To better convey the importance and value of TCNJ’s general education program, a number of name changes to the Liberal Learning Program (see table below) were approved through shared governance in May 2022 and will be implemented for the Fall 2023 cohort of incoming students.
These changes do not represent any change to the number or types of requirements of the program.
Where will you see changes?
PAWS
Students who entered TCNJ before Fall 2023
Your Academic Requirements Report in PAWS will continue to refer to the program as Liberal Learning and will display the old names for its requirements (i.e., there will be no changes).
Students who entered TCNJ before Fall 2023 and switch majors during Fall 2023 or later
After your new major is official, your Academic Requirements Report in PAWS will refer to the program as the College Core and will display the new names for its requirements.
Students entering TCNJ in Fall 2023 or later
Your Academic Requirements Report in PAWS will refer to the program as the College Core and will display the new names for its requirements.
The Liberal Learning Website
The Liberal Learning Website will switch to the new nomenclature in April 2023 after the end of registration for Fall 2023 and Winter 2024.
The Course Search Tool
The web tool that allows one to search for Liberal Learning/College Core courses by requirement, semester, and search terms will begin using the new nomenclature in May 2023 after the end of registration for Fall 2023 and Winter 2024.
The Bulletin
The nomenclature of the program will be changed for 2023-24 Bulletin, which will be posted in June 2023.
What names will change?
In the table below, new names for components are indicated in the shaded cells in the column entitled “New Nomenclature”, with the specific changes indicated by white text.
| Old Nomenclature | New Nomenclature |
| Liberal Learning | The College Core |
| Intellectual and Scholarly Growth | Intellectual and Scholarly Growth |
| Civic Responsibilities | Social Justice |
| Global Perspectives | Global Perspectives |
| Race & Ethnicity | Race & Ethnicity |
| Community Engagement | First-Year Community Engagement |
| Gender | Gender & Sexuality |
| Broad Areas of Human Inquiry* | Multidisciplinary Perspectives |
| Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts | Literary, Visual, or Performing Arts |
| World Views and Ways of Knowing | Belief Systems |
| Behavioral, Social, or Cultural Perspectives | Behavioral, Social, or Cultural Perspectives |
| Social Change in Historical Perspectives | Historical Perspectives |
| Natural Science | Natural Sciences |
| Quantitative Reasoning | Quantitative Reasoning |