Virtually every university has a general education curriculum (GEC).  The organization of the GEC varies from campus to campus, but the overall purpose of the GEC is similar at every university.  The basic purpose is to ensure that students have an education that encompasses the different areas of knowledge.

Typically the GEC will include courses in the following subject areas

■      Mathematics

■      Sciences

■      Creative Arts

■      American history and culture

■      World history and culture

■      Social sciences

■      Communications

On most campuses, you will be required to take courses in each of the GEC categories like those above.  In some campuses, specific courses are required while on other courses you will have the option of selecting courses from a list.

As a student thinking about your college experience, you are probably not that excited about the GEC.  However many students find these courses to be a nice relief from their other courses.  It’s also common for students to enjoy their GEC courses so much that they decide to pursue a minor in one of the GEC areas.

Unfortunately many students tend to scout out the easiest GEC courses to meet their requirements.  In effect these students are short changing their educational investment when they do this.

The best strategy for GEC courses are:

■      Select courses where you have a genuine interest

■      When you don’t have a specific interest in a subject area, select a subject where you have minimal knowledge

■      Check out the courses/ teachers on Rate My Professor or with other students.  You’ll want to select courses that have excellent teaching ratings.

You might want to think of GEC courses as a foundation for becoming a leading citizen in our society..