FAQs for Staff

The following FAQ is designed to answer some of the common questions Algonquin College staff may have regarding General Education Electives. Simply click on the question you are interested in and you will be shown the answer.

  1. Under what circumstance are students eligible for an exemption from their General Education Elective?
  2. Once students apply for an exemption from their General Education Elective(s), how is their application processed?
  3. If students have successfully completed a General Education Elective in an Algonquin program and then switched to a new Algonquin program, do they need to apply for an exemption from the General Education Elective in their new program?
  4. If a student is registered in a program requiring two General Education Electives, can both be taken from the same theme area?
  5. Can students sign up for a course once it is started?
  6. How late in a semester may students sign up for a General Education/Degree Breadth Elective?
  7. What if there is no space in the course in which the student wishes to register? Can additional spaces be added?
  8. Will courses taken at private educational facilities, such as CDI, be considered as justification for exemption from a student’s General Education Elective?
  9. Can diploma or advanced diploma courses be used as the basis for exemption to degree breadth courses?

Under what circumstance are students eligible for an exemption from their General Education Elective?

Students can request an exemption or apply for credit for prior learning if one of the following applies:

        • They can show that they have successfully completed a post-secondary college or university course that addresses one of the General Education themes required by their program. Read about the exemption process.
        • They believe that they have acquired knowledge and skills equivalent to a post-secondary course through work or life experiences. In this case, they will need to apply for a Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR). Read about the PLAR process.

Once students apply for an exemption from their General Education elective(s), how is their application processed?

        • There are two types of exemption applications that we receive: those based on courses taken at Algonquin (Internal Exemptions) and those based on course work from a post-secondary institution other than Algonquin (External Exemptions).
        • Both requests are processed through the General Education Elective Coordinator.

If students have successfully completed a General Education Elective in an Algonquin program and then switched to a new Algonquin program, do they need to apply for an exemption from the General Education Elective in their new program?

Yes. In order to have a record of their exemption, students need to apply for the exemption in their new program.

If a student is registered in a program requiring two General Education Electives, can both be taken from the same theme area?

Yes. Students are required to take courses from at least one General Education Theme area.

Can students sign up for an elective once it is started?

Usually they can do so under three conditions:

    1. It is not past the normal drop/add period.
    2. There is a space available in the elective.
    3. It is within the time period that the teacher is willing to accept late registrants. Further information regarding exceptions to these guidelines is outlined in questions/answers below.

How late in a semester may students sign up for a General Education/Degree Breadth Elective?

As with all course drop/adds, students will have until the last day of the first week of the semester to add a General Education/Degree Breadth elective to their course load. After this time, students may add an elective only if they have their departmental chairperson’s (or delegate’s) permission to do so. In both cases, there must be room in the section for the student, and the teacher must be willing to accept students after the start of term.

What if there is no space in the course in which the student wishes to register? Can additional spaces be added?

In this case, the departmental chairperson who “owns” the course may be approached and asked to increase the number of available spaces in the course. The decision to increase the number of students in a course is normally done by the departmental chairperson in consultation with the teacher involved.

Will courses taken at private educational facilities, such as CDI, be considered as justification for exemption from a student’s General Education Elective?

Yes, under the following circumstance: The course must meet the criteria outlined by the Ministry for all eligible General Education Electives.

Can diploma or advanced diploma courses be used as the basis for exemption to degree breadth courses?

With some exceptions, diploma or advanced diploma courses may be used as the basis for exemption to degree breadth courses at the 1000-level or 2000-level only. Breadth courses at the 4000-level can only be exempted on the basis of similarly advanced degree-level study. All requests for exemption to degree breadth courses are assessed by the Chair, Academic Development in accordance with the PEQAB Standards and the College Degree Levelling Criteria.

Do you have a question that does not appear here but should? If so, please email the question to gened@algonquincollege.com so it and the answer can be added to the list.