Narrative:  

Troy University is in compliance with this Comprehensive Standard.

Requirements for all undergraduate programs, including the general education components thereof, are published annually in the Troy University Undergraduate Catalog. This document is available both in hardcopy and online. Troy University undergraduate programs conform to commonly accepted best practices for content, length and learning expectations. These undergraduate programs are also consistent with similar programs at peer institutions. All undergraduate programs were reviewed as part of the merger in 2005 and were approved at that time by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). Any new undergraduate program must be reviewed by the University’s internal review processes and by ACHE. Additionally, as noted in Comprehensive Standard 2.7.3, a description and overview of the general studies program and a link to its component courses are available on the Troy University Web site.

As noted and demonstrated in Comprehensive Standard 2.7.3, Troy University’s general studies program is by law fully compatible with the general education program of other public institutions of higher education in Alabama through the state’s Articulation General Studies Committee (AGSC). Of particular note is that the AGSC itself is made up of disciplinary sub-committees comprised of faculty from participating institutions. These committees are responsible for the on-going review and recommendation for approval or disapproval of new and revised general studies courses, and particularly whether a general studies course falls “within the general parameters that the Committee has established and that it is broad enough in scope to meet the general studies designation.” AGSC criteria also serve as the commonly accepted standard for Troy University’s general studies courses and entry into specific degree programs. For example, the AGSC discipline committees approve templates, or specific general studies courses, specifying the general studies courses a student should take to be eligible to apply for admission to that major with junior standing at a participating four-year institution.

In short, while the Alabama state legislature mandated the creation of the AGSC to facilitate course credit transfer between public institutions of higher education within Alabama, the AGSC also ensures that the University is adhering to commonly accepted practices for the general studies requirements overall, and for entry into specific academic disciplines. The organization, content and breadth of Troy University’s general studies program are consistent with and adhere to these AGSC mandates.

Likewise, the requirements of Troy University’s general studies program are consistent with those of other universities in the southeast region outside Alabama. For example, where Troy University requires 42 semester hours in Areas I-IV in its general studies program, a representative sample of eight regional non-Alabama universities reveals the following:

Additionally, the above universities divide their general education programs into categories similar to those of Troy University—i.e., English composition (sometimes called “writing” and grouped with speech as “communication”), fine arts and humanities, mathematics and sciences, behavioral and social sciences, and history.

Troy University is in compliance with this Comprehensive Standard.