Policy 3.05

Part 1. Establishment of Minnesota General Education Transfer Curriculum

The Minnesota General Education Transfer Curriculum (MnTC) is a collaborative effort among all Minnesota two- and four-year public colleges and universities to help students transfer their work in general education among schools. Completion of a defined transfer curriculum at one institution enables a student to receive credit for all lower division general education courses upon admission to any other institution.

Students who complete a curriculum are certified in the 10 areas of competency by faculty at the sending institution. Students who choose not to complete a transfer curriculum will continue to have their courses evaluated for transfer through existing lists of course equivalencies.

Admission to any institution is an issue separate from transfer. All transfer students must continue to meet admission requirements (usually a grade point average for institutions or prerequisites for specific programs) when they transfer.

The MnTC commits all public colleges and universities in the state of Minnesota to a broad educational foundation that integrates a body of knowledge and skills with a study of contemporary concerns -- all essential to meeting the social, personal, and career challenges individuals will face in the future. The competencies emphasize our common membership in the human community; personal responsibility for intellectual, lifelong learning; and an awareness that we live in a diverse world. They include diverse ways of knowing -- that is, the factual content, the theories and methods, and the creative modes of a broad spectrum of disciplines and interdisciplinary fields -- as well as emphasis on the basic skills of discovery, integration, application and communication.

The MnTC is divided into 10 goal areas as described in part 2.

Part 2. Minnesota General Education Transfer Curriculum Goal Areas

Subpart A. Goal Area 1: Written and Oral Communication

Courses assigned to MnTC Goal Area 1 are designed to help students develop as writers and speakers who use the English language effectively and who read, write, speak and listen critically. As a base, all students should complete introductory communication requirements early in their collegiate studies. Writing competency is an ongoing process to be reinforced through writing-intensive courses and writing across the curriculum. Speaking and listening skills need reinforcement through multiple opportunities for interpersonal communication, public speaking and discussion.

Subpart B. Goal Area 2: Critical Thinking

Courses assigned to all MnTC goal areas are designed to help students develop as thinkers who are able to unify factual, creative, rational, and value-sensitive modes of thought. Critical thinking will be taught and used throughout the general education curriculum in order to develop students' awareness of their own thinking and problem-solving procedures. To integrate new skills into their customary ways of thinking, students must be actively engaged in practicing thinking skills and applying them to open-ended problems. Most courses teach one or more of the critical-thinking student competency areas. Any student who completes 40 credits of general education will have completed the student requirements for critical thinking.

Subpart C. Goal Area 3: Natural Sciences

Courses assigned to MnTC Goal Area 3 are designed to improve students' understanding of natural science principles and of the methods of scientific inquiry, i.e. the ways in which scientists investigate natural science phenomena. As a basis for lifelong learning, students need to know the vocabulary of science and to realize that while a set of principles has been developed through the work of previous scientists, ongoing scientific inquiry and new knowledge will bring changes in some of the ways scientists view the world. By studying the problems that engage today's scientists, students learn to appreciate the importance of science in their lives and to understand the value of a scientific perspective.

Subpart D. Goal Area 4: Mathematical/Logical Reasoning

Courses assigned to MnTC Goal Area 4 are designed to increase students' knowledge about mathematical and logical modes of thinking. This will enable students to appreciate the breadth of applications of mathematics, evaluate arguments, and detect fallacious reasoning. Students will learn to apply mathematics, logic, and/or statistics to help them make decisions in their lives and careers.

Subpart E. Goal Area 5: History and Social and Behavioral Sciences

Courses assigned to MnTC Goal Area 5 are designed to increase students' knowledge of how historians and social and behavioral scientists discover, describe, and explain the behaviors and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, events, and ideas. Such knowledge will better equip students to understand themselves and the roles they play in addressing the issues facing humanity.

Subpart F. Goal Area 6: Humanities and Fine Arts

Courses assigned to MnTC Goal Area 6 are designed to expand students' knowledge of the human condition and human cultures, especially in relation to behavior, ideas, and values expressed in works of human imagination and thought. Through study in disciplines such as literature, philosophy, and the fine arts, students will engage in critical analysis, form aesthetic judgments, and develop an appreciation of the arts and humanities as fundamental to the health and survival of any society.

Subpart G. Goal Area 7:

The Minnesota State System has defined two options for Goal Area 7 courses offered by Minnesota State colleges and universities, both of which satisfy Minnesota State’s Goal Area 7 titled Human Diversity, Race, Power, and Justice in the United States:

• Courses assigned to MnTC Goal Area 7A (Human Diversity) are designed to increase students' understanding of individual and group differences (e.g. race, gender, class) and their knowledge of the traditions and values of various groups in the United States. Students should be able to evaluate the United States' historical and contemporary responses to group differences.
• Courses assigned to MnTC Goal Area 7B (Race, Power, and Justice) are designed to build knowledge and understanding of historic and contemporary structures of racism in the United States, which systemically shape complex social, political, economic, and environmental inequities experienced by marginalized groups and identities, and promote agency to address matters of structural inequality.

All Goal Area 7 courses offered at Minneapolis College are assigned to MnTC Goal Area 7B (Race, Power, and Justice).

Subpart H. Goal Area 8: Global Perspective

Courses assigned to MnTC Goal Area 8 are designed to increase students' understanding of the growing interdependence of nations and peoples and develop their ability to apply a comparative perspective to cross-cultural social, economic, and political experiences.

Subpart I. Goal Area 9: Ethical and Civic Responsibility

Courses assigned to MnTC Goal Area 9 are designed to develop students' capacity to identify, discuss, and reflect upon the ethical dimensions of political, social, and personal life; and to understand the ways in which they can exercise responsible and productive citizenship. While there are diverse views of social justice or the common good in a pluralistic society, students should learn that responsible citizenship requires them to develop skills to understand their own and others' positions, be part of the free exchange of ideas, and function as public-minded citizens.

Subpart J. Goal Area 10: People and the Environment

Courses assigned to MnTC Goal Area 10 are designed to improve students' understanding of today's complex environmental challenges. Students will examine the inter-relatedness of human society and the natural environment. Knowledge of both biophysical principles and sociocultural systems is the foundation for integrative and critical thinking about environmental issues.

Owner(s) Title: Vice President of Academic Affairs

Date of Adoption: 7/1/1999

Date of Implementation (if different from adoption date): N/A

Date Last Amended: 7/10/2024 (Focused Review)

Date and Subject of Revisions: 7/10/2024 (Focused Review: Updates to reflect changes to Goal 7, specifying the expanded definition of Goal 7 at the system level and the College’s adoption of Goal 7b for its course offerings to meet Goal 7 course requirements); 5/12/2022 (Limited Review), 3/31/2005.

Regulatory Authority (e.g. Minnesota State policy, federal or state law): Minnesota State Board Policy 3.21, System Procedure 3.21.1, and Operating Instructions 3.21.1.1.