General Education Core Curriculum

Purpose of Texas Core Curriculum

Given the rapid evolution of necessary knowledge and skills and the need to take into account global, national, state, and local cultures, the Texas Core Curriculum (TCC) must ensure that students will develop the essential knowledge and skills they need to be successful in college, in a career, in their communities, and in life.

Texas Core Curriculum Statement of Purpose

Through the Texas Core Curriculum, students enrolled at Texas Southmost College 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.

Core Objectives

Each core curriculum course must include three or four, out of six, Core Objectives. Definitions for the six Core Objectives for the TCC are as follows:

• Critical Thinking Skills (CT) - creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information
• Communication Skills (COM) - effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication
• Empirical and Quantitative Skills (EQS) - manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions
• Teamwork (TW) - ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal
• Social Responsibility (SR) - intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities
• Personal Responsibility (PR) - ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making

Foundational Component Areas

There are eight Foundational Component Areas (FCA) and one Component Area Option (CAO). The CAO may provide options for students to choose additional courses from other FCA. Each FCA has a component description as definition, a set number of semester credit hours (SCH) required for completion of a component, and specified Core Objectives requirements. The table on the following page provides a summary of this information.