Vernon College’s Core Curriculum Statement of Purpose
Through the Texas Core Curriculum, students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, develop principles of personal and social responsibility for living in a diverse world, and advance intellectual and practical skills that are essential for all learning.
Vernon College’s forty-two (42) semester credit hour Core Curriculum is approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and is designed to adequately address the THECB identified core objectives of
critical thinking skills, communication skills, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, social responsibility and personal responsibility. In addition to addressing these kinds of knowledge and skills which students need to be successful in the 21st Century, VC’s core curriculum is also designed to serve students in terms of ensuring a seamless transition from Core Curriculum completion to degree completion. Thus, the 42 semester credit hours which comprise the core curriculum represent 70% of the requirements (60 SCH) for the Associate in Arts (AA), Associate in Science (AS), and Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) degrees. Furthermore, in accordance with Texas Administrative Code (Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter B, Rule 4.28 (c)), if a student successfully completes the 42 semester credit hour core curriculum at a Texas public institution of higher education, that block of courses may be transferred to any other Texas public institution of higher education and must be substituted for the receiving institution’s core curriculum. A student shall receive academic credit for each of the courses transferred and may not be required to take additional core curriculum courses at the receiving institution. Consequently, the 42 semester credit hours which comprise the core curriculum also represent 35% of the coursework required by most Bachelor’s degree programs (120 SCH) at Texas public institutions of higher education. Students who successfully complete the core curriculum will have their transcripts coded as “core complete” and are eligible to be awarded the program measure of Core Curriculum Completer as designated by the THECB.