Undergraduate General Education and Humanities Requirements. Higher Education Surveys Report. Survey Number 7.

Overview & Synopsis

The report presents data from a nationwide survey conducted in spring 1988 to obtain information about undergraduate general education and humanities requirements in U.S. colleges and universities for students entering in 1983-84 and 1988-89. Two sections of the report focus on general education requirements at four-year schools and general education requirements at two-year schools. Each section considers presence of requirements in selected academic areas, credit hour requirements, and structure of general education requirements. Highlights of the survey include the following: (1) in 1988, 96% of the baccalaureate-granting four-year U.S. colleges had general education requirements for all undergraduate degrees; (2) students entering four-year colleges in 1988-89 must take an average of 52.1 semester credit hours in general education; (3) in 1988, 90% of associate degree-granting two-year schools required all degree candidates to take some general education courses to graduate; and (4) students entering two-year schools in 1988-89 must take an average of 30.5 semester credit hours in general education. Appended are detailed tables, technical notes concerning higher education surveys, survey methodology, reliability of survey estimates, school type relationships, and the survey questionnaire. (SM)