Changes to the core curriculum were very recently implemented by the University System of Georgia and may affect your advising this summer and beyond.

First and foremost, don't panic!  The changes are not that large and do not require students to take any additional courses, though they may affect course selection and timing.  The Office of the Registrar is fully committed to working with everyone--especially those students with special circumstances--to make the transition to the updated core go smoothly.  Below are the major changes of which you should be aware.

1. Although the original Core Policy that was approved by the Board of Regents on October 14, 2009 stated that students would be required to complete the ENGL and MATH courses required in Cores A1 and A2 within a specified number of hours, the policy will be enforced only for freshmen. Therefore, effective Fall 2010 (for our freshmen admitted Summer 2010 and Fall 2010), there are new requirements for the timing of the completion of Core Areas A1 and A2.

2. Freshmen admitted Summer 2010 or Fall 2010 are required to take ENGL 1101, ENGL 1102, and their first required math classes (e.g., MATH 1501, 1712) within their first 60 credit hours at Georgia Tech. 

If a student has hit the 60-hour mark and has any of these classes outstanding, they must be taken in the next enrolled semester.  The 60-hour requirement will be dropped to the first 45 hours for freshmen admitted for Summer 2011 and Fall 2011 and to the first 30 hours for freshmen admitted Summer 2012 and Fall 2012. So, for freshmen entering in Summer or Fall 2012, they must have both English and their first math classes completed within their first 30 hours at Georgia Tech. 

Effective Summer 2011, the Office of the Registrar has implemented a procedure  that will involve running reports to see how many students have gone beyond 60 credit hours and not completed these three required courses.  Information will be available soon for each school, and the report will be made available to advisors.  The Office of the Registrar is also working on a communication plan for disseminating this information to students who are in violation of the rule.  Registration holds will be used to enforce the regulation.

•    information on timing for the English classes can be found in the catalog at http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/students/ugrad/core/corea1.php
•    information on timing for the math classes can be found in the catalog at http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/students/ugrad/core/corea2.php

3. New "U.S. Perspective" and "Global Perspective" overlay areas have been added to the core.  These are not additional courses that are required.  Rather, they impact the classes that students should choose to fulfill existing humanities and social science requirements.  The U.S. Perspective requirement is already being fulfilled by every Tech student with HIST 2111, HIST 2112, INTA 1200, POL 1101, or PUBP 3000.  No additional class is required.  The new Global Perspective overlay area means that every student must take at least one class from the following list: http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/students/ugrad/core/gp.php. 

Note that many of these classes also fulfill either a humanities or a social science requirement, so a student can complete two requirements (e.g., social science and global perspectives) with just one course.  In other words, "double dipping" is allowed in the case of the perspective overlays. 

•    all of the Global Perspective courses can be found in the catalog at http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/students/ugrad/core/gp.php
•    humanities classes that fulfill the Global Perspective are highlighted in yellow on the following page in the catalog: http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/students/ugrad/core/corec.php
•    social science classes that fulfill the Global Perspective are highlighted in yellow on the following page in the catalog: http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/students/ugrad/core/coree.php

4. DegreeWorks has been built with these changes in mind.  All 2011 - 2012 catalog year audits include the Global Perspective and U.S. Perspective overlays.

All of these updates will be implemented with flexibility and the Office of the Registrar is committed to working with advisors and students to help them make the transition. 

Questions?  Email Robert Simon at robert.simon@registrar.gatech.edu,  Reta Pikowsky at reta.pikowsky@registrar.gatech.edu, or Craig Womack at craig.womack@registrar.gatech.edu.