General Education Requirements

Candidates for all degrees must complete courses which meet the General Education Objectives of the College. Composition Requirements

  1. Rhetoric Courses. To graduate from Alma, students must demonstrate writing proficiency. Students are placed in writing courses on the basis of their ACT or SAT scores. Most students demonstrate proficiency by completing English 101 with a "C" (2.0) or better grade. The English Department may exempt students from this requirement if an assessment of their writing skills indicates equivalent proficiency has been obtained. Transfer students who took one writing course that transferred in as English 100 must complete English 101 with a "C" (2.0) or better grade. Transfer students who took a writing course that transferred in as English 101 need not demonstrate proficiency. All students must maintain writing proficiency or be remanded by a professor for additional work in writing.
  2. Quill Courses. Completion with a passing grade of at least four courses other than English 100 and 101 that require significant writing shall be required for graduation. At least one of these courses will be in the student's major and at least two will be outside the major. Courses that can be elected to fulfill this requirement will be designated as Quill courses in the course catalog description and in the schedule of classes. No transfer course meets a Quill requirement without approval from the department under which credit is received. In this catalog, Quill courses are marked with a Q1 or a Q2.
    • Q1 Quill 1 courses integrate composition experiences with coursework which meets Alma's Writing Across the Curriculum requirement. At least 25 percent of the course's grade is based upon the evaluation of quality in such written products as papers, reports, journals or examinations. Syllabi and instructions for these courses specify the writing requirement and indicate its influence on evaluation standards.
    • Q2 Quill 2 courses are within the requirements for a major which base 25 percent of the course's evaluation on out-of-class writing assignments. Each department provides at least one Quill 2 course. Instruction in these courses includes corrective and evaluative comments from instructors and opportunities for student improvement by revision and resubmission of a written assignment or by preparation of a series of written assignments.
  3. Remanding Process. If the quality of the writing done by a student for a credit-bearing course is judged inadequate, the instructor of the course shall remand the student to the English Department for evaluation and/or remediation.