation of cultural diversity and an awareness of the effects of world civilizations.
General Education Goal
The goals of general education in an undergraduate program is to provide an academic foundation to support the study of a major field, to develop an awareness and understanding of the achievements of civilizations, an ability to integrate ethical decision-making into professional, social, and environmental contexts, and a reasoned appreciation of points of view originating in value-belief systems other than their own. Toward this end, students will demonstrate competency in each component of the general education program through the successful completion of each general education course.
General Education Program
The general education program is organized into three major areas: Intellectual and Practical Skills, General Knowledge, and Global Awareness. Intellectual and Practical Skills is divided into three components: Communication, Quantitative Reasoning, and Information Fluency. General Knowledge is divided into Arts and Humanities, Natural Sciences, and the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Through Global Awareness students are expected to develop and grow as responsible citizens, and to acquire knowledge of and respect for the diversity of all life. Responsible citizenship involves a commitment to lifelong learning, democratic ideals as embodied in the United States Constitution, a healthy community, sustainability, and environmental stewardship as well as developing the philosophical and ethical foundations for engaging with such issues.All these components of the general education program together map into a set of academic disciplines and recommended lower division courses. Critical thinking, creativity, and ethics are three foundational elements which undergird the entire general education program as students engage in all courses.
The general education program involves 40 credit hours for bachelor degrees and 28 credits for associates degrees. This description provided represents the minimum credits for each category. Based on student choices, additional credits over 28 for an associates degree or over 40 for a bachelors degree, will count as free electives. If a student has general education credits waived, the credits may need to be made up as free electives to reach the minimum credits for their degree. Some program requirements may be used to fulfill general education requirements, as indicated in each program description. Students demonstrate competency in the general education program by passing at the appropriate level select courses in the program. Each course in the program has a set of student learning outcomes provided on the course syllabus and shared with students when enrolled in the particular course.
To fulfill the general education requirements, UMFK students should select courses from the approved list. For transfer students, transcript analysis will be conducted to determine if courses taken prior to admission to UMFK are congruent with the courses of the general education program. The determination will be made at the time of transfer-credit evaluation in consultation with discipline faculty.
Students who transfer to UMFK with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution are exempt from completing the general education requirements. If a student transfers in a course, which has a prerequisite requirement for an existing General Education course, then the transfer course will also satisfy that specific general education requirement.
