Welcome to the Gordon Rule Website.
A Brief History of the Gordon Rule at Miami Dade College (Part 1 of 3)
- The Original Gordon Rule
- The Newly-Revised Gordon Rule
- Miami Dade College's Response: Process and Recommendations
The Original Gordon Rule
After Jack Gordon’s death in 2005, the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), the State Board of Education, and the Florida Board of Governors adopted revisions to Administrative Rule 6A-10.030, commonly referred to as the “Gordon Rule". Originally introduced in the state legislature by Senator Jack Gordon in 1987, this rule was envisioned as a means of preparing first and second-year college students to succeed in their education, career, and life through the development of critical, analytical, and communication skills. With this purpose in mind, this law required every public post-secondary student to enroll in and complete, with a grade of “C” or higher, twelve hours of coursework in English and/or the humanities, provided that each of the four three-hour courses required written work of six thousand words, and to take six hours of college-level mathematics. Later this rule was modified so as to permit an institution to provide an alternative plan that would accomplish the same educational goals.