Whether your academic goal is to complete a bachelor’s degree at CMC or transfer to a four-year school or upgrade your technical job skills, Colorado Mountain College degree and certificate programs are designed to challenge and prepare you for greater educational and professional success.
The Degree and Certificate Programs chapter summarizes all of our current degree and certificate offerings including locations and program requirements. More information is available on our web site at www.coloradomtn.edu.
Where Our Programs are Offered
For information about where our programs are offered see Academic Programs at Colorado Mountain College.
Planning Your Degree
A bachelor’s degree from CMC shows you have knowledge and training beyond the high school or associate degree level. You need a high school diploma or GED to earn a bachelor’s degree. Normally it takes a student a full four years to earn a bachelor’s degree. However, it’s more common to attend school part-time and thus it takes longer for working adults or single parents. Nationally, the average time to complete a bachelor’s degree is 7 years.
The fundamental requirement for a bachelor’s degree is to successfully complete a minimum number of “credit hours,” usually a minimum of 120 semester credit hours. Full-time students typically take five 3-credit hour courses each semester. The first courses are often called the “core curriculum” and include mathematics, English, communications, science, arts and humanities, and social science courses that are required for all students. Each student selects a major field (for example business administration or sustainability studies) and possibly an emphasis area. To earn a bachelor’s degree, you must complete a minimum number of required and elective courses in the major and emphasis. In addition, most students take a few elective courses to complete the minimum 120-credit hour requirement.
The requirements for a bachelor’s degree are intended to ensure that you are adequately prepared to take the next step, whether in the work world or as a graduate student. However, the quality of your academic record is just as important as the quantity of credit hours. A minimum 2.0 (C) grade point average (GPA) is required in bachelor degree coursework.
Bachelor’s degrees are awarded in many different disciplines. The two most common types are the Bachelor of Arts (BA) that tends to focus on theoretical and general knowledge as well as liberal arts, for example literature, history, social sciences, etc. and the Bachelor of Science (BS) which focuses on technical or hard sciences such as mathematics, natural and physical sciences, business, engineering and similar fields. CMC offers three bachelor degree programs: the Bachelor of Arts degree in Sustainability Studies (BASS), the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration (BSBA) and the Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN). In the future, CMC plans to expand its offerings of bachelor degrees.
The Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees give you a solid, affordable start before transferring into CMC’s Bachelor’s degrees or to a four-year college. All of the Colorado Mountain College Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS) degrees are designed to satisfy the lower division requirements for transfer to a four-year college in Colorado or elsewhere. After you transfer to a four-year college or university you may concentrate in a major area of study during your junior and senior years.
See the Moving On section of this document for details on transferring your credits to other four-year colleges and universities.
CMC’s AA and AS degrees provide the foundation for a traditional liberal arts and sciences education. Studies include the Colorado Guaranteed Transfer (GT) courses in the following disciplines; the humanities, social sciences, communication, mathematics and science.
The Associate of Arts degree is offered at all campuses. The Associate of Science degree is offered at all campuses except Aspen. Please see the Where Our Programs Are Offered page and your adviser.
We also offer the Associate of General Studies (AGS) degrees for students whose needs are not met by our other degrees. You may design the Associate of General Studies degree to fit your personal needs, upgrade job skills or prepare for professional school. This degree includes Colorado Guaranteed Transfer Curriculum. Several options allow you to take specialized transfer programs. While earning the Associate of General Studies degree you can focus on Criminal Justice, Engineering, or Outdoor Recreation Leadership and transfer most of the credits earned to one or more four-year schools that have majors in these areas.
Please note that recent changes to the Colorado Department of Education’s policy for Higher Education Admissions Requirements (HEAR) stipulate that students wishing to enter or transfer to any public four-year school in Colorado must successfully complete at least one year of foreign language at the high school level. If you have not fulfilled this requirement, please be advised that you are required to take FRE 111 , GER 111 , ITA 111 , JPN 111 , RUS 111 , or SPA 111 to gain admittance to a four-year school. Although these courses do not fulfill the Guaranteed Transfer Arts and Humanities requirement, they do count as five elective credits.
Degree & Certificate Descriptions & Requirements
The degree and certificate requirements in this catalog are current for the 15-16 academic year. Degree and certificate programs are reviewed on an annual basis and there may be additions, deletions, and/or changes for the 15-16 academic year. Please see the most current program information on our web site at catalog.coloradomtn.edu. Please work with your adviser to avoid any confusion or disappointment as you work toward your degree.
Please be sure to submit a Petition for Graduation during the semester prior to your last semester in order to receive your diploma. See the Graduation section of this catalog for more details, and work with your adviser.
Transferability Symbols Because we want you to take your learning experience with you, the Colorado Mountain College catalog and class schedules use two symbols to designate course transferability.
The diamond symbol (◆) designates courses that are part of the approved State Guaranteed General Education Transfer Course list. The complete list of these general education courses is available on the Colorado Department of Higher Education web site at: http://highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/gtPathways/curriculum.html.
The asterisk (✽) symbol designates courses that apply to the CMC BA/BS/AA/AS/AGS degrees, and that may satisfy program-specific transfer agreements; for example, the business, engineering, and elementary education programs. Please work with your adviser to ensure that the courses you select will be accepted at the four-year college of your choice.
General Education Philosophy
General education benefits students by encouraging them to acquire the intellectual tools, knowledge, and creative capabilities necessary to be able to study the world as it is, as it has been understood, and as it might become. General education prepares students for fulfilled lives as educated persons and effective contributors to a democratic society. To develop a breadth of knowledge, general education courses acquaint students with the methods of inquiry of the various academic disciplines and the different ways these disciplines view the world as well as prepare you for employment. Effective general education helps students act ethically and responsibly, and develops habits of critical thinking and action, intellectual sophistication, and an orientation to learning and investigation that will become lifelong.
CMC Signature Learning Outcomes
CMC students will be able to incorporate in their lives by the time they graduate the following institutional learning outcomes:
Intellectual and Practical Skills, including
- Communication skills
- Inquiry and analysis
- Quantitative literacy
- Information literacy
- Technological literacy
- Problem solving and critical thinking
Practiced extensively, across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance.
Personal and Social Responsibility, including
- Civic, Economic knowledge and engagement - local and global
- Ethical and Equity reasoning and action
- Foundations and skills for lifelong learning
- Incorporation of life practices leading to health and wellness
- Taking responsibility for the environment and academic success
Anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges.
Integrative and Applied Learning, including
- Demonstrate advanced skills to new settings and complex problems
Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies.
Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World, including
- Recognize the interconnectedness of the human, physical, and natural worlds
- Discover cultures, physical and natural world through academic studies
- Intercultural knowledge and competence
Focused by engagement with big questions, both contemporary and enduring.
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