The curriculum is designed for students who desire up to two years of college study for personal development. It is also designed to provide students an opportunity to pursue various areas of interest and subsequently to select a more specific educational objective, such as a particular occupational program or baccalaureate-oriented associate degree.
Both baccalaureate-oriented and occupational-oriented courses may be taken as a part of this program but must be numbered 100 or above. Not all courses may transfer.
1. Group Requirements:
- Communications Skills (9 hours)
- Humanities/Fine Arts (10 hours)
- Social Science (10 hours)
- Natural/Life/Physical Science and Mathematics (10 hours)
2. General Electives
May include occupational-oriented courses. (24 hours)
3. Constitution Requirement
Richland Community College requires having met the Constitution Requirement in order to receive the Basic or Advanced Certificate for any occupational-oriented program. Illinois law requires anyone graduating from Richland with an associate's degree to pass an examination covering American patriotism and the principles of representative government, as well as the proper use and display of the American flag.
The test also covers the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Illinois Constitution.
The requirement may be satisfied in one of two ways:
- If the required examination was taken and passed in high school, the student's high school transcript must verify that the requirement has been met. (Holders of an Illinois GED certificate may submit an official copy of their test scores or verification from the Superintendent of the Regional Office of Education through which the GED certificate was issued); or
- Students may obtain study material from the Kitty Lindsay Learning Resources Center and take the examination through the Testing Center, Room W124.
4. Total Credits Required (63 hours)
Courses must be numbered 100 or above. Students transferring credit to Richland Community College should see regulations concerning transfer credit.
5. Cumulative Grade Point Average
2.00 ("C") or better for all work applicable toward the degree that was completed at Richland.
