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History of Kent State’s General Education Requirement

1983: Kent State establishes the General Education Requirements. Previously, each college had separate and different general education requirements. The structure for the university-wide requirement is modeled after the one in the College of Arts and Sciences.

CategoryCredit HoursCourses
Composition6 credit hours2 courses
Mathematics, Logic and Foreign Languages6 credit hours29 courses
Humanities and Fine Arts12 credit hours19 courses
Social Sciences9 credit hours17 courses
Basic Sciences6 credit hours27 courses
Total for the five categories:39 credit hours94 courses

1985: The General Education Requirements is renamed the Liberal Education Requirements.

CategoryCredit HoursCourses
Composition6 credit hours2 courses
Mathematics, Logic and Foreign Languages6 credit hours29 courses
Humanities and Fine Arts12 credit hours19 courses
Social Sciences9 credit hours17 courses
Basic Sciences6 credit hours29 courses
Total for the five categories:39 credit hours96 courses

1990: The state-wide Ohio Transfer Module is implemented, patterned after Kent State’s general education requirements. The Ohio Transfer Module (now called Ohio Transfer 36) comprises 36-40 credit hours from five categories: English Composition (minimum 3 credit hours); Mathematics, Statistics and Logic (minimum 3 semester); Arts and Humanities (minimum 6 credit hours); Social and Behavioral Sciences (minimum 6 credit hours); and Natural Sciences (minimum 6 credit hours).

1999: The Liberal Education Requirements is reduced in total credit hours, and more course options added.

CategoryCredit HoursCourses
Composition6 credit hours4 courses
Mathematics, Logic and Foreign Languages6 credit hours36 courses
Humanities and Fine Arts9 credit hours34 courses
Social Sciences9 credit hours23 courses
Basic Sciences6 credit hours33 courses
Total for the five categories:36 credit hours130 courses

2006: The Liberal Education Requirements is revised to comply with a state mandate to align with the Ohio Transfer Module, specifically in the mathematics (foreign languages removed) and natural sciences (one lab required) categories. The mathematics category is renamed, and the Additional category is created to allow two courses from separate categories to be applied.

CategoryCredit HoursCourses
Composition6 credit hours5 courses
Mathematics and Critical Reasoning3 credit hours12 courses
Humanities and Fine Arts9 credit hours32 courses
Social Sciences6 credit hours26 courses
Basic Sciences6 credit hours37 courses
Additional6 credit hours2 courses
Total for the six categories:36 credit hours114 courses

2010: The Liberal Education Requirements is revised to remove the restriction that students’ major courses cannot count toward the requirement. The requirement is renamed the Kent Core.

CategoryCredit HoursCourses
Composition6 credit hours5 courses
Mathematics and Critical Reasoning3 credit hours11 courses
Humanities and Fine Arts9 credit hours32 courses
Social Sciences6 credit hours27 courses
Basic Sciences6 credit hours43 courses
Additional6 credit hours2 courses
Total for the six categories:36 credit hours120 courses

2011: Following a mandate from the state, an abbreviated Kent Core is required for all applied associate degrees (e.g., A.A.B., A.A.S., A.T.S.).

CategoryCredit HoursCourses
Composition3 credit hours5 courses
Mathematics and Critical Reasoning3 credit hours11 courses
Humanities and Fine Arts3 credit hours32 courses
Social Sciences3 credit hours27 courses
Basic Sciences3 credit hours43 courses
Total for the six categories:15 credit hours120 courses

2013: The Kent Core is revised to allow courses from any category to count toward the Additional category.

CategoryCredit HoursCourses
Composition6 credit hours5 courses
Mathematics and Critical Reasoning3 credit hours13 courses
Humanities and Fine Arts9 credit hours28 courses
Social Sciences6 credit hours21 courses
Basic Sciences6 credit hours43 courses
Additional6 credit hours3 courses
Total for the six categories:36 credit hours113 courses

2021: For the past 10 years, Faculty Senate has attempted to minimize growth of the Kent Core by requiring any new additions to be accompanied by removals, except for mathematics courses mandated by the state.

CategoryCredit HoursCourses
Composition6 credit hours5 courses
Mathematics and Critical Reasoning3 credit hours20 courses
Humanities and Fine Arts9 credit hours29 courses
Social Sciences6 credit hours20 courses
Basic Sciences6 credit hours51 courses
Additional6 credit hours4 courses
Total for the six categories:36 credit hours129 courses

University Catalog Kent Core (General Education Requirement)