Core IMPACTS
The University System of Georgia (USG) core curriculum, Core IMPACTS, is designed to ensure that students acquire essential knowledge in foundational academic areas and develop career-ready competencies. There are seven Core IMPACTS areas. As presented in the table below, IMPACTS is a mnemonic for students to appreciate the impact of the overall core curriculum.
Students at all USG institutions must meet the Core IMPACTS requirements in all specified areas. However, institutions have flexibility to tailor courses that meet these requirements to their institutional missions. Students must complete all Core IMPACTS requirements in order to earn associate of arts, associate of science, nexus, bachelor of arts, or bachelor of science degrees.
The Core IMPACTS framework establishes common system-wide Learning Outcomes and Career- Ready Competencies for each area, ensuring that courses completed in an area at one institution or through eCore are fully transferable to the same area at any other USG institution. Students do not have to complete all of the requirements for a Core IMPACTS area to transfer credit within that area. In some cases, a student may transfer from a sending institution that has a higher amount of credit in a core area than the receiving institution to which the student is transferring. In those cases, students should still get full credit for courses at the receiving institution, with the excess credit being applied to another core area.
System-wide Learning Outcomes and Career-Ready Competencies have been established for each Core IMPACTS area. To be included in a Core IMPACTS area, courses must address the approved Learning Outcomes and Career-Ready Competencies for that area. More details are available in the Academic and Student Affairs Handbook.
| Core IMPACTS Mnemonic | Area Shorthand | Orienting Question | Learning Outcomes | Career-Ready Competencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institutional Priority | Institution | How does Albany State University (ASU) help me to navigate the world? | Students will demonstrate the ability to think critically and solve problems related to academic priorities at ASU. |
|
| Mathematics & Quantitative Skills | Mathematics | How do I measure the world? | Students will apply mathematical and computational knowledge to interpret, evaluate, and communicate quantitative information, using verbal, numerical, graphical, or symbolic forms. |
|
| Political Science and U.S. History | Citizenship | How do I prepare for my responsibilities as an engaged citizen? |
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the history of the United States, the history of Georgia, and the provisions and principles of the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Georgia.
|
|
| Arts, Humanities & Ethics | Humanities |
How do I interpret the human experience through creative, linguistic, and philosophical works?
|
Students will effectively analyze and interpret the meaning, cultural significance, and ethical implications of literary/philosophical texts or of works in the visual/performing arts.
|
|
| Communicating in Writing | Writing |
How do I write effectively in different contexts?
|
|
|
| Technology, Mathematics, & Sciences | STEM |
How do I ask scientific questions or use data, mathematics, or technology to understand the universe?
|
Students will use the scientific method and laboratory procedures or mathematical and computational methods to analyze data, solve problems, and explain natural phenomena.
|
|
| Social Sciences | Social Sciences |
How do I understand human experiences and connections?
|
Students will effectively analyze the complexity of human behavior, and how historical, economic, political, social, or geographic relationships develop, persist, or change.
|
|
Core IMPACTS: Orienting Questions
These are broad questions (shown in the table above) that are intended to orient students to what is covered in each Core IMPACTS area and to pique student interest. They are not intended to form a basis for assessment.
Core IMPACTS: Learning Outcomes
Systemwide Learning Outcomes have been developed for each Core IMPACTS area. The systemwide Core IMPACTS Learning Outcomes have intentionally been defined broadly, so that existing institutional courses and learning outcomes will fit within the systemwide Learning Outcomes.
The list in the table above shows the systemwide Learning Outcomes for each Core IMPACTS area. These are intended to form the basis for assessment.
Four Learning Outcomes are provided for the Core IMPACTS Writing area (but not for the other areas) because the course offerings for Writing Outcomes (ENGL 1101, ENGL 1102) are standard across all USG institutions, and common outcomes across USG institutions already exist.
Core IMPACTS: Career-Ready Competencies
Career-Ready Competencies are broad transferable skills that go beyond the content of specific courses. Although courses in the Core Curriculum already address Career-Ready Competencies to a great extent, responsibility for cultivating Career-Ready Competencies will be explicitly assigned to courses in each Core IMPACTS area. It is expected that students will develop these competencies through taking these courses. The Career-Ready
Competencies assigned to each Core IMPACTS area are listed in the table above.
The Career-Ready Competencies are developmental competencies that cannot be expected to be achieved by taking a single course. It is expected that the Career-Ready Competencies will be integrated with and developed in parallel to the Learning Outcomes for the area.
Although our accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) focuses on Academic Learning Outcomes, our stakeholders and employers are vitally interested in these Career-Ready Competencies and want to know that they are being cultivated within the Core Curriculum. The goal is to ensure that students have a chance to develop these competencies within the context of Core Curriculum courses, as well as to label them so that students know that they have had the opportunity to develop these competencies.
- *
Students who take extra credits in the Mathematics or STEM areas may apply the additional credit(s) in their Field of Study or as electives as their degree requirements allow.
Core IMPACTS
| Code | Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Insitutional Priority (Institution) | ||
| Select one of the following: | 2 | |
| Cultural Diversity in Communication | ||
| Introduction to the African Diaspora | ||
| Current World Problems | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Communicating in the Business Environment | ||
| Human Communications | ||
| Public Speaking | ||
| Mathematics & Quantitative Skills (Mathematics) | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Students who take calculus in Area A2 will have taken 1 extra hour that may be applied in the field of study or general/free electives of the degree program. | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| College Algebra | ||
| Trigonometry | ||
| Pre-Calculus | ||
| Calculus I | ||
| Political Science and U.S. History (Citizenship) | ||
| POLS 1101 | American Government | 3 |
| Arts, Humanities & Ethics (Humanities) | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| World Literature I | ||
or ENGL 2111H | World LIterature I Honors | |
| World Literature II | ||
or ENGL 2112H | World Literature II Honors | |
| Survey of British Literature I | ||
| Survey of British Literature II | ||
| Survey/American Literature I | ||
| American Literature II | ||
| African-American Literature I | ||
| African-American Literature II | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Art Appreciation | ||
| Dance Appreciation | ||
| Elementary French I | ||
| Elementary French II | ||
| Intermediate French I | ||
| Intermediate French II | ||
| Elementary Latin I | ||
| Elementary Latin II | ||
| Intermediate Latin I | ||
| Intermediate Latin II | ||
| Music Appreciation | ||
| Introduction to Japanese I | ||
| Introduction to Japanese II | ||
| Intermediate Japanese I | ||
| Intermediate Japanese II | ||
| Elementary Spanish I | ||
| Elementary Spanish II | ||
| Intermediate Spanish I | ||
| Intermediate Spanish II | ||
| Theater Appreciation | ||
| Communicating in Writing (Writing) | ||
| Minimum grade of “C” required in each course | ||
| ENGL 1101 | English Composition I | 3 |
| or ENGL 1101H | English Composition I Honors | |
| ENGL 1102 | English Composition II | 3 |
| or ENGL 1102H | English Composition II Honors | |
| Technology, Mathematics, & Sciences (STEM) | 10-11 | |
| Non-sequence lab science courses | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Biology | ||
| Introduction to Biological Sciences | ||
| Intro to Biological Sciences | ||
| Physical Science I | ||
| Physical Science II | ||
| Sequence lab science courses (first course in each sequence is a prerequisite for the second course in the sequence) | ||
| Principles of Biology I and Principles of Biology II | ||
| Survey of Chemistry I and Survey of Chemistry II | ||
| Principles of Chemistry I and Principles of Chemistry II | ||
| Introductory Physics I and Introductory Physics II | ||
| Principles of Physics I and Principles of Physics II | ||
| Math/Technology Courses | ||
| Introduction to Computer Science | ||
| Pre-Calculus | ||
| Calculus I | ||
| Calculus II | ||
| Calculus III | ||
| Introduction to Statistics | ||
| Social Sciences (Social Sciences) | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Survey of World History I | ||
| Survey of World History II | ||
| Survey of American History I | ||
| Survey of American History II | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Intro to Anthropology | ||
| Principles of Macroeconomics | ||
| Intro to Human Geography | ||
| Survey of World History I | ||
| Survey of World History II | ||
| Survey of American History I | ||
| Survey of American History II | ||
| Minorities in America | ||
| Introduction to Political Science | ||
| General Psychology | ||
| Introduction to Sociology | ||
| Total Semester Hours | 42-43 | |
- 1
Cannot use the following combinations for completion of Area D: BIOL 1011K and BIOL 1111K; BIOL 2107K, BIOL 1110K, or BIOL 1111K; CHEM 1151K and CHEM 1211K; PHSC 1011K and PHYS 1111K or PHYS 2211K; PHSC 1012K and CHEM 1151K or CHEM 1211K.