Using transcript analysis as a research methodology, this study investigated student course-taking patterns in general education at three community colleges in Virginia. The sample included three groups: completers and non-completers of associate degree programs and non-curricular students. A panel of experts determined which courses in the curriculum could serve as general education. One purpose of the study was to discover the number and kind of general education courses actually taken by community college students. This was accomplished by identifying the proportion of students' programs taken in general education; the curricular areas of general education in which students concentrated their course-taking; and the types of general education courses taken (basic skills, advanced skills, breadth, integrative, and laboratory or field study). Another purpose was to determine whether course-taking in general education was independent of sex, race, age, and enrollment status (part-time or full-time; daytime or evening). The data indicated that general education was not the"disaster area" described by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 1979 in terms of the number of courses taken by students in the sample. However, the programs of many students were out of balance, specifically lacking in mathematics and science. Two types of general education were evident in student transcripts: one kind of general education course was taken by the occupational-technical student; another, by the transfer student. The number of courses taken in different curricular areas of general education was generally related to enrollment status, age, and sex; comparisons across types of students were drawn and recommendations were made. / Doctor of Education