Purpose of General Education
At Black Hawk College, we empower you to thrive and actively participate in a complex, changing world. You will also develop broad, informed perspectives to live and work in diverse communities. Black Hawk College’s six core general education outcomes will equip you to meet your personal, educational, and financial goals.
- Critical Thinking: You will be able to identify and solve problems, develop arguments, make decisions, and evaluate outcomes.
- Communication: You be able to share your ideas and knowledge clearly and effectively in various ways with diverse audiences.
- Intercultural Competence: You will be able to recognize the unique characteristics of various cultures and respectfully engage with diverse communities.
- Quantitative Reasoning: You will be able to solve mathematical problems, draw conclusions based on data, and use numerical evidencece to support arguments.
- Ethical Reasoning: You will be able to use values such as fairness, compassion, and respect to make informed decisions.
- Information Literacy: You will be able to effectively identify, locate, evaluate, and use evidence-based information.
Illinois Articulation Initiative Agreement (IAI)
Black Hawk College is a participant in the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI), a statewide agreement that allows transfer of the completed General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) among participating institutions. Successful completion of the GECC at any participating college or university in Illinois will facilitate transfer to these institutions’ Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree program. This agreement is in effect for students entering a participating associate or baccalaureate degree granting institution as a first-time student in the summer of 1998 and thereafter.
Students will be able to realize the benefit of this statewide articulation agreement by completing the GECC alone or by earning the Associate in Arts degree. Students who transfer before completing the GECC or the Associate degree may find that not all of their coursework will transfer toward meeting the transfer school’s general education requirements.
The following codes identify qualifying general education courses: IAI C (Communication), IAI F (Fine Arts), IAI H (Humanities), IAI HF (Humanities or Fine Arts), IAI L (Life Sciences), IAI M (Mathematics), IAI P (Physical Sciences), IAI S (Social/Behavioral Sciences). See an academic advisor for additional information and utilize the IAI GECC Planning Worksheet for appropriate course selection, www.bhc.edu/iaitransfer. Read about the IAI and locate participating institutions at www.itransfer.org.
Certain Black Hawk College course combinations are excluded from counting toward the GECC, such that students cannot receive General Education credit for both courses. These combinations include:
In addition, students should be aware that a grade of “C” or better in English 101 and English 102 is required for these courses to be included in the IAI General Education Core Curriculum.
Most students would be well advised to complete the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree requirements in order to achieve the additional benefits of the compact and/or course equivalency agreements which have been negotiated with senior institutions.
General Education Core Curriculum (GECC)
The Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) provides a credential for completion of specific requirements. The GECC consists of a set of a minimum of 12 IAI courses ( minimum 37 credit hours), and are part of the Associate in Arts Degree at Black Hawk College. Successful completion of these core courses at any participating college or university in the state of Illinois will facilitate transfer to any other participating associate or bachelor’s degree program. These GECC courses are considered a ‘package’ to satisfy lower division General Education requirements, and course-to-course transfer is not guaranteed. This credential is automatically awarded as a notation on the BHC transcript for each student meeting the requirements beginning in the Fall 2020 semester and after. This is not a workforce certificate nor industry-recognized credential.
Reverse Transfer
Reverse Transfer allows students who transfer from a community college to a four-year college or university, to use their credits completed at the four-year institution toward completion of the associate’s degree. In order to have an Associate’s degree awarded on the Black Hawk College transcript, all course transfer criteria and degree requirements must be met, including Black Hawk College’s coursework residency requirement. Students must opt-in for reverse transfer by contacting their four-year institution to have transcripts sent to Black Hawk College. Students are also advised to check with their four-year institution for further instructions or requirements for Reverse Transfer.
For more information on Reverse Transfer, please contact Advising advqc@bhc.edu or Registrar registrar@bhc.edu.
Associate in Arts
Associate in Science
Associate in Applied Science
Associate in Fine Arts
Associate in Liberal Studies
Career Program Certificates
A student may be granted a certificate in a career program when the following requirements have been met:
- The student shall have completed the prescribed curriculum with the required credit hours of credit.
- The student shall have an overall grade average of “C” (2.0) or above for all work completed in the curriculum for which the certificate is awarded.
- Unless otherwise specified, the career student shall complete the last twenty percent of the credit hours at Black Hawk College and shall earn a minimum of thirty percent of the credit hours of credit at Black Hawk College.
- Credit earned through the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) may apply toward certificates.
- Students completing a career program curriculum for which there is no associate’s degree may apply these credits toward an Associate in Liberal Studies degree.
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