Dec 11, 2024  
2020-2021 Academic Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

General Education Program Objectives


Students who complete the General Education curriculum should be able to demonstrate:

  • Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World
    (focused by engagement with big questions, both contemporary and enduring through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts)
  • Intellectual and Practical Skills
    (practiced extensively, across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance)
  • Personal and Social Responsibility
    (anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges)
  • Integrative Learning
    (demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and complex problems)

The advancement of academic discourse requires civility and a respectful attitude toward all in the expression and consideration of a variety of viewpoints. All courses shall reinforce the ethical responsibility of students and instructors to acknowledge respectfully the learning styles and forms of expression of individuals and members of all groups.

Basic Skills of an Educated Person

Basic Skills of an Educated Person (A1-3, B4)  courses help build key skills for learning - communication and critical thinking. An educated person can communicate ideas effectively both verbally and in writing. Being able to organize and express ideas is a key part of learning. An educated person must also have strong reasoning powers in order to analyze critically all types of information. The skills courses within General Education provide an opportunity for students to gain and enhance critical communication and analytical skills.

Basic Knowledge of an Educated Person

Basic Knowledge of an Educated Person (B1-3, C1-2, D1-3, E)  courses help students gain the fundamental knowledge of an educated person. Students will have an opportunity to demonstrate an appreciation of the fundamentals of science, arts and letters, and the forces that shape the individual and modern society throughout the lifespan. This fundamental knowledge is crucial to understanding more advanced topics, including a major field of study

Integrated Knowledge of an Educated Person

Integrative Knowledge of an Educated Person (R, S, V, Z)  courses will help students become integrated thinkers who can see connections between and among a variety of concepts and ideas. An educated person will be able to apply concepts and foundations learned in one area to other areas as part of a lifelong learning process. These courses will help students to live and work intelligently, responsibly, and cooperatively in a multicultural society and to develop abilities to address complex issues and problems using disciplined analytical skills and creative techniques.