FSU Identity and the Core

The Core Curriculum must serve FSU’s mission, programs, and students. 

Principle: The mission of the Core Curriculum is to provide the general skills and knowledge all FSU graduates should possess regardless of their background or major. These general skills and knowledge should prepare students for success in their majors, careers, and lives. 

Mission 

The Core Curriculum must support FSU’s mission, which includes 

  • Providing robust and innovative degree programs rooted in the liberal arts tradition. 
  • Meeting the needs of students from rural, military, and other diverse backgrounds. 
  • Serving local, state, national, and global communities.
  • Producing enlightened citizens, globally astute leaders, and engaged solution creators.

For more information about the FSU Mission statement, click here. 

Programs 

The Core Curriculum must prepare students to succeed in their major programs. FSU has four colleges: 

  • The College of Humanities and Social Sciences 
  • The Lloyd College of Heath, Science, and Technology 
  • The Broadwell College of Business and Economics 
  • The College of Education 

Each of these colleges has unique programs that prepare students for a variety of careers. 

Top Five Majors*

  1. Health Professions 
  2. Business, Management, and Marketing 
  3. Psychology 
  4. Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, and Firefighting 
  5. Liberal Arts and Sciences 

For more information about FSU programs, click here.

Students 

FSU is a dynamic, diverse, and distinctive institution. We are like no other institution in the UNC system. 

FSU is an HBCU. Founded in 1867 to educate newly-freed African Americans, the commitment to serving the underserved remains at the heart of our mission. FSU is one of five HBCUs in the UNC system. The others are Elizabeth City State University, North Carolina A&T University, North Carolina Central University, and Winston-Salem State University. Along with UNC Pembroke, a Native American serving institution, these campuses comprise the UNC Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). In the following charts, FSU is compared with the other UNC MSIs.

Undergraduate Population, FSU vs. UNC MSI, Fall 2022**

Category FSU UNC MSI
African American 61% 71%
Transfer 56% 29%
25 or Older 39% 16%
Degree Programs Online 43% 19%

Compared with the other UNC MSIs, FSU is 

  • More racially diverse
  • More transfer-oriented
  • More adult-learner oriented
  • More online oriented

Even though the main reason students transfer is to complete their degree, transfer students must complete FSU's Core Curriculum. The UNC System has an articulation agreement with the North Carolina Community College System. Students who complete an AA or AS degree at a North Carolina community college and transfer to a UNC institution are credited with having completed their general education (core) requirements. A quick look at the source of transfer students shows both the promise and the limits of this agreement.

Transfer Student Characteristics, Fall 2022**

Characteristic FSU UNC MSI
Transfer from NC Community College 49% 48%
NC Community College AA/AS Degree 12% 13%
Transfer 60+ Hours 60% 38%

The good news is that about half of the transfer students FSU and UNC MSIs matriculate are transferring from a NC community college. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of those community college transfers have a degree that would exempt them from general education requirements. Most students transfer with a technical AAS degree or no degree at all.

FSU transfers, unlike transfers to other UNC MSIs, tend to transfer as juniors and seniors. They have already accumulated credits, and they want to earn their bachelor's degree in a timely manner. The Core Curriculum must not overly burden FSU transfer students.

Conclusion 

FSU is a public HBCU that provides an undergraduate education rooted in the liberal arts. FSU provides undergraduate programs in the health professions, business, social services, and the liberal arts and sciences. FSU has a richly diverse undergraduate population with both traditional and non-traditional students, including a high percentage of transfer, adult, and military students. FSU is a leader in online education. The Core Curriculum must serve the needs of all these students. 

*Source: UNC System Institutional Fact Sheet FSU. 
**Sources: UNC System Interactive Data Dashboards; UNC System Program and Degree Finder; UNC System - Class Modalities Fall 2022.