General Education Curriculum

General Education Mission Statement

The mission of the General Education Program at Tusculum University builds and enhances the foundational skills and content knowledge necessary for the academic success, career preparation, and personal development of an informed, engaged citizen, regardless of their chosen major. These competencies include effective written and verbal communication, critical thinking and analytical reasoning for problem solving, knowledge of self and diversity in their communities, and civic engagement by way of traditional instruction and service learning that extends beyond the classroom.

General Education Course Outcomes

In the general education curriculum, students will develop these competencies via courses in each of the following categories: Perspective, Interaction, Inquiry, Communication, and Connection.

English and Mathematics Placement

Placement Testing for English 110, English 110 Lab, and English 111

The English Department has chosen Accuplacer© as its placement tool in conjunction with ACT/SAT scores beginning Fall 2021. Students will be able to take Accuplacer online through Examity© no matter where they reside. Students will take two parts of Accuplacer-Reading and WritePlacer.  Below are the guidelines and standards:

Standards:

• Students with an ACT English sub-score of 26* or higher or an SAT Verbal sub-score of 600+ will be placed in English 111 and will not need to take English 110.
• Students scoring less than 20 on the ACT English sub-score or 470 on the SAT Verbal will be required to take Accuplacer. Students making at least an ACT 20 English sub-score (or the SAT equivalent) will automatically be placed in English 110 without a lab requirement.
• Students who wish to take Accuplacer to determine their English placement may do so; students with no national test scores must take Accuplacer.
• Students who score below a “4” on WritePlacer will be required to take English 110 with a lab component.
• Students who score a “6” on WritePlacer will take English 111.  
• Any student who does not take Accuplacer (except for those bringing in high standardized test scores) will automatically be placed into English 110 with a lab.

*The English Dept. is considering raising the scores on standardized testing for direct admittance to English 111.

Guidelines:

1. Students will be charged a $30 testing fee connected to English 110.
2. Tusculum will be charged $20 for each student who takes the two tests in Accuplacer. (There is an additional charge for taking the exams in more than one sitting so this will not be our practice.)
3. Accuplacer scores will be sent directly to TU and Vicky Johnson will oversee the placement of students into the correct English sequence.
4. TU will only pay for one chance at the placement exams for each student.
5. There are no guidelines for the Reading test on Accuplacer; the English Department wishes to study the scores and make appropriate recommendations about reading instruction, if warranted.

Math Placement (ALEKS)

All students must enroll in mathematics, but the exact requirements will vary, based on placement testing at the time of entrance to Tusculum University. Students satisfy the General Education mathematics requirement by passing the mathematics course required in their major program of study. An equivalent or higher-level transfer math class will be accepted in lieu of placement testing.

Students will access our math placement testing via Tusculum’s learning management system.