General Education Requirements - FAQ

Academic Advisement in the General Education Requirements

Am I required to complete general education requirements (GERs)?

All newly admitted Freshmen and Transfer students without an Associate of Arts (A.A.) or Associates of Sciences (A.S.) degree are required to complete 40 credit hours of General Education courses.

In accordance with USM and CSU policies, General Education Requirements (GERs) are satisfied for newly admitted transfer students with an Associate of Arts (A.A.) or an Associate of Science (A.S.) degree. GERs are considered met and newly admitted students with an A.A. or A.S. degree do not have to take any additional General Education courses.

Is there a Plan of Study for the General Education Requirements?

Yes.  General education requirements are taken during the first and second years of matriculation.

How much time does it take to complete my GERs?

The general education requirements are designed for completion in three semesters and a summer OR four full-time semesters.

Are general education requirements included in my degree plan?

Yes. All of the general education requirements are included in degree plans and, in some cases, such as Nursing, Social Work, and Education must be completed before the degree core of courses can be attempted.

Suppose I know that I cannot take courses together as recommended by my adviser, what can I do?

Course selections are based on several factors such as employment, family responsibilities, hours needed for study and research, as well as mode of instruction. Therefore, students have the flexibility of choosing the right combination of courses to meet their needs; however, students must complete general education requirements by the end of the second year of matriculation.

If I need to repeat a course should I repeat that course at Coppin?

Absolutely! When courses are repeated at Coppin students receive the benefit of the new grade and its quality points. Quality points are used to compute the grade point average.

I am working to complete courses ahead of schedule, how do I obtain permission to attend another college?

If the desire is to attend a community college or other local university that is not a member of the University System of Maryland students are required to obtain the permission form in the department at Coppin where the course is taught.  For example, Philosophy is taught in the Department of Humanities, therefore, students should go to the Department of Humanities which is located in the Grace Hill Jacobs Building in room 530.

Can any Academic Adviser help me with my course selections?

Absolutely! Although each student is assigned to an adviser to support efficient delivery of services, students will be offered the opportunity to consult with another adviser if their assigned adviser is not available when they visit the office.

If I need a permission code for a general education requirement can I obtain it from any adviser?

Absolutely! Advisers are able to request permission codes for courses that are filled and do not have waiting lists and will issue the permission code through Coppin email as soon as it is obtained.

Should I wait until I complete all general education requirements before I get involved with the department where I major?

Absolutely not! General education requirements come out of academic departments, they are students' first exposure to a degree program. Academic department faculty and staff welcome questions and inquiries about their degree programs.

When is the EAC Academic Advisement office open?

The Eagle Achievement Center and all of its resources are available to students Monday through Friday beginning at 8:30am. For more information on advisement services visit https://borng.top/eac-advising. For scheduling information related to the Math and Writing Centers check out their web pages for the latest updates, https://borng.top/math-center and https://borng.top/writing-center. For additional services and office hours provided by the Eagle Achievement Center, visit https://borng.top/eagle-achievement-center.