Gardner-Webb Online provides a comprehensive learning experience that includes a broad-based, liberal arts-focused General Education curriculum. Gardner-Webb’s distinctive General Education program also includes opportunities to engage personal faith with learning. These experiences have been carefully designed to meet a diverse set of learning goals, which in turn have been developed on the basis of the University’s mission and heritage. Specifically, the faculty has identified six major learning goals as the intended outcome of the General Education curriculum.
A major or minor program of study may include courses that also appear in the General Education curriculum. While a course could fulfill an academic requirement in both the major/minor program of study and the General Education curriculum, numerical credit hours for the course will only count once towards total credits for graduation. The most efficient pathway to graduation is encouraged. That pathway might include fulfilling specific academic requirements in a major/minor program of study and the General Education curriculum simultaneously within a single course. Students are highly encouraged to work with their assigned success coach or faculty adviser to determine and maintain the most efficient pathway.
Students who complete their studies at Gardner-Webb University will
Because of the Christian nature of Gardner-Webb’s identity and mission, it requires all bachelor’s-degree-seeking students, including transfers, to earn credit (whether at Gardner-Webb or another institution under transfer or transient credit policies) for REL 300 Introduction to the Old Testament and REL 301 Introduction to the New Testament. Therefore, these two courses are designated upper-division General Education Requirements.
I. Foundational Experience (28 hours)
Information Literacy
Students will be enrolled in one (1) Information Literacy course, according to their declared major in the Online Undergraduate program.
| LIB 302 | Information Literacy in Business | 1 |
| LIB 303 | Information Literacy in Education | 1 |
| LIB 304 | Information Literacy in Nursing | 1 |
| LIB 305 | Information Literacy for Service Professions | 1 |
| LIB 306 | Information Literacy for Computer Science and Cybersecurity | |
Biblical Studies
Both courses are required.
Composition
Both courses are required.
Culture and Fine Arts
Choose one course.
| ART 307 | Art Survey | 3 |
| FRE 300 | Aspects of French Culture and Language | 3 |
| GER 300 | Aspects of German Culture and Language | 3 |
| MUS 320 | Survey of Music | 3 |
| SPN 300 | Aspects of Hispanic Culture and Language | 3 |
History
Three (3) credit hours of college level Western Civilization I or II or choose the following course.
| HIS 319 | The United States in the Twentieth Century | 3 |
Mathematics
Three (3) credit hours of college level math or choose one of the following courses.
| MTH 105 | Fundamentals of Statistics and Probability | 3 |
| MTH 120 | Topics in Mathematics for Liberal Arts Students | 3 |
Physical Wellness
| HPE 338 | Health Maintenance, Promotion, and Wellness | 3 |
Science
Three (3) credit hours of college level science or choose one of the following courses.
II. Exploratory Experiences (12-21 hours)
Students will choose a course from each exploratory area. Courses taken in the foundational experience do not count to satisfy any of the exploratory experiences.
Human Experience
Three (3) credit hours of Western Civilization I or II or choose one course from this category.
| ENG 211 | British Literature Survey I | 3 |
| ENG 212 | British Literature Survey II | 3 |
| ENG 231 | American Literature Survey I | 3 |
| ENG 232 | American Literature Survey II | 3 |
| ENG 240 | Survey of Topics in Literature | 3 |
| ENG 251 | World Literature I | 3 |
| ENG 252 | World Literature II | 3 |
| PSC 302 | American Government | 3 |
| ECO 203 | Principles of Economics I (Economics and the Free Market System) | 3 |
| HIS 319 | The United States in the Twentieth Century | 3 |
Expression
Three (3) credit hours of oral communications or choose one course from this category.
BKE 440 and EDU 250 apply to approved Teacher Education candidates in the College of Education.
NUR 304 applies to approved Nursing candidates in the Hunt School of Nursing.
Stewardship
Choose one (1) course from this category.
Global Community
Three (3) credit hours of college level world language or choose one course from this category.
| FRE 300 | Aspects of French Culture and Language | 3 |
| GER 300 | Aspects of German Culture and Language | 3 |
| SGL 300 | Introduction to the Deaf Community | 3 |
| SPN 300 | Aspects of Hispanic Culture and Language | 3 |
| SSC 305 | Global Understanding | 3 |
English Composition Requirement Enrollment Policy
Gardner-Webb Online students who have not completed the English composition requirement (i.e., earned credit for ENG 101 or ENG 102/ENG 300 from an institution previously attended) must register for ENG 101 beginning with their first semester of enrollment at Gardner-Webb and remain enrolled in ENG 101 until they have earned a passing grade in this course. These students must then enroll in ENG 102 beginning in the semester immediately following their successful completion of ENG 101 and remain enrolled in ENG 102 until they have earned credit for this course. Students may not withdraw from ENG 101 or ENG 102 except in rare and extraordinary circumstances. The Chair of the English Department and the Dean for Arts and Sciences must both approve any such extraordinary requests to withdraw from ENG 101 or ENG 102. Students who are withdrawing from all classes are not required to secure this permission but should communicate their intention to withdraw from the University to their success coach and/or faculty advisor.