Our MIssion White Earth Tribal and Community College is an institution of higher learning dedicated to academic excellence grounded in Anishinaabe culture, values, and traditions.
Associate of Arts Degree (AA) ~ Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences |
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An Associate degree is an undergraduate degree that provides a foundational college educational experience. The WETCC A.A. in Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences covers general subjects and prepares students with a broad survey of Liberal Arts, Science, and Mathematics. These General Education courses fulfill the requirements of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) and the University of Minnesota, preparing students for transfer and continuing education in a baccalaureate program. Course transferability is dependent on the receiving institution.
Graduation requirements are outlined in Policy 600.19 – Graduation Requirements. Students are responsible to complete the college work in order to meet the minimum requirements and apply for graduation on or before the due date listed on the Academic Calendar. Students shall be eligible for graduation upon successful completion of:
* The requirement of 20 WETCC credits was changed August 13, 2019 by the Council of Trustees. Students who were already enrolled at WETCC are required to meet the former minimum of 12 credits. Associate of Arts (AA) 60 credits: To qualify for the WETCC AA degree, a student is required to:
Some courses can be applied to two general education goal areas, but credits can only be counted one time. A minimum of 40 credits is required to qualify for graduation. |
WETCC General Education Program Outcomes
WETCC revised the academic programs in Spring 2018. Courses were aligned better to coincide with the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC), which is utilized by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system, making it easier for WETCC graduates to transfer and continue their education at a 4-year institution in Minnesota. The MnTC ten goal areas at WETCC are as follows:
AREA I: Communication
Goal: To develop 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.
Students will be able to:
To develop writers and speakers who can use the English language effectively and who read, write, speak and listen critically. All students are required to complete Public Speaking. Writing competency is an ongoing process to be reinforced through writing-intensive courses and writing across the curriculum as a result, students are encouraged to also take College Writing I early. Speaking and listening skills need reinforcement through multiple opportunities for interpersonal communication, public speaking, and discussion, students will use material from diverse sources, including the Anishinaabe worldview.
AREA 2: Critical Thinking
Goal: To develop 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 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.
Students will be able to:
Students will also recognize and articulate the value assumptions which underlie and affect decisions, interpretations, analyses, and evaluations made by Anishinaabe and Non-Anishinaabe people. There are no specific classes identified for Area 2 as a cumulative total of all the general area categories that comprise this Area.
AREA 3: Natural Science/Biological Sciences
Goal: 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 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 various 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. Students should be encouraged to study both the biological and physical sciences.
Students will be able to:
AREA 4: Mathematical/Logical Reasoning
Goal: 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. Minnesota's public higher education systems have agreed that developmental mathematics includes the first three years of a high school mathematics sequence through intermediate algebra.
Students will be able to:
AREA 5: History & Social Science
Goal: 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.
Students will be able to:
AREA 6: Art & Humanities
Goal: 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. Students should have experiences in both the arts and humanities.
Students will be able to:
AREA 7: Human Diversity
Goal: 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. Students will be able to:
AREA 8: Global Perspective
Goal: 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.
Students will be able to:
AREA 9: Ethical & Civic Responsibility
Goal: 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.
Students will be able to:
AREA 10: People & the Environment
Goal: To improve students' understanding of today's complex environmental challenges. Students will examine the interrelatedness of human society and the natural environment. Knowledge of both biophysical principles and socio-cultural systems is the foundation for integrative and critical thinking about environmental issues.
Students will be able to:
WETCC revised the academic programs in Spring 2018. Courses were aligned better to coincide with the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (MnTC), which is utilized by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system, making it easier for WETCC graduates to transfer and continue their education at a 4-year institution in Minnesota. The MnTC ten goal areas at WETCC are as follows:
AREA I: Communication
Goal: To develop 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.
Students will be able to:
- Understand/demonstrate the writing and speaking processes through invention, organization, drafting, revision, editing, and presentation.
- Participate effectively in groups with emphasis on listening, critical and reflective thinking, and responding.
- Locate, evaluate, and synthesize in a responsible manner material from diverse sources and points of view.
- Select appropriate communication choices for specific audiences.
- Construct logical and coherent arguments.
- Use authority, point-of-view, and individual voice and style in their writing and speaking.
- Employ syntax and usage appropriate to academic disciplines and the professional world.
To develop writers and speakers who can use the English language effectively and who read, write, speak and listen critically. All students are required to complete Public Speaking. Writing competency is an ongoing process to be reinforced through writing-intensive courses and writing across the curriculum as a result, students are encouraged to also take College Writing I early. Speaking and listening skills need reinforcement through multiple opportunities for interpersonal communication, public speaking, and discussion, students will use material from diverse sources, including the Anishinaabe worldview.
AREA 2: Critical Thinking
Goal: To develop 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 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.
Students will be able to:
- Gather factual information and apply it to a given problem in a manner that is relevant, clear, comprehensive, and conscious of possible bias in the information selected.
- Imagine and seek out a variety of possible goals, assumptions, interpretations, or perspectives that can give alternative meanings or solutions to given situations or problems.
- Analyze the logical connections among the facts, goals, and implicit assumptions relevant to a problem or claim; generate and evaluate implications that follow from them.
- Recognize and articulate the value assumptions which underlie and affect decisions, interpretations, analyses, and evaluations made by ourselves and others.
Students will also recognize and articulate the value assumptions which underlie and affect decisions, interpretations, analyses, and evaluations made by Anishinaabe and Non-Anishinaabe people. There are no specific classes identified for Area 2 as a cumulative total of all the general area categories that comprise this Area.
AREA 3: Natural Science/Biological Sciences
Goal: 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 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 various 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. Students should be encouraged to study both the biological and physical sciences.
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding of scientific theories.
- Formulate and test hypotheses by performing laboratory, simulation, or field experiments in at least two of the natural science disciplines. One of these experimental components should develop, in greater depth, students' laboratory experience in the collection of data, its statistical and graphical analysis, and an appreciation of its sources of error and uncertainty.
- Communicate their experimental findings, analyses, and interpretations both orally and in writing.
- Evaluate societal issues from a natural science perspective, ask questions about the evidence presented, and make informed judgments about science-related topics and policies, including an Anishinaabe perspective.
AREA 4: Mathematical/Logical Reasoning
Goal: 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. Minnesota's public higher education systems have agreed that developmental mathematics includes the first three years of a high school mathematics sequence through intermediate algebra.
Students will be able to:
- Illustrate historical and contemporary applications of mathematics/logical systems.
- Clearly express mathematical/logical ideas in writing.
- Explain what constitutes a valid mathematical/logical argument (proof).
- Apply higher-order problem-solving and/or modeling strategies.
AREA 5: History & Social Science
Goal: 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.
Students will be able to:
- Employ the methods and data that historians and social and behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.
- Examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures.
- Use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories.
- Develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues.
- Examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures in particular those of importance to the White Earth Nation.
AREA 6: Art & Humanities
Goal: 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. Students should have experiences in both the arts and humanities.
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.
- Understand those works as expressions of individual and human values within a historical and social context especially those from an Anishinaabe historical and social context.
- Respond critically to works in the arts and humanities.
- Engage in the creative process or interpretive performance.
- Articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities.
AREA 7: Human Diversity
Goal: 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. Students will be able to:
- Describe and discuss the experience and contributions (political, social, economic, etc.) of the Anishinaabe and others who have suffered discrimination and exclusion.
- Understand the development of and the changing meanings of group identities in the United States' history and culture.
- Demonstrate an awareness of the individual and institutional dynamics of unequal power relations between groups in contemporary society.
- Analyze their own attitudes, behaviors, concepts, and beliefs regarding diversity, racism, and bigotry.
- Describe and discuss the experience and contributions (political, social, economic, etc.) of the many groups that shape American society and culture, in particular those groups that have suffered discrimination and exclusion.
- Demonstrate communication skills necessary for living and working effectively in a society with great population diversity.
AREA 8: Global Perspective
Goal: 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.
Students will be able to:
- Understand our place as Anishinaabe within the global context and demonstrate knowledge of cultural, social, religious, and linguistic differences including Anishinaabe identity and way of life.
- Describe and analyze political, economic, and cultural elements, which influence the relations of states and societies in their historical and contemporary dimensions.
- Demonstrate knowledge of cultural, social, religious, and linguistic differences.
- Analyze specific international problems, illustrating the cultural, economic, and political differences that affect their solution.
- Understand the role of a world citizen and the responsibility world citizens share for their common global future.
AREA 9: Ethical & Civic Responsibility
Goal: 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.
Students will be able to:
- Describe and analyze political, economic, and cultural elements, which influence the relations of states and societies in their historical and contemporary dimensions.
- Demonstrate knowledge of cultural, social, religious, and linguistic differences.
- Analyze specific international problems, illustrating the cultural, economic, and political differences that affect their solution.
- Understand the role of a world citizen and the responsibility world citizens share for their common global future.
- Identify ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and the unique status of the Anishinaabe people having multiple citizenship statuses.
AREA 10: People & the Environment
Goal: To improve students' understanding of today's complex environmental challenges. Students will examine the interrelatedness of human society and the natural environment. Knowledge of both biophysical principles and socio-cultural systems is the foundation for integrative and critical thinking about environmental issues.
Students will be able to:
- Explain the basic structure and function of various natural ecosystems and of human adaptive strategies within those systems.
- Discern patterns and interrelationships of bio-physical and socio-cultural systems.
- Describe the basic institutional arrangements (social, legal, political, economic, religious) that are evolving to deal with environmental and natural resource challenges.
- Evaluate critically environmental and natural resource issues in light of understandings about interrelationships, ecosystems, and institutions.
- Propose and assess alternative solutions to environmental problems.
- Articulate and defend the actions they would take on various environmental issues.
- Deal with environmental and natural resource challenges and articulate, analyze, and defend their stances on various environmental issues through an Anishinaabe perspective.
