Please note: This is NOT the most current catalog.

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: STUDENTS ENTERING ST. OLAF PRIOR TO AUGUST 2008

FOUNDATION STUDIES

First-Year Writing [FYW] -- 1 course

Students who initially transfer 15 or more courses to St. Olaf are exempt from this requirement.

Placement: Students who need to improve their writing skills complete General Education 107: Introduction to Academic Writing, or General Education 110: Critical Skills in Composition, in the first semester of the first year, then complete a General Education 111 in the second semester of the first year. All other students may enroll directly in a General Education 111 section.

Writing in Context Courses [WRI] -- 4 courses

Foreign Language [FOL] -- 0-4 courses

Additional Information:

All St. Olaf students must satisfy the foreign language requirement. This may be done through satisfactory completion of the fourth college semester course (numbered 232 or higher) taught in the French [FOL-F], German [FOL-G], or Spanish [FOL-S] languages; or satisfactory completion of the third college semester course (numbered 231 or higher) taught in the Chinese [FOL-C], Greek [FOL-K], Latin [FOL-L], Japanese [FOL-J], Norwegian [FOL-N], or Russian [FOL-R] languages, or demonstration of equivalent proficiency.

Placement: The college provides placement examinations for new students. On the basis of examination results and the admissions record, the college assists with initial placement in a first-, second-, third-, or fourth-semester course. In general, students are advised to begin foreign language study in the first semester of the first year and to continue their language study in each subsequent semester until the requirement is completed. In cases where a student’s schedule of courses makes that impossible, the student should consult with his or her advisor.

Students planning to fulfill the foreign language requirement with transfer courses from other institutions should be aware of St. Olaf’s requirement of intermediate proficiency in one foreign language. Questions regarding the transfer of foreign language courses to St. Olaf should be directed in advance to the registrar. See also Foreign Language Transfer.

Proficiency reports from persons not known to St. Olaf must be based on documented exposure or training by the student in a foreign language equivalent in length to three or four college semesters, or demonstration of a sufficient length of time in a non-English speaking culture to give credence to a proficiency report. As a rule, proficiency reports from persons outside of St. Olaf are not acted upon until the student arranges for a final proficiency exam by persons and methods agreed to by members of the foreign language faculty, the registrar and, if deemed necessary, the dean of the college. Such exams may involve an expense charged to the student.

A student experiencing foreign language difficulty should first consult the instructor of the foreign language course and also his/her academic advisor; these faculty may also refer the student to the Academic Support Center. Students for whom English is a second language should consult the registrar.

For students with learning disabilities specific to foreign language, there is an alternate way to satisfy the foreign language requirement, as approved by the St. Olaf faculty on October 16, 1974:

“After completion of the work in a foreign language course at St. Olaf College, the student who receives a D or F or no credit may petition to satisfy all (in the case of an F or no credit in a Language 111 course) or any remaining portion of the requirement by taking Foreign Culture and Civilization or Literature in English Translation.”

Alternatives to this requirement are rarely considered. In most cases, they can be initiated by the student only upon completion of a course as explained above. Criteria for granting permission for an alternative include, but are not limited to, strict adherence to language course requirements and class attendance, plus evidence of having worked with a tutor assigned by the Academic Support Center. In a limited number of cases involving students with specific learning disabilities as detailed in Public Law 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975), Section 5(b)(4), a faculty member or a student may initiate the procedure to request an alternative to the foreign language requirement before the student completes the course, as detailed in guidelines approved by the faculty on May 10, 1988.

Oral Communication [ORC] – 1 course

Mathematical Reasoning [MAR] – 1 course

Placement: The college provides a placement examination for new students. On the basis of examination results and the admissions record, most students are advised to complete the requirement in the first year. In some instances, however, students are advised to complete the requirement later. The college assists with placement.

Physical Activity [PHA] – 2 one-quarter (.25) credit physical activity courses or a .50 credit Exercise Science course.

Additional Information:

Two different one-quarter (.25 credit) activity courses providing participation in structured physical activity in Exercise Science or Dance or a .50 credit course in Exercise Science. Participants in a recognized intercollegiate sport may register and receive credit for one of the two required .25 credit courses. Credit for intercollegiate sport participation cannot be earned as an elective. It can be earned only once as part of the PHA requirement.

It is strongly recommended that both PHA requirements be completed before the senior year. The following regulations are often misunderstood:

  1. Students not appearing on the first class day of a physical activity course are normally dropped from the course by the instructor. In this event, the student must still drop the course at the Registrar’s Office by the posted drop deadline. The instructor does not assume this responsibility.
  2. Only one physical activity course credit may be earned by students as a result of participation in an approved intercollegiate sport. This credit must be entered as Exercise Science 171-194 at the registration preceding the sport/participation term. Credit cannot be claimed after the term in which participation took place. An intercollegiate physical education (.25) credit can only be used within the two quarter-credit physical education graduation requirement. An intercollegiate physical education (.25) credit cannot be used as an elective for the purpose of earning a credit toward the 35 full-credit course requirement for graduation. It can only be used once as one-half of the two-course PHA requirement.
  3. Dance 101 and 104 are .5 credit courses, but each earns only one PHA credit and cannot be counted for both (.25) PHA requirements.
  4. At registration, students may register initially for only one physical activity. On a space-available basis a second physical activity may be added with a signed drop/add slip within the drop/add dates published on the Registrar’s  Office website.
  5. After the Physical Activity (PHA) requirement has been completed, students may repeat Physical Activities under the following conditions:
    • The PHA requirement is completed with two different PE activities.
    • Students repeating a PE must wait until the first day of classes to register the repeated activity to allow all current students to register for the PHA requirement.
    • Students may only register on a “space available” (open courses) basis.
    • PE activities may only be repeated four times.

CORE STUDIES

Historical Studies in Western Culture [HWC] – 2 courses

Multicultural Studies [MCS-G, MCS-D] – 2 courses

Artistic and Literary Studies [ALS-A, ALS-L] – 2 courses

Biblical and Theological Studies [BTS-B, BTS-T] – 2 courses

Students who initially transfer 15 or more courses to St. Olaf are only required to complete the Christian theology course.

One BTS-T course is the required prerequisite for an EIN course.

Studies in Natural Science [NST, NSL] – 2 courses

Studies in Human Behavior and Society [HBS] – 2 courses

INTEGRATIVE COURSE

Ethical Issues and Normative Perspectives [EIN] – 1 course

One BTS-T course is the required prerequisite for an EIN course.