Administration

Brian C. Yates, B.S., M.Ed., Ed.D.
Dean, College of Applied Studies and Academic Success
Professor of Education

Ester J. Warren, B.S., M.Ed., Ed.S., Ed.D.
Dean, General Education
Associate Professor of Psychology

Dwayne K. Melton, B.S., M.B.A., D.B.A.
Associate Dean, College of Applied Studies and Academic Success
Associate Professor of Education

David Hart, B.S., M.A.R.
Executive Director, College of Applied Studies and Academic Success
Assistant Professor

Jeremy Breaux, B.S., M.A. M.Div.
Senior Director, Advising Success

George Sherman, B.S., M.A., Ph.D.
Senior Director, College of Applied Studies and Academic Success

David Bellows, B.S., M.A.R.
Director of Applied Success – Testing
Assistant Professor

Daniel Berkenkemper, B.S., M.A.R., Ed.S.
Department Chair, Residential
Assistant Professor

Bradley Burgess, B.S., M.A.R., M.B.A.
Department Chair, Online
Assistant Professor

Lindsay Burgess, B.M., M.Ed.
Director, Residential Tutoring Services

Alisha P. Castañeda, B.A.S., M.A., Ed.S., Ed.D.
Director, Online Tutoring Services
Director, Online Foreign Language Lab

Frank DiGregorio, B.S., M.A.R.
Director, Eagle Scholars Program

Caitlin Elliott, B.A., M.A.
Director, Residential Writing Services

Hailey Manicone, B.S., M.Ed.
Director of Operations

Shelah Simpson, B.S., M.A.R., M.A., Ph.D.
Director, Online Writing Center
Associate Professor of English

Darren Wu, B.S., M.E., M.A.R., Ed.D.
Associate Director, Center for Research & Scholarship

Program Directors

A listing of program directors can be viewed at http://www.liberty.edu/programdirectors.

Research Intensive Courses

All research intensive courses are listed online at https://www.liberty.edu/academics/qualityenhancement/index.cfm?PID=32835.

Purpose

The mission of the College of Applied Studies and Academic Success (CASAS) is to serve those we encounter through purposeful action and faithful commitment to support academic, career, and life success. To accomplish this, the faculty and staff manage academic testing and advising, General Education, Integrative Studies requirements, Academic Success Center, Eagle Scholars Program, Center for Writing and Languages, International Student Center, Student Advocate Office, Parent and Family Connections, and Technical Studies majors as well as Continuing Education courses. For additional information visit www.liberty.edu/casas.

Honor Societies

Tau Sigma Honor Society

Advisors: Dr. Brian C. Yates and Hailey Manicone

Tau Sigma is an academic honor society designed specifically to "recognize and promote the academic excellence and involvement of transfer students."

Tau Sigma was incorporated as a non-profit in 1999 with Auburn University being the home of the first chapter. At that time, Auburn University was becoming increasingly aware of the significant number of transfers on campus as well as the university’s inability to adequately serve them. Tau Sigma was born out of Auburn University’s desire to improve its service to and recruiting and retention of transfer students.

Today, over 175 other universities have established or are currently establishing Tau Sigma chapters in their efforts to improve the services that they provide to their transfer student population. Although Tau Sigma is a relatively young organization, many members in all parts of the country have become active at their universities, participating in such activities as on-campus recruiting events for prospective transfer students, transfer student orientation, community service projects, assisting the admissions office with the recruitment of prospective transfers at junior colleges, and participating in intramural sports and socials that allow them opportunities to fellowship with one another and make new friends.

The Liberty University Chapter was approved in fall 2008, with the first class inducted in the spring 2009. To be eligible, a student must be a transfer student having transferred at least 24 college credits and achieve at least a 3.50 GPA while taking a minimum of 12 credit hours during the first semester at Liberty University. For additional information, visit www.liberty.edu/tausigma.

Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society

Advisor: Dr. Marilyn Gadomski

Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) is a national interdisciplinary honor society founded in 1924 at the University of Illinois to recognize academic excellence among first-year students. The Liberty University Chapter provides Christian, intellectual and social enrichment, along with leadership experience for the officers, for students who will become eligible for the honor societies of their majors.

An invitation for membership is sent to students who meet the following requirements:

• GPA of 3.50 or higher at the end of the first two semesters of college (with no repeats).
• Full-time enrollment pursuing a bachelor’s degree.
• Freshman transfer students must have the required GPA on the courses taken during their first semester of enrollment combined with the cumulative average of their transfer credits.

Omega Nu Lambda National Honor Society

Advisors: Dr. Brian C. Yates and Dr. Ester J. Warren

Omega Nu Lambda is offered exclusively to online undergraduate and graduate students as they start their educational journey to enhance their online experience by recognizing their academic success, providing scholarship opportunities, and fostering new connections with other online students.

The Liberty University Chapter was approved in December 2017 with the first class inducted in February 2018. To be eligible a student must have a 3.2 GPA or higher within their first 15 credit hours at Liberty University. For additional information, visit https://www.liberty.edu/casas/omega-nu-lambda-honor-society/.

Ester J. Warren, B.S., M.Ed., Ed.S., Ed.D.
Dean, General Education
Associate Professor of Psychology

Program Directors

A listing of program directors can be viewed at http://www.liberty.edu/programdirectors.

Research Intensive Courses

All research intensive courses are listed online at https://www.liberty.edu/academics/qualityenhancement/index.cfm?PID=32835.

General Education Guidelines

The general education component is tailored to the individual degree program by drawing from the University’s approved general education course options. The institution requires in each undergraduate degree program the successful completion of a general education component at the collegiate level that:

1. is a substantial component of each undergraduate degree;
2. ensures breadth of knowledge; and
3. is based on a coherent rationale.

For degree completion in associate programs, the component constitutes a minimum of 15 semester hours or the equivalent. For baccalaureate programs, the component constitutes a minimum of 30 semester hours or the equivalent. These credit hours must include at least one course from each of the following areas.

1. humanities/fine arts (HFA);
2. social/behavioral sciences (SBS); and
3. natural science/mathematics (NSM).

A complete listing of approved courses is displayed in the “Approved Residential General Education and Integrative Courses” and the “Approved General Education Courses for Online Programs” sections. The courses do not narrowly focus on those skills, techniques, and procedures specific to a particular occupation or profession. The institution provides a written justification and rationale for course equivalency.

Rules/Principles for Approval of General Education Courses

1. Required General Education courses must be general;
   1. General education courses must be open to students of all majors, without heavy loads of prerequisite requirements
   2. Courses must not be reducible to a narrow or focused skill (e.g. guitar lessons cannot substitute for Music Appreciation)
   3. Courses must contribute to preparing students for a breadth of degree programs/careers
2. General Education courses contribute to the University’s plan to ensure that students satisfy certain Core Competencies.
3. In the event that a 300- or 400- level course is required to fulfill a requirement as a general education course, it must not be considered part of any major/program requirements (directed electives are acceptable, however).

General Education Requirements for Residential Programs

The College of General Studies oversees the majority of courses included in the University’s General Education Requirements, which were adopted in 1990 by the faculty of Liberty University for all baccalaureate degree students. While the list of courses that compose the general education core remains largely unchanged, the arrangement of courses now reflects the University’s commitment to develop core competencies in undergraduate students. The goal is to ensure that all undergraduate students demonstrate college-level knowledge and skills that prepare them both to fulfill the specific requirements of their individual college/school and major fields of study and to translate their learning into a variety of career contexts. An undergraduate curriculum of required basic General Education courses serves as a foundation for later specialization.

General Education Foundational Skills, Definitions, and Outcomes

Courses in the General Education Curriculum will meet all but one learning outcome for their designated Foundational Skill.

Communication and Information Literacy: the ability to discover, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information through a variety of media and communicative acts using methods attuned to the way information and communication produce meaning on which to base decisions, actions, and beliefs.

CIL 1: Discover and evaluate information to accomplish a specific purpose.
CIL 2: Communicate information effectively in the English language, orally and/or through writing, for a variety of purposes, using technology when appropriate.
CIL 3: Analyze and assess various forms of information and expression to determine their meaning, employing technology when relevant.
CIL 4: Demonstrate a basic understanding of the role of research and scholarship in order to apply it in various contexts.
CIL 5: Relate communication and information literacy to participation in God’s redemptive work.

Technological Solutions and Quantitative Reasoning: the ability to apply technology and mathematics to analyze information, establish plans, and predict outcomes in various contexts.
TSQR 1: Analyze data and inform action through a structured method.
TSQR 2: Predict the output based on an input in practical scenarios using technological solutions and/or quantitative reasoning.
TSQR 3: Apply the skills needed for successful financial stewardship in various contexts.
TSQR 4: Relate technology and quantitative reasoning to participation in God’s redemptive work.

Critical Thinking: the ability to use analytical, evaluative, logical, and reasonable patterns of thought to establish coherent beliefs, ethics, and strategic decisions.

CT 1: Determine the validity and logical consistency of claims and/or positions, using reading comprehension strategies when relevant.
CT 2: Structure an argument or position using credible evidence and valid reasoning.
CT 3: Compare and contrast the biblical worldview with a non-biblical worldview, evaluating the influence of assumptions and contexts on ethics and values.
CT 4: Plan evidence-based courses of action to resolve problems.
CT 5: Relate critical thinking and ethics to participation in God’s redemptive work.

Civic and Global Engagement: the ability to engage local, national, and global structures as an informed follower of Christ.

CGE 1: Identify the main features of a worldview, assessing the cultural, political, economic, and industrial implications.
CGE 2: Relate government and/or culture to various aspects of life.
CGE 3: Apply the Christian principles and general practices for effectively engaging people from different social and/or cultural backgrounds.
CGE 4: Describe the impact of a person’s global perspective on evangelism and crosscultural engagement.
CGE 5: Relate the human experience within various civic and global structures to participation in the redemptive work of God.

Social and Scientific Inquiry: the ability to employ established methods of exploring the social and natural sciences in order to understand the human experience of various social structures and the natural world.

SSI 1: Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of social and/or natural sciences on the world in which we live.
SSI 2: Demonstrate a biblical understanding of human behavior within various social structures.
SSI 3: Apply solutions for a social and/or scientific dilemma experienced in society.
SSI 4: Describe how social and/or scientific inquiry equips human beings to be participants in God’s redemptive work.

Christianity and Contexts: the ability to employ sound methods of interpreting and applying Scripture in order to foster a Christian worldview and relate to God’s past, present, and future redemptive work.

CC 1: Relate the problem of sin in creation and the redemptive work of Christ, as described in the overarching narrative of Scripture, to various aspects of life and professional disciplines.
CC 2: Analyze and interpret the biblical text using exegetical methods, employing technology when relevant.
CC 3: Apply the biblical text and its principles to life in a manner that bridges various contexts and considers the implications for personal growth.
CC 4: Articulate how faith in Christ and the theological worldview of Scripture shape one’s purpose for pursuing education, employment, relationships, and socio-cultural engagement, relating these pursuits to the redemptive work of God.

Foundational Skills Requirements

Degree Completion Plans for residential and online students are organized according to Foundational skill areas, basic knowledge and skills that all students need for successful completion of their program of study. The General Education Requirements are located on the left side of the Degree Completion Plan (DCP). Each program, throughout this catalog, has DCP link(s) listed with the program information. The General Education Requirements for some majors may vary.

Residential Degrees Offered:

• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Fine Arts
• Bachelor of Music
• Associate of Applied Science
• Associate of Arts

Online Degrees Offered:

• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Fine Arts
• Associate of Applied Science
• Associate of Arts

Approved General Education Courses for Residential Programs

The list of approved general education courses for residential programs is published online at http://www.liberty.edu/gened.

Approved General Education Courses for Online Programs

General Education

This elective may be fulfilled by approved courses within the Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Science, Math, Technology, History, Social Science disciplines or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Restrictions may apply to some majors. General education electives must meet the University's general education guidelines.

The list of approved general education courses for online programs is published online at: http://www.liberty.edu/academics/generalstudies/index.cfm?PID=37563.

General Education Requirements for Out of State Students

In addition to Liberty University’s general education requirements, distance education students may also be required to fulfill additional requirements set by their home states. Details by state will be added to the Degree Completion Plan. Specific Degree Completion Plans for each state whose requirements differ are available from Liberty University Online Advising.

• Center for Research & Scholarship