College of Applied Studies & Academic Success

College of Applied Studies & Academic Success

Administration

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

Shawn Bielicki, B.S., M.S., C.A.S., Ed.D.
Associate Dean, College of Applied Studies & Academic Success
Associate Professor

Hailey Manicone, B.S., M.Ed., Ed.D.
Associate Dean, College of Applied Studies & Academic Success
Associate Professor

Alexandra Barnett, B.S., M.Ed., Ed.S., Ed.D.
Director of Teaching Excellence and Professional Education
Associate Professor

Daniel Berkenkemper, B.S., M.A.R., Ed.S.
Residential Chair, Academic Success Center
Associate Professor

Jason Brake, B.S., M.A.
Director of Advising and Student Advocate

Bradley Burgess, B.S., M.A.R., M.B.A., Ed.D.
Online Chair, Academic Success Center 
Associate Professor

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

Sarah Camper, B.S., M.S.
Director, Online Tutoring Services

Alexandra Cross, B.A., M.Ed.
Director of Operations

Beverly Reid, B.A., M.Ed.
Director of Career Services

David Sage, B.S.
Senior Director of Technical Studies

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

Program Directors

A listing of program directors can be viewed on the Program Director webpage.

Purpose

The purpose of the College of Applied Studies & Academic Success is to facilitate academic, career, and life success from a Christian worldview through purposeful action and dedicated support for our students, faculty, and staff.

Honor Societies

Tau Sigma Honor Society

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 after 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

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.

To become a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, you must:

  • Be enrolled full-time (at least 12 credit hours) in your first semester of college
  • Be pursuing a Bachelor’s degree at Liberty University
  • Earn a 3.5 GPA or higher in your first semester
  • Pass all classes without repeats, incompletes, or failures

Click this link for additional information

Omega Nu Lambda National Honor Society

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 (undergraduate) or 3.65 GPA (graduate) 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/.

Additional Information

Faculty and staff manage academic testing and advising, General Education, Academic Success Center, Parent and Family Connections, and Technical Studies majors as well as Continuing Education courses and the Center for Teaching Excellence. For additional information visit www.liberty.edu/casas/.

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 General Education Courses for Residential Programs” and “Approved General Education Courses for Online Programs" is available. The courses do not narrowly focus on 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  Foundational Skills.
  3. In the event that a 100-400 level course is required to fulfill a requirement as a general education course, it must not be considered part of any major/program requirements (major foundational courses are acceptable, however).

General Education Requirements for Residential Programs

The College of Applied Studies and Academic Success 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: Demonstrate computational estimating skills in practical situations.
TSQR 5: 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 2a: Demonstrate a biblical understanding of human behavior within various social structures.
SSI 2b: Demonstrate a biblical understanding of humankind's role in scientific inquiry and discovery.
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: Recognize an understanding of the overarching narrative of Scripture.
CC 2: Explain the basics of biblical interpretation.
CC 3: Recognize how biblical interpretation and Christian theology foster a worldview.
CC 4: Explain the core tenets of Christian theology.
CC 5: Apply the biblical text and Christian theology to one's life and personal growth.

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

Approved General Education Courses for Online Programs

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