Radford's General Education curriculum provides students with considerable flexibility in the choice of courses in the eight Knowledge Areas. At the same time, the program aims to provide students with the shared experience of belonging to a community of learners. This common learning experience prepares students for advanced study in the academic discipline of their choice as well as for a lifetime of personal growth as thoughtful, productive members of society. To foster this sense of common purpose, all courses approved for the General Education program share a number of essential features:

• Each course is designed to help students achieve the learning goals established for a particular Knowledge Area of the program.
• Each course is designed to help students develop the intellectual skills, abilities, and competencies identified by the broad goals of the program.
• Each course is designed to incorporate multiple methods of instruction in order to engage students actively in the learning process.
• Each course is designed to incorporate multiple methods of assessment in order to measure student progress in achieving the course-specific goals as well as the Knowledge Area goals and the broad General Education program goals.
• Each course is taught by a faculty member who has an understanding and commitment to the mission, goals, and objectives of the General Education program.

In addition to these common characteristics of all courses in the General Education Program, there are a number of other features shared by the majority of the courses approved for the program:

• Most general education courses are introductory in level and have no prerequisites--intended for students with little or no background in the particular discipline.
• Most general education courses are broad in scope--providing students with an overview of an academic discipline or subject matter.
• Most general education courses are offered every semester, or at a minimum every second semester--providing all students the opportunity to plan a course schedule for the whole year.
• Most general education courses are taught in multiple sections by a number of different professors--providing students a range of choices in designing a course schedule compatible with their own learning style and time preferences.