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General Degree Requirements

Bossier Parish Community College fulfills its stated purpose by meeting challenges from business establishments, industrial companies, and medical institutions to provide technical training for their employees. Successful completion of the training qualifies students to receive, in each appropriate case, technical competency area certification, a certificate, an associate degree, and/or credit to transfer to other institutions where the studies can be completed. The College's occupational/technical programs include degree programs, clock-hour programs, seminars, and training sessions.

BPCC offers the following Associate Degrees, Academic Certificates, and Technical Competency Areas:

General Education Core Curriculum

Associate Degree

The accrediting (SACS-COC) and governing (Board of Regents) bodies of Bossier Parish Community College have established a set of core courses for students receiving an associate degree at the College. This core curriculum is included in the Associate Degree curriculum that students follow. Graduates of all BPCC associate degrees are required, at a minimum, to take the following courses:

Minimum required	Associate of Applied Science (AAS)	Associate of Arts (AA)	Associate of Science (AS)	Associate (A)
General Education	15 credit hours	27 credit hours	27 credit hours	27 credit hours
English Composition	3 credit hours	6 credit hours	6 credit hours	6 credit hours
Mathematics	3 credit hours	3 credit hours	6 credit hours	3 credit hours
Natural Science	3 credit hours	6 credit hours	6 credit hours	6 credit hours
Humanities	3 credit hours	3 credit hours	3 credit hours	3 credit hours
Fine Arts	0 credit hours	3 credit hours	3 credit hours	3 credit hours
Behavioral/Social Sciences	3 credit hours	6 credit hours	3 credit hours	6 credit hours

Academic Certificates

Bossier Parish Community College awards the following: the Certificate, the Technical Diploma, and the Certificate of Technical Studies. These contain the required coursework as approved by the Board of Regents. The Technical Diploma and the Certificate of Technical Studies do not possess a general education core requirement.

Technical Competency Area

A Technical Competency Area is a series of applied courses that provides students with mastery in a specific technical/vocational area. The TCA does not possess a general education core requirement.

General Education Competencies

Associate Degree

In addition to the above minimum core courses, BPCC has established general education competencies, which are related to the entire curriculum, and not limited to any one course. The general education competencies for Associate Degree graduates are reading, written and oral communication, mathematical computation, critical thinking, library skills, and computer literacy. Establishing competencies is accomplished across the curriculum for each Associate Degree program and includes courses from the Core Curriculum required by the Louisiana Board of Regents and the General Education core required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Specifically, Associate Degree graduates must be able to do the following:

READING - Comprehend, evaluate, and synthesize information gained by reading college-level material across the curriculum.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION - Communicate effectively in written English across the curriculum by thinking critically to develop ideas and organize argument and supporting information in a variety of rhetorical modes.
ORAL COMMUNICATION - Develop effective informative and persuasive oral-communication skills demonstrated through oral presentation across the curriculum.
MATHEMATICAL COMPUTATION - Comprehend and accurately perform course-specific mathematical operations to demonstrate problem-solving skills.
CRITICAL THINKING - Develop critical thinking skills to generate and interpret information and beliefs successfully from knowledge, skills and abilities gained across the curriculum.
LIBRARY SKILLS - Use library resources to research topics across the curriculum.
COMPUTER LITERACY - Utilize current computer technology and applications across the curriculum to develop research skills and computer literacy for academic settings, workforce development, and lifelong learning.

To ensure BPCC Associate Degree graduates have established general education competencies in these areas, a graduate must have no grade lower than a "C" in courses used to assess general education competencies.

Academic Certificates

Additionally, BPCC has established the following general education competencies for Academic Certificates. The general education competencies for the Academic Certificate graduates are reading, written communication, arithmetic computation, and skills in their chosen occupational fields. Specifically, Academic Certificate graduates must be able to do the following:

READING - Comprehend, evaluate, and synthesize information gained by reading college-level material.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION - Use basic grammar, mechanics, and composition skills in a variety of rhetorical modes to explain, describe, inform, and analyze.
MATHEMATICAL COMPUTATION - Perform arithmetic computations as these are related to certification area.
SKILLS - Demonstrate skills required for current entry-level employment in their chosen fields.

Students receiving Academic Certificates from BPCC must show competency in general education. The following measurements have been established to indicate competency:

READING (Competency # 1)

A minimum ACT score of 16 in reading;
Placement test results showing Reading 099 is NOT needed; or
Completion of Reading 099 with a grade of "C" or higher.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (Competency # 2)

A minimum ACT score of 18 in English;
Placement test results showing placement in English 101; or
Completion of English 099 with a grade of "C" or higher.

MATHEMATICAL COMPUTATION (Competency # 3)

A minimum ACT score of 15 in mathematics;
Placement test results showing placement in Math 099 or higher; or
Completion of Math 098 with a grade of "C" or higher.

SKILLS (Competency # 4)

Skills for entry-level employment are determined by achievement of learning outcomes in Academic Certificate course requirements.

Technical Competency Areas

The TCA does not possess a general education competency requirement.

Degree Requirements

Associate Degree and Academic Certificates: (General Requirements) - The BPCC academic catalog prescribes the requirements for each associate degree and certificate program as well as services offered by the College. The catalog is published annually and becomes effective with the beginning of the summer semester each year. Former and continuing students must adhere to all changes in policies, rules, regulations, and academic requirements each year that changes are made. The educational programs and academic courses described herein may be altered by BPCC to carry out its stated mission. Students pursuing BPCC Associate Degrees and Academic Certificates are permitted to pursue only one associate degree at a time.
Requirements for a Second Associate Degree: In order to qualify for a second Associate Degree, regardless of whether the first was granted by BPCC or another college or university, the candidate must present to the appropriate dean a minimum of 20 additional semester hours earned at BPCC since the completion of the previous degree requirements. These 20 additional hours will not include any semester hours counted in fulfilling any previous degree requirements or those hours earned prior to the date of certification of the last degree. The candidate must also fulfill all academic major requirements and College requirements for the second degree. The 20 hours of an approved curriculum for a second Associate Degree must be taken in residence at BPCC within five years of the time of graduation. Note: Students are not allowed to pursue more than one BPCC Associate Degree simultaneously.
Official Certification of Degree/Certificate Completion: The official documentation of degree/certificate completion of BPCC programs is indicated on the BPCC transcript. Diplomas/certificates are unofficial and do not indicate official graduation from Bossier Parish Community College. The determination for satisfying all degree and certificate requirements is made by the Registrar after considering recommendations, where appropriate, from the appropriate deans and the Associate Vice Chancellor of Planning and Instruction, and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Graduation requirements: A grade of "C" or higher must be earned in all courses applicable to graduation. Student must successfully establish competency in all general education areas. For degree completion, at least 25 percent of semester credit hours must be earned at Bossier Parish Community College
General Education Courses:
Elective courses should be chosen from the list of general education courses.


English Composition		Social Sciences
ENGL 101	Composition and Rhetoric I	At least 3 hours at sophomore level
ENGL 102	Composition and Rhetoric II	ANTH 201	Physical Anthropology
Fine Arts – 3 hours		ANTH 202	Cultural Anthropology
ART 201	Art History I	BADM 201	Economic Principles I
ART 202	Art History II	BADM 202	Economic Principles II
ART 206	Introduction to Visual Arts	CJUS 101	Introduction to Criminal Justice
COMM 240	American Cinema	GPHY 101	Physical Geography
MUSC 120	Music Appreciation	GPHY 102	Cultural Geography
THTR 101	Humanities of Theatre	POSC 201	National Government in the United States
THTR 131	Elements of Theatre	POSC 202	State and Local Government
Mathematics/Analytical Reasoning		PSYC 201	Introduction to Psychology
MATH 101	Applied Algebra for College Students # (see note)	PSYC 202	Practical Psychology for Health Professionals
MATH 102	College Algebra	PSYC 205	Child Psychology
MATH 111	Precalculus	PSYC 206	Adolescent Psychology
MATH 112	Trigonometry	PSYC 210	Educational Psychology
MATH 114	Finite Math	PSYC 215	Psychology of Religion
MATH 124	Mathematical Concepts	PSYC 220	Developmental Psychology
MATH 131	Elementary Applied Calculus	PSYC 225	Loss and Death
MATH 210	Basic Statistics	PSYC 230	Military Stress and Health # (see note)
MATH 250	Calculus I	SLGY 201	Introduction to Sociology
MATH 251	Calculus II	SLGY 202	Social Problems
MATH 252	Calculus III	SLGY 203	Marriage and Family Living
MATH 253	Calculus IV	SLGY 207	Race, Class and Ethnicity
Humanities
Literature		Other
ENGL 201	Major British Writers	ENGL 201	Major British Writers
ENGL 202	Major American Writers	ENGL 202	Major American Writers
ENGL 255	Introduction to Fiction	ENGL 255	Introduction to Fiction
ENGL 256	Introduction to Poetry and Drama	ENGL 256	Introduction to Poetry and Drama
ENGL 257	Introduction to African American Literature # (see note)	FREN 101	Elementary French I
History Sequences		FREN 102	Elementary French II
HIST 101 and 102	Western Civilization I and II	FREN 201	Intermediate French
HIST 103 and 104	World Civilization I and II	HIST 101	Western Civilization I
HIST 201 and 202	American History I and II	HIST 102	Western Civilization II
Foreign Language Sequences		HIST 103	World Civilization I
FREN 101 and 102	Elementary French I and II	HIST 104	World Civilization II
SPAN 101 and 102	Elementary Spanish I and 11	HIST 201	American History I
Humanities		HIST 202	American History II
HMAN 201	Humanities I *** (see note)	HIST 203	Louisiana History
HMAN 202	Humanities II *** (see note)	RLGN 201	New Testament Survey I: Interbiblical Period, Four Gospels
HMAN 203	Film and Culture *** (see note)	RLGN 202	New Testament Survey II: Acts to Revelations
		SPAN 101	Elementary Spanish I
		SPAN 102	Elementary Spanish II
		SPAN 201	Intermediate Spanish
		SPCH 110	Principles of Speech ** (see note)
		SPCH 115	Interpersonal Communication ** (see note)

Natural Sciences
Biological Sequences
BLGY 101 and 102	General Biology I and II
BLGY 105 and 106	Elements of Biology I * (see note) and II * (see note)
BLGY 224 and 225	Human Anatomy and Human Physiology
BLGY 230 and 231	Human Anatomy and Physiology I # (see note) and II # (see note)
Physical Sequences
CHEM 101 and 102	General Chemistry I and II
CHEM 107 and 108	Introductory Chemistry and Introductory Organic and Biochemistry
PHSC 105 and 106	Elemental Physics * (see note) and Elemental Chemistry * (see note)
PHYS 201 and 202	General Physics I and II
Biological
BLGY 101	General Biology I
BLGY 105	Elements of Biology I * (see note)
BLGY 106	Elements of Biology II * (see note)
BLGY 107	Environmental Science * (see note)
BLGY 120	Introductory Human Anatomy and Physiology
BLGY 201	General Botany
BLGY 224	Human Anatomy
BLGY 230	Human Anatomy and Physiology I
BLGY 231	Human Anatomy and Physiology II
MICR 201	Microbiology for Nursing and Allied Health # (see note)
MICR 206	Principles of Microbiology
SCI 101	Foundation in Science * (see note)
ZLGY 201	General Zoology
Physical
CHEM 101	General Chemistry I
CHEM 107	Introductory Chemistry
PHSC 105	Elemental Physics * (see note)
PHSC 106	Elemental Chemistry * (see note)
PHSC 107	Environmental Science * (see note)
PHSC 110	Astronomy * (see note)
PHSC 111	Physical Geology * (see note)
PHYS 201	General Physics I
SCI 101	Foundation in Science * (see note)

Notes: recommended for non-science majors may not be sole humanities course **may only be used for AAS degrees # new course for fall 2012 (For transfer to a four-year institution, students are strongly advised to take MATH 102 instead of MATH 101. Students must seek the assistance of their advisor to determine the appropriate mathematics courses.)

2012 - 2013 General Catalog

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