General Studies Program Prepares Students for General Greatness

By its nature, a general studies program is, well, general.  Its purpose is to equip students with education-oriented skills that cover a broad range of topics and subjects and, thus, prepare them for an endless array of further study options or career paths. 

Graduates with a degree in general education can apply their talents to any number of work force sectors or toward an advanced degree, specializing in an area that sparked their interest in school.  Understanding how important a general studies base is for undergraduate education, a number of higher education institutions offer general studies courses online, including Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) and Bryan College (BC).

All students at Kentucky Wesleyan earn their degrees by completing the General Education Program and courses in their major.  As a liberal arts college, explained Dr. Michael Fagan, KWC's vice president of academic affairs, the institution is founded upon a belief in the benefits of a general studies approach to education.

Likewise, at Bryan College, all students must complete a general studies core component in achieving their two- or four-year degree. 

Literature, economics, statistics and Biblical studies are among the course subjects available to distance learning students at Kentucky Wesleyan. Bryan College's eLearning course topics include history, psychology, foreign languages and religion.  Both schools offer some general studies courses online but still maintain an on-campus requirement for certain classes.  Kentucky Wesleyan College is working toward launching an entirely online general studies degree program in the future.

"The main purpose of the courses is to serve as kind of stepping stones," said Dr. Fagan. In other words, the online courses "pave the way" to a whole degree program online. 

"By offering general studies courses online," said Pat McFarling, Kentucky Wesleyan College's director of library and academic information services, "Kentucky Wesleyan provides students the flexibility and accessibility to met their educational goals while balancing career commitments and/or family life...Our online General Studies Program brings the classroom to the students, enabling them to pursue their educational goals from home or other remote locations."

While the program has currently been of assistance to time-constrained, campus-based students, especially during the summer when they return home from dorm life, McFarling shares that the hope for subsequent semesters is "to reach out to some non-traditional students."

Bryan's Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Cal White, echoed the success of the online General Studies Program with summertime students.  He also offered that another population taking advantage of the Internet-based learning is those students dual-enrolled in both high school and college courses.

"The dual-enrolled students are able to use the courses to complete high school requirements and get a head start on college credits," he explained.  "The courses are also reasonably priced and, for the most part, can be completed in reduced time frames."

Because the program is so broad, however, students must be responsible about their approach to and use of what they learn.  While working toward a degree in general studies, students ought to continually and carefully consider what most engages their minds.  Then, with the advice of professors and other field experts, majors, concentrations and internships can all be chosen wisely.

For more information about Kentucky Wesleyan College's online programs, please visit:  http://www.elearnportal.com/kwc.

For more information about Bryan College's online programs, please visit: http://www.elearnportal.com/bryan.