Rouse Company Foundation Student Services Building

General Education Requirements

Howard Community College has the responsibility to ensure that all degree recipients have achieved a broad educational experience. To achieve this breadth of learning, the college has established fundamental general educational goals. HCC students will:

  • Understand how the creative process and aesthetic and humanistic values inform human experience and expression over time.
  • Analyze and evaluate information using evidence to make a rational decision or solve a problem.
  • Understand the interconnectedness of global communities and systems.
  • Use oral and expressive communication effectively as a way of sharing ideas with others.
  • Apply scientific and mathematical concepts and reasoning to solve real-world and computational problems utilizing, interpreting, and evaluating data and information.
  • Write clearly and effectively for a variety of audiences in order to learn, think, and communicate.
  • Know when there is a need for information and effectively find, evaluate, and use information ethically for academic success.
  • Select and apply technology to investigate, create, communicate, and complete tasks.

To ensure these general education goals are met by each student, Howard Community College requires all students to take courses in writing, arts, humanities, mathematics, science, and social sciences. These topics are woven into the General Education Core courses. Students completing the associate of arts degree at HCC must complete a minimum of 30 credits from the general education core as designated in the specific curriculum and delineated below. Also, see STUDENT TRANSFER POLICIES. Students completing the associate of applied science degree will complete a minimum of 20 credits in general education as specified in the individual curriculum.