Skip to main content
General Education

General Education FAQs

Only students who move to the 2019 catalog or later will be required to complete the new GE requirements. University policy states:

A student is responsible for the General Education or Foundations and Major requirements listed in any BYU-Idaho Catalog (chosen by the student) from the year of first enrollment to the year of graduation, provided the BYU-Idaho Catalog chosen is not more than seven years old. Students desiring to change their declared catalog to 2019 or later are encouraged to visit with their Academic Advisor for assistance and to discuss:
  • How Foundations courses will translate into GE requirements.
  • Potential impact of changing from Foundations requirements to GE, including progress toward graduation.
If you want to pursue a major effective 2019 or later, you are required to move to the new catalog and complete the new GE requirements:

New 2019 Majors:


The University will continue to provide the necessary courses for students to complete all Foundations requirements. However, some of the course codes or course options may change slightly. If changes occur, these new course codes and/or course options will appear in I-Plan.
No. Both the Foundations and the new GE requirements have been carefully designed to provide students with a high-quality educational experience.
Students will actually see many similarities between the former Foundations structure and the new GE structure. Many courses previously offered for Foundations are also found in the new GE program. The new GE program provides more options for completing requirements and improving the student experience.

The religion and English requirements are the same, and the math requirement includes expanded options. Additionally, several courses found in the substitution modules of Foundations are now offered as part of GE.

College Success is a new GE requirement for new incoming students. This requirement has been designed to promote learning and application of skills and patterns leading to a successful experience in college and throughout life. It may also be necessary for current students changing to the 2019 catalog year or later to complete this requirement.

Students with Transfer Credits
The College Success requirement will be waived for students with transfer credits who meet one or more of the following:
  • Transfer with an accepted Associate* degree
  • Transfer with 61+ earned and accepted transfer credits
  • Transfer with earned and accepted transfer credit that, when combined with earned BYU-Idaho resident credits, total 61+ prior to changing declared catalog year to 2019 or later

Students without Transfer Credits
The College Success requirement will be waived for students without transfer credits who opt to change their declared catalog year to 2019 or later and meet one or more of the following:
  • Completed Foundations* entirely prior to changing declared catalog year to 2019 or later
  • Earned 61+ credits prior to changing declared catalog year to 2019 or later

*An Applied Associate degree does not qualify.
The code and title of a course at the time the course was completed is what is recorded on your official transcript. A future change to the code and/or title does not change what has already been officially recorded.

To view your transcript, please navigate to the “Student” tab of your student.byui.edu account. You are welcome to order an official copy of your transcript at any time.
Course descriptions may change to replace reference to Foundations with General Education. However, such changes have minimal, if any, impact on registration or degree completion.
For some programs, some prerequisite courses are now found in GE. For more information, consult the Academic Catalog or your recommended plan in I-Plan.
Yes. The change from Foundations to GE does not impact the University policy covering the transfer of Institute coursework to satisfy Eternal Truths or Religion in Residence requirements.
While FDSCI 101 is not listed as an option for GE, students who have already completed this course will find that it will count toward fulfilling the Natural Science Breadth Area within the new GE structure.
Yes. This course is considered a suitable substitution.
Both GS 106 and GS 106A will automatically satisfy GE 101, thus fulfilling the College Success requirement.
College Success (GE 101) is only available to students with 20 or fewer credits (new freshmen).
In addition to visiting with your Academic Advisor, you may need to request your Ricks College courses be added to your BYU-Idaho record. You can request your transcript.
Please visit the Transfer Evaluation page for more information.