Sample General Education Student Learning Objectives:
Wright State University
(Approved: Faculty Senate May1, 2000)
Program Learning Objectives
The General Education Program is broadly based in order to promote intellectual growth, cultivate critical examination and informed understanding, encourage breadth and flexibility of perspective, and provide students an opportunity to develop skills and knowledge that will form the basis for their life-long learning. Accordingly, the General Education program at Wright State University is a planned and coherent program that is designed to help students:
 sharpen critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills;
 learn about the aesthetic, ethical, moral, social, and cultural dimensions of human experience needed for participation in the human community;
 increase knowledge and understanding of the past, of the world in which we live, and of how both past and present have an impact on the future.
The General Education Program is required of all students and serves as a foundation upon which all baccalaureate programs are built.
Learning Objectives: At the completion of the Wright State University General Education
Program a student will be able to do the following:
Area Learning Objectives
Area Learning Objectives
I. Communication and
Mathematical Skills
English Composition
Mathematics
II. Cultural-Social Foundations
History
The Non-Western World a. use writing processes to explore, think, and learn, and to write appropriately for various tasks and audiences b. develop logical and fair arguments, and observe appropriate writing conventions c. show ability to identify main ideas and evaluate, analyze and synthesize primary and secondary sources d. use, formulate and interpret mathematical models e. summarize and justify analyses of mathematical models or problems using appropriate words, symbols, tables and/or graphs a. describe and analyze historical-social elements of western culture b. describe and analyze historical-social elements of nonwestern culture

III. Human Behavior
Economics
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
IV. Human Expression
Great Books
Fine and Performing Arts
V. Natural Science
Biology
Chemistry
Geology
Physics
VI. College Component c. describe and analyze the global interdependence of groups and of individuals a. use multiple approaches/perspectives to systematically analyze complex individual and institutional behavior culturally, subculturally, and/or crossculturally b. recognize appropriate ethical uses of social scientific knowledge a. recognize and critically discuss significant creative, philosophical and religious works b. understand the complex blend of personal vision, social-cultural background, ethical values and aesthetic judgement in such works c. discuss the diverse means of communication in such works a. understand the experimental basis of scientific inquiry b. understand the importance of model building for understanding the natural world c. understand the theoretical, practical, creative and cultural dimensions of scientific inquiry d. discuss some of the fundamental theories underlying modern science e. understand the dynamic interaction between society and the scientific enterprise f. recognize appropriate ethical uses of knowledge in the natural sciences a. communicate with individuals who are in the student’s major, in allied fields, and nonspecialists b. understand important relationships and interdependencies between the student’s major and other academic disciplines, world events or life endeavors
Or c. additionally meet the objectives of Area I, II,
III, IV, or V.

California Maritime Academy (check goals and breadth requirements)
Goals:
The General Studies Department has two goals:
1.
to provide students with a foundation of skills that will be applied in their major fields;
2.
to provide instructional depth and breadth to ensure that graduates will have a well-rounded knowledge in the liberal arts (math, science, the social sciences, and the humanities).
Overview of Mission :
The General Studies program lays the basic foundation for advanced studies in the major fields. In General Studies courses, students develop skills in oral and written communication, computation and measurement, critical thinking, aesthetic analysis, scientific reasoning, and information competence. In addition, students gain the background knowledge necessary for them to become effective thinkers and leaders.
The focus of the General Studies program is intellectual learning: i.e., the acquisition of basic knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge in new situations. One who has mastered such learning will have progressed beyond a mere absorption of facts and be able to analyze data, identify key issues, evaluate alternatives, solve problems, and apply old solutions to new scenarios. Ultimately, such a thinker will have internalized the conceptual framework of a field and be able to construct new meaning within that field.
CSU General Education Breadth Requirements, as Quoted:
"The purpose of the breadth requirements is to provide means whereby graduates:
(a) will have achieved the ability to think clearly and logically, to find and critically examine information, to communicate orally and in writing, and to perform quantitative functions;
(b) will have acquired appreciable knowledge about their own bodies and minds, about how human society has developed and how it now functions, about the physical world in which they live, about the other forms of life with which they share the world, and about the cultural endeavors and legacies of their civilizations;
(c) will have come to an understanding and appreciation of the principles, methodologies, value systems, and thought processes employed in human inquiries."

Information Competence as defined by the CSU
"In order to be able to find, evaluate, use, communicate, and appreciate information in all its various forms, students must be able to demonstrate the following skills:
1. Formulate and state a research question, problem, or issue. ...
2. Determine the information requirements for a research question, problem or issue in order to formulate a search strategy that will use a variety of resources.
3. Locate and retrieve relevant information, in all its various formats, using, when appropriate, technological tools.
4. Organize information in a manner that permits analysis, evaluation, synthesis and understanding.
5. Create and communicate information effectively using various media.
6. Understand the ethical, legal, and socio-political issues surrounding information.
7. Understand the techniques, points of view and practices employed in the presentation
0£ information from all sources."
Seminole State College (interesting embedded system)
Challenge One:
Seminole State College needs to identify goals, objectives and learning outcomes that are measurable and publicly stated for all of its courses and academic programs.
This section of the report discusses how goals, objectives, and learning outcomes were identified by SSC and incorporated into comprehensive and thorough revisions of all course syllabi. Each revised syllabus reflected the inclusion of a course-embedded process of assessment. Course-embedded assessment is a direct assessment measure of student learning that the College supplements with the Educational Testing Service
Academic Profile Test and Transfer Data Performance Indicator Reports. Through the

syllabi and other campus documents, such as course and division assessment reports, the directly-measured goals, objectives, and learning outcomes are publicly stated and widely dispersed across the campus community.

The College now maintains eight general education student expectations. Each supports the mission of the College. Each department/division has a set of two to twelve departmental learner outcomes that support the general education student expectations. Each course has a list of specific expected learner outcomes and with enabling objectives to assist students in achieving those outcomes; both reflect the departmental learner outcomes as well as the general education student expectations. Each level of publicly-stated goals, objectives, and learning outcomes specific to a course are directly measured through the course-embedded assessment process (Appendices C, D, E, and F).
Evolution of Assessment of Student Learning at Seminole State College
SSC’s use of course-embedded assessment evolved from the College's 1991
Assessment Plan, cited by HLC/NCA as “exemplary.” At that time, the College established a committee to write a formal assessment plan for the institution. The committee chose the course-embedded assessment approach after a series of conversations with faculty members and administrators, and after obtaining further

information at various conferences. Two major factors in that decision were: 1) recognition that each course includes foundational knowledge which consists of sequential knowledge and/or skills, and 2) the importance of faculty ownership of the assessment process. To ensure faculty ownership, the committee asked faculty members to base their course-embedded assessment tools on this foundational knowledge. Courseembedded assessment enables faculty members to affix and measure direct learning objectives at every course, department/discipline, general education, and program level.
In addition, this approach guarantees findings and outcomes that are mission related and academic oriented. Subsequently, faculty-written course-embedded assessment became a part of the College's overall 1991 Assessment Plan, adopted in 1992.
Revitalization of the College’s original assessment plan of 1991 began with the creation of a new Assessment of Student Learning Committee in 1999. The committee’s initial duties included meeting the HLC/NCA challenges to the College’s assessment of student learning outcomes by encouraging faculty members to identify goals, objectives, and learning outcomes that are measurable and publicly stated for all of their courses and the College’s academic programs.
The Assessment of Student Learning Committee represents the entire college community. The faculty members of this committee serve on a two-year rotation basis and represent all six divisions. Other committee positions include standing positions for the president of the Faculty Senate; two student government representatives; the Vice
President for Student Affairs; SSC's HLC/NCA Consultant Evaluator faculty member; and a member of the professional staff. The Assessment of Student Learning Coordinator and the Vice President for Academic Affairs are chair and co-chair, respectively. All

meetings are public and open to faculty members, students, and staff. The College's budget is supportive of the work of this body. Through the leadership of these committee members, faculty members began the revitalized college-wide Course-Embedded
Assessment Program (Appendix G).
Faculty members have worked continuously to develop course-embedded assessment instructments that offer several options to accommodate various educational goals and learning approaches. Assessment options include: pre- and post-tests; pre- and post-writing assignments; pre- and post-performance tests; reading assignments; creative assignments; and testing and writing assignments. The vast majority of faculty members typically administer test options at the beginning of a course to gauge entering knowledge, as well as later in the semester to measure learning progress, while others intersperse assessment measurements as they introduce new concepts throughout the semester.
To further refine the process and to respond to HLC/NCA's concerns, the
Assessment of Student Learning Committee recommended the College undertake a series of steps to aid faculty members in further development and refinement of workable course-embedded assessment tools. To aid faculty members in implementing an effective college-wide assessment plan, the College invited experts in student assessment to the campus for faculty in-service workshops. Dr. Jim Fulcher, Chair of the Humanities
Division of Lincoln College, Lincoln, IL, and Consultant for HLC/NCA, held a workshop in August of 2000 on the importance and uses of assessment. Upon the recommendation of Dr. Cecilia Lopez, NCA liaison to SSC, in February 2001, the College invited Sally
Wallace and Mary Emmons from Parkland Community College, to visit the campus for a

workshop on ways to implement effective assessment. The visiting colleagues identified avenues for making changes based on assessment and reviewed the intricacies of writing enabling objectives for student learning. To further broaden the experience and knowledge of the faculty concerning assessment, the administration sent several faculty members to HLC/NCA meetings. These steps helped the College redesign and implement improvements to the College’s assessment plan as recommended by the 2000 HLC/NCA site visit team.
During ensuing faculty-driven assessment workshops, faculty members realized the importance of linking the College’s Mission Statement to general education student expectations, departmental learner outcomes, expected learner outcomes, enabling objectives. Faculty members then embarked upon the demanding yet rewarding task of rewriting their Course and Common Student Syllabi in a college-wide standardized format that included these essential linkages
(Resource 1 and 2 as listed in Appendix A).
In this intensive, year-long process, the faculty also undertook the development of the various measurable levels of assessment of student learning which they integrated into the course-embedded assessment process and

publicly stated in their syllabi. First, they developed measurable departmental learner outcomes based on SSC’s Mission Statement. From the departmental learner outcomes, faculty next developed for each course a set of measurable expected learner outcomes and a set of measurable enabling objectives. These three levels of measurable objectives tie to measurable campus-wide general education student expectations. The course syllabi and the General Education Program Outcomes Course Matrix of all courses note these relationships. The matrix comprehensively demonstrates how each course is linked to each of the College’s eight general education student expectations, all of which are tied to the College’s Mission Statement. This closes the loop from the College Mission
Statement to the department learner outcomes, the expected learner outcomes, the enabling objectives, and the general education student expectations. The benefits of these exercises rejuvenated the campus assessment program and strengthened the culture of assessing student learning (Resource 3 as listed in Appendix A).
The revitalized assessment process is both fluid and dynamic. As the foundation of the
College’s assessment program, course-embedded assessment provides the consistent

basis by which faculty members assess not only their course, but also the academic programs in which they teach as well as their general education classes. Other measures, both direct and indirect, round out and help triangulate the assessment process, yet course-embedded assessment is the critical measurable building block for the entire process. Furthermore, faculty members continue to make improvements to their courseembedded evaluation options by refining these tools to better evaluate objectives and outcomes.
For instance, during fall 2002, faculty members in the College's six academic divisions evaluated student learning of thousands of students as part of the institution's
Course-Embedded Assessment Program. In reporting results of teaching effectiveness, faculty members reported evidence of increases in student learning. Faculty members also included examples of a variety of ways they intended to utilize the information gathered to further improve student learning. The Math, Science and Engineering
Division, for example, inaugurated new teaching methods such as adopting computerized tutorials and internet sites to facilitate learning of difficult math concepts. Faulty members also spent more time reviewing previously introduced math topics. Faculty members in the Language Arts and Humanities Division, campus leaders in developing rubrics for evaluation purposes, made two essential changes based on what they learned-a series of rubrics to evaluate students in Art Studio courses and a unified curriculum in the Principles of English Composition I and II classes.
The entire assessment process also provides an opportunity for faculty members to discuss ideas and report needs revealed by the assessment process. A rich informal communication network has developed across campus. Division Chair Council and

Administrative Council meetings, memos, and conversations among members of the campus community facilitate discussion of the College’s ongoing, open and public process of student learning assessment. Faculty members often include their cumulative ideas in Division Goals and Objectives reports. This dynamic process has made the information from the Course-Embedded Assessment Program more meaningful and has led to more faculty ownership of the process.
Response One: Conclusion
Based on a strong foundation of a fully developed Course-Embedded Assessment
Program, the College's assessment approach is a dynamic one that is flexible enough to be useful yet standardized enough to encompass the mission of the College. Course-
Embedded Assessment also gives faculty members a feedback mechanism to fine-tune both the curriculum and the assesment process itself on a semester-by-semester basis.
The College’s Course-Embedded Assessment Program, which now contains measurable and publicly stated goals, objectives, and learning outcomes for all of the College’s courses and academic programs, is used as a basis for measuring learning outcomes not only in courses but also across all academic programs.
Mesa Community College
What are the student learning outcomes for general education?
Communication
1. Write a clear, well-organized paper using documentation and quantitative tools when appropriate.
2. Construct and deliver a clear, well-organized, verbal presentation.

Numeracy
1. Identify and extract relevant data from given mathematical situations.
2. Select known models or develop appropriate models that organize the data into tables or spreadsheets, graphical representations, symbolic/ equation format.
3. Obtain correct mathematical results and state those results with the qualifiers.
4. Use the results.
Problem Solving/Critical Thinking
1. Identify a problem or argument.
2. Isolate facts related to the problem.
3. Differentiate facts from opinions or emotional responses.
4. Ascertain the author's conclusion.
5. Generate multiple solutions to the problem.
6. Predict consequences.
7. Use evidence or sound reasoning to justify a position.
Scientific
Demonstrate scientific inquiry skills related to:
Inquiry
1. Hypothesis : Distinguish between possible and improbable or impossible reasons for a problem.
2. Prediction : Distinguish between predictions that are logical or not logical based upon a problem presented.
3. Assumption : Recognize justifiable and necessary assumptions based on information presented.
4. Interpretation : Weigh evidence and decide if generalizations or conclusions based upon given data are warranted.
5. Evaluation : Distinguish between probable and improbable causes, possible and impossible reasons, and effective and ineffective action based on information presented.
Arts and Humanities
1. Demonstrate knowledge of human creations.
2. Demonstrate an awareness that different contexts and/or world views produce different human creations.

3. Demonstrate an understanding and awareness of the impact that a piece
(artifact) has on the relationship and perspective of the audience.
4. Demonstrate an ability to evaluate human creations.
Information Literacy
1. Given a problem, define specific information needed to solve the problem or answer the question.
2. Locate appropriate and relevant information to match informational needs.
3. Identify and use appropriate print and/or electronic information sources.
4. Evaluate information for currency, relevancy, and reliability.
5. Use information effectively.
Cultural Diversity
1. Identify and explain diverse cultural customs, beliefs, traditions, and lifestyles.
2. Identify and explain major cultural, historical and geographical issues that shape our perceptions.
3. Identify and explain social forces that can effect cultural change.
4. Identify biases, assumptions, and prejudices in multicultural interactions.
5. Identify ideologies, practices, and contributions that persons of diverse backgrounds bring to our multicultural world.
Arizona Western College
AWC General Education Outcomes
The Assessment Committee has chosen the four outcomes areas below as the initial focus for assessment of student learning outcomes in general education.
General Education: Communication
Intended Student Learning Outcomes
1. Learners provide writing that provides a clear, specific thesis and awareness of audience; fully develops examples to support thesis in logical, coherent manner; demonstrates original thinking, depth of analysis, and comprehension of material used; and that shows high proficiency in standard English grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

General Education: Critical Thinking
Intended Student Learning Outcomes
1. Learners will demonstrate the ability to take charge of their own thinking.
2. Learners will demonstrate an intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.
General Education: Quantitative Analysis
Intended Student Learning Outcomes
1. Identify and extract relevant data from given mathematical or contextual situations.
2. Select known models or develop appropriate models that organize the data into:
a. tables or spreadsheets (with or without technology); or
b. graphical representations (with or without technology); or
c. symbolic/equation format.
3. Obtain correct mathematical results and state those results with the qualifiers.
4. Use the results to:
a. determine whether they are realistic in terms of the original situation;
or
b. determine whether the mathematical model/representation of data was
appropriate; or
c. describe a trend in a table, graph, or formula and make predications
based on trends; or
d. draw qualitative conclusions in written form.
General Education: Technology Applications
Intended Student Learning Outcomes
1. Learners will demonstrate a working knowledge of computer basics by opening and closing a program; by creating, saving,

printing, finding, renaming, copying, moving and deleting files.
2. Learners will perform basic word processing operations including document creation, editing, formatting, printing, saving and retrieving a document.
3. Learners will perform basic spreadsheet operations including creating, editing, formatting, printing, saving and retrieving a worksheet including the use of formulas, simple functions, and the copy command.
4. Learners will demonstrate the ability to use the Internet in order to access information resources, evaluate their credibility, and apply them.
5. Learners will demonstrate the ability to send and receive E-mail including attachments.
The assessment of student performance in general education courses helps us determine what our students already know, don.t yet know, and need to know in order to succeed here, at institutions of transfer, and in their careers.
The assessment reports that AWC generates not only help us identify what is being learned but also enable us to make recommendations for improvements to our general education curriculum and to programs which will, in turn, increase the level of student performance in general education.
Responsibility for assessing the learning outcomes for general education belongs to the assessment committee. Initial areas to be assessed include communication, quantitative, critical thinking, and technology applications literacy. Competencies to be assessed and/or assessment instruments may be expanded or modified for subsequent cycles as the committee sees fit. Both direct and indirect indicators are used. Results and analysis of evaluations will be posted on the assessment website and distributed by email attachments.
Buffalo State University (also note assessment plan for gen ed)
The purpose of student outcomes assessment is to provide useful and timely information about student achievement as it relates to the institution’s academic goals. Buffalo State aspires to excellence in teaching and learning and scholarship, cultural enrichment and

service and therefore has established the following priorities which reflect our values: o To promote success in teaching and learning both within and beyond the classroom o To maintain a nurturing and intellectually vital environment o To recruit and retain a diverse population of students, faculty and staff
Information obtained through assessment activities is used to determine how well we are achieving out goals and to identify areas that we can improve.
BSC seeks to provide an outstanding general education program that has clearly defined learning goals and objectives. The following assessment plan incorporates student learning in twelve areas: o Mathematics o Natural Sciences o Social Sciences o American History o Western Civilization o Other World Civilizations o Humanities o The Arts o Foreign Language o Basic Communication o Critical Thinking o Information Management
BSC graduates will demonstrate competency in these areas through assessment of the following learning outcomes:


Mathematics: quantitative reasoning skills: arithmetic, algebra; geometry; data analysis; and quantitative reasoning
Natural Sciences: understanding the methods scientists use to explore natural phenomena, including observation, hypothesis

development, measurement and data collection, experimentation, evaluation of evidence and employment of mathematical analysis and application of scientific data, concepts and models in one of the natural sciences

 American History: knowledge of a basic narrative of American history: political, economic, social and cultural, including knowledge of unity and diversity in American society; knowledge of common institutions in
American society and how they have affected different groups; and understanding of
America’s evolving relationship with the rest of the world.

Social Sciences: understanding of the methods social scientists use to explore social phenomena, including observation, hypothesis development, measurement and data
Western Civilization: knowledge of the development of the distinctive features of the history, institutions, economy, society, cultural, etc., of Western civilization and relating the development of Western civilization to that of other regions of the world



Other World Civilizations: knowledge of either a broad outline of world history or the distinctive features of the history, institutions, economy, society, culture, etc., of one non-
Western civilization
Humanities: knowledge of the conventions and methods of at least one of the humanities in addition to those encompassed by other knowledge areas required by the General
Education program
The Arts: understanding of at least one principal form of artistic expression and the creative process inherent therein


Foreign Language: basic proficiency in the understanding and use of a foreign language and knowledge of the distinctive features of culture(s) associated with the language they are studying
Basic Communication: producing coherent tests within common college-level written forms, revising and improving such texts,

 researching a topic, developing an argument and organizing supporting details; developing proficiency in oral discourse and evaluating an oral presentation according to established criteria
Critical Thinking: identify, analyze and evaluate arguments as they occur in their own or other’s work and develop well-reasoned arguments
 Information Management: perform the basic operations of personal computer use, understand and use basic research techniques and locate, evaluate and synthesize information from a variety of sources
A complete cycle of assessment will occur every three years according to the following schedule:
2002-2003: Mathematics, Basic Communication,
Foreign Language, American History
2003-2004: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Critical
Thinking, Information Management
2004-2005: Western Civilization, Other World
Civilizations, Humanities, Arts
Overall, general education learning outcomes assessment:
1.
will take place within general education courses. This approach was adopted for several reasons:
2.
The expected student response rate will be significantly higher when assessment occurs naturally within the context of a course.
3.
It eliminates the problem of determining which students are transfers who may not have taken their general education coursework at Buffalo
State ( and therefore should be assessed at the school where they did complete general education) and which are natives.
4.
This assessment plan targets only students completing general education coursework at
Buffalo State.
5.
It eliminates the problem of time away from the subject affecting the results. If the assessments were given at one set time for all students, some would have taken the subject matter recently and some would have taken it

years before. It can be reasonably anticipated that this would yield inconsistent results.
6.
will take place at different times in students’ progress to graduation. Buffalo State students tend to weave general education courses throughout their time here so there is no one point to effectively measure learning outcomes for everyone. Embedding assessment in general education courses as they are taken is much more effective.
7.
will reflect the distribution requirements in the areas identified. Therefore, one size does not fit all. Some courses have enrollments of
90 and above and some have enrollments of 25
– 35; some courses are 100 level and some are
300 level. Flexibility is necessary. For example, it may be desirable and necessary to assess using different methods within one of these areas. Courses vary greatly by enrollment, so multiple choice instruments may be necessitated in large classes and written instruments may be used in smaller classes. In 100 level courses there may be more reliance on objective testing than there is in 300 level courses, etc.
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
All UW-Green Bay graduates should know and . . .
1.
Have the ability to communicate effectively through listening, speaking, reading, writing, and the use of computers.
2.
Have the ability to think critically.
3.
Have the ability to exercise problem-solving skills - such as problem identification and analysis, and solution formulation, implementation, and assessment - using an integrated, interdisciplinary approach.
4.
Have a fundamental understanding of the Humanities including the significance and chronology of major events and movements in Western civilization.

5.
Have a fundamental understanding of the Humanities, including a range of literature, representative of different literary forms and historical contexts.
6.
Have a fundamental understanding of the Humanities, including the role of the humanities in identifying and clarifying individual and social values in a culture and understanding the implications of decisions made on the basis of those values.
7.
Have a fundamental understanding of the Natural Sciences, including major concepts, principles, and theories of the biological and physical environment.
8.
Have a fundamental understanding of the Natural Sciences, including the impact of scientific and technological activities and products on individuals, society, and the environment.
9.
Have a fundamental understanding of the Social Sciences, including major concepts of social, political, geographic, and economic structures.
10.
Have a fundamental understanding of the Social Sciences, including the impact that social institutions and values have on individuals and groups in a culture.
11.
Have a fundamental understanding of one or more of the fine arts, including an understanding of the nature and functions of art and ways of evaluating art.
12.
Have a fundamental understanding of contemporary global issues and problems related to multiculturalism and ethnocentrism, through the study of beliefs, values, and ways of life in a country other than the United
States.
13.
Have a fundamental understanding of the causes and effects of stereotyping and racism, and an appreciation of cultural diversity within the United States.
Oakland University (note categorization)
The description of the learning outcomes below provides detail for the titles given in the matrix above.
These learning outcomes are not the same as course objectives. No doubt, courses or modules would have many other objectives in addition. Nor are these learning outcomes specific to an individual course.

1. CRITICAL THINKING o Problem-solving o Quantitative skills o Qualitative skills o Planning skills o Assessment/Evaluation skills
Learning Outcomes
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to effectively engage in skills necessary for: o Problem-solving including: define terms precisely, generate and organize ideas and hypotheses, develop and evaluate evidence and arguments, detect errors, biases and fallacies in their own arguments and in those of others, apply knowledge to new situations, use conceptual information specific to the subject area to propose solutions to theoretical and actual real life problems in the home, family, and workplace o Quantitative reasoning: perform basic analytic functions such as categorizing information, distinguish between relevant and irrelevant data, predict outcomes of situations from analysis of information o Qualitative reasoning: explore issues from multiple perspectives, identify and question assumptions, synthesize knowledge from divergent sources and viewpoints o Planning: Formulate long and short term goals, prioritize tasks in completion of a project, and create strategies for achieving goals o Assessment/evaluation skills: formulate an opinion and defend it, identify essential attributes for conducting formative and summative evaluations, evaluate the credibility of information sources including the Internet
2. TECHNOLOGY SKILLS o Retrieving/Creating Information o Organizing/Analyzing Information o Disseminating/Communicating Information
Learning Outcomes
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to effectively: o Retrieve/Create Information: Demonstrate ability to access, evaluate the quality of, and use electronic information resources such as library databases, use technology to access and retrieve information from numerous sources including the Internet, exhibit functional mastery of at least one computer operating system, exhibit ability to use document preparation programs (word processing) to prepare, edit, and manipulate text o Organize/Analyze Information: Represent and manipulate data in tabular and various visual forms such as graphs, exhibit proficiency in using spread sheets and statistical software o Disseminate/Communicate Information: Communicate electronically using various media and multimedia tools (such as audio, video, local and wide area networks, and
Internet), demonstrate ability to contribute to the electronic information environment
(e.g., create a homepage and website), demonstrate mastery of presentation software
3. COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Conveying Information: Writing and Speaking Skills

Receiving Information: Active Listening and Critical Reading Skills
Learning Outcomes
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to demonstrate effective: o Writing Skills: Compose a variety of types of writing for different purposes and audiences; demonstrate the ability to adopt the appropriate tone, voice, and level of formality for each audience/genre; organize select, and relate ideas in written form; integrate the knowledge acquired in writing for general education purposes into writing skills in the student’s chosen major and demonstrate discipline-specific writing skills; illustrate ability to quote, paraphrase, summarize accurately, and cite sources appropriately; demonstrate control of syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling; writing should include not only papers but a wide variety of everyday writing examples including development of an effective resume o Speaking Skills: Advocate and defend a position orally; select speaking topics appropriate to an audience, determine the appropriate general and specific purpose of an oral presentation; organize, arrange, rehearse, and deliver an effective presentation, be able to communicate effectively with respect, compassion, and understanding with those who have different opinions and life experiences, and with those who do not speak English well; understand how differences in race, ethnicity, and gender, and context can present communication challenges; develop capacity to respond and extend information in response to controversy; familiarity using a wide range of media to communicate effectively; exhibit speaking skills in a number of settings including everyday examples such as a job interview o Active Listening Skills: Ability to differentiate between hearing and listening (actively decoding and interpreting a message), recall factual information and draw accurate conclusions and inferences from a verbal message and its context; ability to identify personal listening style (e.g., people with results style need to hear the bottom line, reasons style listeners want to know the rationale, process style listeners like to discuss issues in detail and learn background); practice the principles of active listening and receiving speaker’s message o Critical Reading Skills: Identify both stated and implied main ideas; define the relationships between main ideas and supporting ideas; recognize the organizational structure of written material; paraphrase ideas fairly; distinguish between fact and opinion; make appropriate inferences; accurately describe the author’s purpose and tone; value reading as a source of lifelong learning and recreational enjoyment; successfully apply critical reading skills to a wide range of materials; comprehend, apply, synthesize, evaluate, form opinions, and make appropriate decisions based on written text
4. TEAMWORK o Team Leadership o Interdependence o Setting and Achieving Common Goals
Learning Outcomes
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to demonstrate effective: o Team Leadership: exhibit the shift from directing to facilitating team process; recognize the stages of team development ; define team member roles, identify personal leadership style; demonstrate effective conflict management and ability to assess project process and outcomes

o Interdependence: exhibit the skills of collaboration, negotiation, effective interaction and conflict management; respect contributions of all team members; understand the importance of interconnected responsibilities, recognize barriers to team effectiveness, be cognizant and respectful of the role of race, gender, and ethnicity in team situations, be able to draw upon advantages of diverse membership in working toward common goals; experience team-work on projects where members are separated by time and/or distance; demonstrate ability to effectively select and evaluate team membership/personnel for a project o Setting and Achieving Common Goals: Exhibit skills of group project planning, team process assessment, team decision-making and problem-solving o Task Completion Discrimination: Appropriately determine whether a team-based or individual approach to work is most effective based on the task; recognize the contribution of independent work to team accomplishment
1. INDIVIDUAL VALUES o Personal Values o Academic Values
Learning Outcomes
General Education fosters a willingness to confront and reflect upon one’s values. After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will demonstrate the attitudes and values that encourage the overall personal and intellectual development of an educated individual including: o Personal Values :
 Identify personal values, their origins, development, and differences from the value systems of others
 Reflect on and describe the impact of one’s personal values on others
 Practice high standards of ethical conduct
 Demonstrate an understanding of professional and work ethics
 Make thoughtful choices in personal lifestyle and evaluate the consequences of those choices o Academic Values:
 Practice and uphold standards of academic integrity and intellectual honesty
 Approach learning as a lifelong process
 Demonstrate an open outlook, intellectual curiosity, and receptivity to new knowledge
 Demonstrate the capacity to reflect on and appreciate diverse disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives and approaches to knowledge
2. COMMUNITY VALUES o Civic Values o Interpersonal Values
Learning Outcomes
Community values demonstrate an awareness of needs that transcend the interests of the individual and family, and demonstrate an understanding of how the needs of larger groups relate to those of the individual. After completing the General Education requirements at
Oakland University, a student will demonstrate community values including:

o Civic Values:
 Identify the responsibilities of citizens in a democratic society
 Participate in the democratic process
 Demonstrate sensitivity to the inequities in American society
 Demonstrate awareness of current issues and challenges in American society o Interpersonal Values
 Appreciate ethnic diversity
 Develop a sense of community and belonging
 Practice and appreciate civility
 Challenge assumptions and connect with others different from oneself in an atmosphere of positive engagement
 Demonstrate respect for and ability to work with individuals who have values and beliefs that differ from one’s own
 Develop empathy toward the situations of others
3. GLOBAL VALUES o Cross-cultural Values o Environmental Values
Learning Outcomes
General Education at Oakland University fosters respect for human difference and for ecological harmony in our global environment. After completing the General Education requirements, a student will demonstrate global values including: o Cross-cultural Values:
 Appreciate multiculturalism
 Demonstrate a heightened awareness of and sensitivity to the cultural, social, ethnic, and spiritual backgrounds of persons from other countries
 Identify and respect positive aspects of political, economic, social and cultural systems in other countries
 Demonstrate an attitude of compassion toward people affected by events occurring in other parts of the world o Environmental Values:
 Recognize the impact of local practices on the global environment and value efforts to minimize the negative effects of local actions on the world’s natural environment
 Appreciate the importance of preserving our ecological environment through self-sustaining and self-renewing practices
 Appreciate the importance of balancing human needs with the limitations of world resources
1. FOUNDATION
Module 1: Fundamentals of Written Expression Learning Outcomes:
Before completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Identify the best methods for generating and organizing ideas in written form o Know the elements of effective expository prose o Demonstrate how the writing process is applied effectively in multiple contexts

2. GLOBALIZATION AND ITS IMPACT ON SOCIETY
Module 2: Impact of the Past and Its Relation to the Present
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Discuss how historical cultural developments influence the present-day world and shape relations between nation-states on a global basis o Describe how world civilizations evolved o Identify how the differing world views of modern political entities have been shaped by the past
Module 3: International Perspective and US Issues of Gender, Race and Ethnicity
Global perspective
Learning Outcomes
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Discuss global perspective as an emerging confluence of social, political, economic, technological, and intellectual thinking o Describe the role of the individual in shaping globalization o Discuss how global awareness can provide a richness of opportunity and experience o Explain the intellectual and economic value of personal international experience o Explain the impact of globalization on one’s profession and academic major
Impact of gender race and ethnicity on modern society
Learning Outcomes
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Appreciate the diversity of politics, language, and culture across the globe o Explain how diversity shapes different value systems and societal structures o Demonstrate geographic knowledge of major nations, world regions, and the distribution of ethno-linguistic and racial groups o Identify major civilizations associated with different world areas o Correlate national and regional areas with major environmental zones and natural resources o Identify contributions to global society of non-American cultures o Discuss the power of patriarchal patterns in world societies and the impact on women’s status o Identify the origins of ideas on racial and social inequality o Demonstrate knowledge of major US racial, ethnic, and religious groups and their contributions to American society o Identify major challenges and issues of race, gender and ethnicity in the United States

and potential solutions
Module 4: Language and Culture
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Describe the nature of human language and its importance to cultural development o Contrast the sounds, structure, vocabulary, history, and cultural underpinnings of two or more different languages
3. THE SELF IN AMERICAN SOCIETY
Module 5: The Relationship of the Individual to Society and Culture
Society and the individual
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Describe elements of human social organization o Identify current theories pertaining to modern society and the individual
Understanding one’s self in a cultural context
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Recognize the self as a product of a particular cultural context and civilization o Describe how major intellectual, political, economic, spiritual, artistic and technological influences have shaped our modern world and have influenced the relationship between the individual and his/her culture o Identify the relationship between one’s culture and the development of personal belief systems o Discuss the role of the media in shaping and reflecting culture
Module 6: Politics, Economics and Responsibility in a Democracy
Political systems and economic environments
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Describe the basic features of political systems o Discuss the roles of major international economic and political organizations

o Describe the system of government in the US o Demonstrate knowledge of political institutions and traditions that differ from the US o Demonstrate knowledge of the U.S. economy and markets, and how its traditions differ from other economies.
Individual responsibility in a democracy
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Demonstrate civic responsibility toward one’s local community and society at large o Explain the individual’s role in the democratic process o Identify the fundamental elements of citizenship within the US political system o Contrast how citizenship within the US political system differs from other political systems o Demonstrate the nature of civilized discourse/debate and how to develop arguments from a variety of perspectives o Appreciate the importance of a personal code of ethics to the development of a civil society
4. INQUIRY: THE CREATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND MEANING
Module 7: Inquiry and the Creation of Meaning
Disciplinary methods of inquiry
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Compare methods of inquiry in the social sciences, humanities, sciences, and professional fields o Discuss the philosophical underpinnings of methods of inquiry o Compare quantitative and qualitative methods and their appropriate use o Identify ethical issues in research
The nature of interdisciplinary inquiry
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Describe the importance of intellectual curiosity, openness, and skepticism in the development of new knowledge o Identify interconnections and interdependencies among areas of intellectual inquiry o Describe how disciplines are interwoven to obtain new perspectives and solutions
Creating meaning

Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Describe how philosophy, religion and spirituality are used to create the meanings in one’s world o Identify and compare major traditions in philosophy, religion and spirituality
5. EXPLORING THE NATURAL WORLD
Module 8: Scientific Literary and Method
Scientific Literacy
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Identify the fundamental concepts of the physical and life sciences from an interdisciplinary perspective o Evaluate scientific, government, and lay articles in science o Discuss the impact of science on daily life, the welfare of citizens, and our global environment o Access sources of information concerning scientific issues
Scientific Method
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Create hypotheses and test them through hands-on laboratory, field, and computer based experiments o Draw conclusions from experimental evidence o Present experimental evidence and logical conclusions in oral, written, numerical, and graphical form
Module 9: Technology and Invention
Technology and Our World
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Describe the world-wide spread of technology, its advantages and challenges o Identify great technological discoveries and their impact on society o Discuss ethical implications of major technological discoveries o Demonstrate familiarity with the computer and other technologies used in the search

for and acquisition of knowledge o Explain the concepts behind simple physical laws and principles such as Ohm's Law,
Newton's Second Law, and the Conservation of Energy o Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of physical concepts and phenomena such as energy, heat, resonance, waves, and light
The Role of Innovation
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Demonstrate awareness of major creative inventions in world civilization o Discuss the importance of creativity in human discovery o Identify creative thinking as an integral part of managing change, growth and development in human intellectual endeavors
Module 10: Well Being
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Recognize and describe the relationship between physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the individual, significant others, the community, and society o Describe personal, community, and societal wellness o Describe how individual decision making and behavior impact personal lifestyle o Recognize the influence of gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and age on health o Describe the relationship of health care to longevity and the human and financial implications for society
Module 11: Mathematical Language of the Universe
Learning Outcomes
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Recognize the role of mathematics as a language for understanding our physical world o Demonstrate a knowledge of quantitative computations and appropriate mathematical methods o Effectively select and apply appropriate formulas for solving mathematical problems o Discuss the evolutions/revolutions in mathematics and physics and their implications for society
6. EXPLORING HUMAN CREATIVITY
Module 12: Literary and Humanistic Heritage
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be

able to: o Discuss how literature is an expression of culture o Recognize and appreciate a wide variety of literary forms o Compare major Western and non-Western world traditions in the humanities o Demonstrate a knowledge of and appreciation for the broad range of human achievement
Module 13: Art as Interpretation of Life
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the General Education requirements at Oakland University, a student will be able to: o Identify major artistic traditions in visual, auditory, movement, and theatrical art across cultures and over time o Recognize and discuss the role of art as critical commentary on society o Recognize art as an expression of experience o Describe and appreciate the beauty of an art-full life
7. INTEGRATION
Module 14: Capstone
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of modules 1-13 Oakland University students will be able to: o Demonstrate an understanding of how the knowledge, skills, and values learned in general education are interwoven and interrelated o Demonstrate the relevance that this learning has for her/his current and future life and career
SUNY Cortland (interesting gen ed assessment) http://www.cortland.edu/gear/supportdocs.html
This page contains downloadable documentation relevant to the assessment of student learning outcomes, particularly in reference to SUNY's general education program.
Resources are added as they become available so check back again often to see what's new.
Most of these items are in PDF format, requiring the free shareware application of Adobe
Acrobat. To view or download a document, click on the graphic next to the document description.
University System of Georgia (system-wide learner outcomes)

University System of Georgia
General Education in the University System of Georgia
From the origins of intellectual study to the present, general education has been a key to a fulfilling life of self-knowledge, self-reflection, critical awareness, and lifelong learning. General education has traditionally focused on oral and written communication, quantitative reasoning and mathematics, studies in culture and society, scientific reasoning, and aesthetic appreciation. Today, general education also assists students in their understanding of technology, information literacy, diversity, and global awareness.
In meeting all of these needs, general education provides college students with their best opportunity to experience the breadth of human knowledge and the ways that knowledge in various disciplines is interrelated.
In the University System of Georgia, general education programs consist of a group of courses known as the Core Curriculum as well as other courses and co-curricular experiences specific to each institution. The attainment of general education learning outcomes prepares responsible, reflective citizens who adapt constructively to change.
General education programs impart knowledge, values, skills, and behaviors related to critical thinking and logical problem-solving. General education includes opportunities for interdisciplinary learning and experiences that increase intellectual curiosity, providing the basis for advanced study in the variety of fields offered by today's colleges and universities.
Approved by the Council on General Education, October, 2004
Approved by the Chief Academic Officers, December, 2004
At the request of the Regents' Advisory Committee on Institutional Effectiveness (RACIE), the
Council on General Education developed the following set of student learning outcomes. They are derived from the sets of student learning outcomes submitted by institutions of the
University System at the time they undertook conversion from the quarter calendar to the semester calendar. RACIE intends to use the common set of outcomes to develop materials that it will use to assist groups of institutions in assessing their Core Curricula as a part of the accreditation process.

The Council decided not set out separate learning outcomes for critical thinking and technology skills even though those outcomes were deemed important. Instead, the Council treated them as components of each learning outcome, where appropriate.
The Council on General Education believes that this set of learning outcomes captures the common elements of the institutional learning outcomes. There are, however, distinct learning outcomes at most institutions, often associated with Area B of the Core Curriculum. These are not represented in the set of learning outcomes presented below. When the set of common learning outcomes was complete, the Council speculated that it corresponded to approximately eighty per cent of any given institution's learning outcomes.
I.
o o o o
Communications: Oral and written communication will be characterized by clarity, critical analysis, logic, coherence, persuasion, precision, and rhetorical
awareness.
Competence within the context of collegiate general education is defined by the following outcomes: o Ability to assimilate, analyze, and present in oral and written forms, a body of information; o o o o o o
Ability to analyze arguments;
Ability to adapt communication to circumstances and audience;
Ability to consider and accommodate opposing points of view;
Ability to interpret content of written materials on related topics from various disciplines;
Ability to communicate in various modes and media, including the proper use of appropriate technology;
Ability to produce communication that is stylistically appropriate and mature;
Ability to communicate in standard English for academic and professional contexts;
Ability to interpret inferences and develop subtleties of symbolic and indirect discourse;
Ability to sustain a consistent purpose and point of view;
Ability to compose effective written materials for various academic and professional contexts.

II.
Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematics: quantitative reasoning and mathematics will be characterized by logic, critical evaluation, analysis, synthesis generalization, modeling, and verbal, numeric, graphical, and
symbolic problem solving.
Competence within the context of collegiate general education objectives is defined by the following outcomes: o o o o o
Ability to model situations from a variety of settings in generalized mathematical forms;
Ability to express and manipulate mathematical information, concepts, and thoughts in verbal, numeric, graphical and symbolic form while solving a variety of problems;
Ability to solve multiple-step problems through different (inductive, deductive and symbolic) modes of reasoning;
Ability to properly use appropriate technology in the evaluation, analysis, and synthesis of information in problem-solving situations;
Ability to shift among the verbal, numeric, graphical and symbolic modes of o o o considering relationships;
Ability to extract quantitative data from a given situation, translate the data into information in various modes, evaluate the information, abstract essential information, make logical deductions, and arrive at reasonable conclusions;
Ability to employ quantitative reasoning appropriately while applying scientific methodology to explore nature and the universe;
Ability to discern the impact of quantitative reasoning and mathematics on the sciences, society, and one's personal life.
III.
Cultural and Social Perspectives: Cultural and social perspective will be characterized by cultural awareness and an understanding of the complexity and dynamic nature of social/political/economic systems; human and institutional behavior, values, and belief systems; historical and spatial
relationship; and, flexibility, open-mindedness, and tolerance.
Competence within the context of collegiate general education objectives is defined by the following outcomes:

o o o o o o o
Ability to relate local, national, and global social policy;
Ability to describe how historical, economic, political, social, and spatial relationships develop, persist, and change;
Ability to articulate the complexity of human behavior as functions of the commonality and diversity within groups;
Ability to appreciate and respect diversity among people and recognize the roles various peoples played in their culture;
Ability to identify and analyze both contemporary and historical perspectives on contemporary issues;
Ability to relate the contributions of groups and individuals to the history of ideas and belief systems;
Ability to critically analyze one's own culture.
IV.
Scientific Reasoning: Scientific reasoning will be characterized by understanding and applying scientific method, laboratory techniques,
mathematical principles, and experimental design to natural phenomena.
Competence within the context of collegiate general education objectives is defined by the following outcomes: o o
Ability to understand basic scientific principles, theories, laws as they apply to all scientific disciplines;
Ability to demonstrate knowledge in at least one area of science; o o o o
Ability to discern the role in and impact on science on society;
Ability to identify and properly use appropriate technologies for scientific inquiry and communication including collecting and analyzing scientific data;
Ability to understand the physical universe and science's relationship to it;
Ability to understand the changing nature of science; o o o
Ability to understand the scope and limits on the appropriateness of scientific inquiry to physical phenomena;
Ability to demonstrate critical observation and analysis;
Ability to apply mathematical principles to scientific inquiry, including the use of statistics and formulae to understand quantitative data.

V.
Aesthetic Perspective: Aesthetic perspective will be characterized by critical appreciation of and ability to make informed aesthetic judgments about the
arts of various cultures as media for human expression:
Competence within the context of collegiate general education is defined by the following outcomes: o Ability to make informed judgments about art forms from various cultures o o including one's own culture;
Ability to recognize the fine, literary, and performing arts as expressions of human experience;
Ability to discern the impact and role of artistic and literary achievement in society and one's personal life.
« Core Curriculum | return to top
California State-San Bernardino (NOTE—This is LONG! Basic skills and breadth areas are included)
General Education
Outcomes Assessment:

General Education
Assessment Issues

GE Basic Skills Goals
& Objectives

GE Breadth Areas
Goals & Objectives
The following outcomes assessment goals and objectives for the four General Education Basic Skills areas (Written
Communication, Oral Communication, Mathematics, and
Critical Thinking) have been developed by the University
General Education Outcomes Assessment Committee based on university-wide input from faculty, department chairs, and university, college and department GE, curriculum and outcomes assessment representatives over a two-year period.

Alignment Between the University General
Education Policy and
Student Learning
Goals and Objectives
University General Education Outcomes Assessment
Committee (June 2000-present):
Salaam Yousif, Arts & Letters
John Chaney, Business & Public Administration
Michael Weiss, Social & Behavioral Sciences
Kerstin Voigt, Natural Sciences


Resources for GE
Classes
Outcomes Assessment Home
Joe Chavez, Chair of the Univ. General Education
Committee
Milton Clark, Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Sandra Kamusikiri, AVP for Assessment and planning
Jerrold Pritchard, Assoc. Provost for Academic Programs
Ross Moran, Dir. of Institutional Research
Grad Studies Home General Education: The Basic Skills Category
General education is central to a university education, and its goal is to enhance students’ awareness of themselves in a complex universe, drawing upon multiple points of view.
As a result of general education experience, students will acquire knowledge of diverse disciplinary and cultural perspectives and skill in comparing, contrasting, applying, and communicating effectively these perspectives in tasks considered appropriate to particular courses.
Basic skills in composition, oral communication, critical thinking, and mathematics are needed to express ideas easily and effectively, to understand and utilize quantitative data, and to think clearly in everyday settings. All basic skills courses have mutually reinforcing objectives to ensure that these skills are practiced and refined in many different contexts.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
Upon graduation from CSUSB, students will be able to:
Goal 1: Communicate effectively in writing to various audiences.
Objectives:
1.
Discover and then develop a controlling idea for each writing project.
2.
Select, organize, and relate ideas and develop them coherently.

3.
Effectively use the basic structures and techniques of writing: o at the word level, display control of diction, using language that is precise and varied and that demonstrates sensitivity to diversity
(gender, culture, ethnicity, religion, disability, etc.) o at the sentence level, display syntactic variety and control of language and mechanics. o at the paragraph and essay levels, arrange ideas coherently, using a variety of rhetorical strategies such as narration, description, definition, illustration, summary, process analysis, division/classification, comparison/contrast, cause/effect, and argument/persuasion; also, use transitional devices to create a smooth flow between idea
4.
Employ typical rhetorical techniques, such as openings, effective paragraphing, transitions, and closings.
5.
Develop the judgment and flexibility to choose the rhetorical strategies, style, and level of language most appropriate to the audience, purpose, and genre of their writing.
6.
Produce writing, including written work in their major discipline, that is focused on a clear thesis, that is well-reasoned, and that is supported with adequate details and appropriate evidence (when evidence is called for).
7.
Produce writing, including written work in their major discipline, that is well organized and appropriately formatted, that is free of serious errors in grammar, mechanics, and usage, and that follows the conventions of standard written English.

8.
Recognize that writing is an on-going process of evaluation and revision. In other words, accept feedback from others, learn to give constructive critiques, engage seriously in substantive revisions, and edit their own and others’ writing for global organization, style, and sentence-level accuracy.
Goal 2: Read and comprehend a variety of written materials, including material at the entry level of professional work in their major discipline; extract ideas from written material; and value the printed word as a source of information and/or enjoyment.
Objectives:
1.
Comprehend a writer’s message literally, inferentially, and analytically
2.
Identify both stated and implied main ideas
3.
Differentiate between main ideas and supporting details
4.
Evaluate the persuasiveness/effectiveness of the supporting details
5.
Distinguish between fact and opinion
6.
Recognize the organizational structure of written material
7.
Discern the style and tone of a writer
8.
Abstract thoughts and ideas from reading material
9.
Appreciate the value of reading as a source of lifelong learning, recreation, and intellectual enjoyment
Goal 3: Conduct meaningful research, including gathering information from primary and secondary sources and incorporating and documenting source material in their writing.

Objectives:
1.
Find, evaluate, and make suitable use of written sources, in particular by gaining familiarity with the library and with electronic resources
2.
Evaluate the quality of materials that they have found for relevance to the topic, and coordinate these materials within the framework of their writing project.
3.
4.
Use the standard conventions for incorporating sources (including quotation, paraphrase, and summary) and appropriately citing research in their own writing.
5.
Use writing as a medium for critical thinking, that is, for formulating thoughtful responses to reading material and for exploring their own ideas
ORAL COMMUNICATION
OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
Upon graduation from CSUSB, students will be able to
Goal 1: Evaluate and organize ideas for original oral presentations.
Objectives:
1.
Understand the basic rhetorical elements of oral communication, particularly audience analysis
2.
Find and use effective supporting evidence for informative, persuasive, and argumentative presentations
3.
Generate material for a public speech by identifying and researching main points of a presentation
4.
Locate, retrieve, evaluate, and incorporate material

appropriate to a presentation
5.
Organize main and subordinate ideas in original oral messages
6.
Evaluate with care and accuracy the relative merits of alternative or opposing arguments, interpretations, assumptions, and cultural values
7.
Take into account the cultural contexts of oral communication, including differences in cultural styles and the ethics of communication
Goal 2: Communicate through public speaking by delivering effective speeches which inform, persuade, or commemorate others.
Objectives:
1.
Deliver oral presentations clearly, confidently, and effectively in a variety of public communication settings
2.
Speak effectively to the chosen purpose of the speaking engagement, whether it be to argue, inspire, generate emotion, or inform the listeners
3.
Present ideas concisely
4.
Use language that demonstrates sensitivity to diversity (gender, culture, ethnicity, religion, disability, etc.)
5.
Use effective verbal and nonverbal delivery techniques; that is, employ language, voice, inflection, facial expression, gesture, and body language appropriate to the presentation and the audience
6.
Effectively construct and incorporate visual aids
(e.g., handouts, charts, technologies, etc.) to support ideas in presentations
Goal 3: Listen and interact effectively.

Objectives:
1.
Anticipate listeners’ needs, analyze their responses, and adapt communications accordingly (including specific adaptations that make communication accessible for disabled members of any audience)
2.
Listen critically to the oral communications and speeches of others and summarize and evaluate their salient ideas
3.
Understand and value differences in communication styles
CRITICAL THINKING
OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
Upon graduation, CSUSB students will understand the key notions of validity and soundness as they apply to deductive and inductive reasoning and be able to:
Goal 1: Recognize multiple discourse strategies.
Objectives:
1.
Recognize argumentative discourse
2.
Identify whether an argument appeals to reasoning or emotion.
3.
Distinguish arguments from counterfeit modes of persuasion and propaganda.
Goal 2: Identify explicit and implicit components of arugments.
Objectives:
1.
Identify explicitly stated premises and assumptions in an argument

2.
Identify unstated implications in an argument
Goal 3: Distinguish different kinds of arguments.
Objectives:
1.
Recognize inductive arguments.
2.
Recognize deductive arguments.
Goal 4: Evaluate the quality of reasoning.
Objectives:
1.
Choose the appropriate criteria for evaluating arguments.
2.
Use appropriate methods to identify valid argumentation (e.g., direct application of definitions, formal methods, informal argument forms).
3.
Use appropriate methods to identify invalid reasoning (e.g., counterexamples, informal and/or formal fallacies).
4.
Determine validity of arguments and be able to distinguish when evidence provides strong support for a conclusion and when it does not.
Goal 5: Evaluate the soundness of reasoning.
Objectives:
1.
Identify good sources of information.
2.
Distinguish fact from judgement, belief from knowledge.
3.
Apply evaluations of sources to the evaluation of soundness.
Goal 6: Construct valid and sound written and oral

arguments.
Objectives:
1.
Develop a clear thesis statement of appropriate scope.
2.
Provide reasons from a variety of sources that support the thesis.
3.
Organize the materials so that they adequately support the thesis.
MATHEMATICS
OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
Upon graduation from CSUSB, students will or will be able to:
Goal 1: Understand basic mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning.
Objectives:
1.
Solve problems by applying algebraic, geometric, or analytic concepts appropriate to the mathematics basic skills course completed.
2.
Translate verbal statements to and from mathematical expressions.
Goal 2: Demonstrate a critical understanding of mathematics.
Objectives:
1.
Critically evaluate quantitative information, and identify deceptive or erroneous information.

Goal 3: Apply mathematics.
Objectives:
1.
Effectively organize, summarize, and present information in quantitative forms such as tables, graphs, and formulas.
2.
Use numerical, graphical, and symbolic information to support or criticize arguments and draw valid conclusions.
Goal 4: Make connections between mathematics and other disciplines through the use of mathematical models.
Objectives:
1.
Identify examples of mathematical models from a variety of quantitative and non-quantitative disciplines.
2.
Demonstrate ability to construct mathematical models in the context of other disciplines.
General Education
Outcomes Assessment:

General Education
Assessment Issues

GE Basic Skills Goals
& Objectives

GE Breadth Areas
Goals & Objectives
The outcomes assessment goals and objectives for the three General Education Breadth areas (Natural Sciences,
Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences) have been developed based on university-wide input from faculty, department chairs, and university, college and department
GE, curriculum and outcomes assessment representatives over a two-year period under the guidance of three General


Alignment Between the
University General
Education Policy and
Student Learning Goals and Objectives
Education Breadth Area Outcomes Assessment
Committees.

Resources for GE
Classes
Outcomes Assessment Home
General education is central to a university education, and its goal is to enhance students’ awareness of themselves in a complex universe, drawing upon multiple points of view.
As a result of general education experience, students will acquire knowledge of diverse disciplinary and cultural perspectives and skill in comparing, contrasting, applying, and communicating effectively these perspectives in tasks considered appropriate to particular courses.
Grad Studies Home
In the last three centuries, and especially over the last 100 years, there has been an explosive expansion within the scientific and technological areas of human knowledge.
These areas have grown to become an integral and essential part of our modern culture. The overall goal of
General Education within the Natural Sciences is to assist the student in understanding the tools and methodologies of the natural sciences, in learning some of the most important results of scientific inquiry, and in becoming conversant with the major consequences of scientific and technological developments were.
The principal of objectives of the Humanities courses are to expand students’ understanding and appreciation of the arts, literature, and philosophical inquiry as well as to cultivate imagination and nurture empathy.
The Social and Behavioral Sciences embrace a wide variety of disciplines. Collectively, therefore, the courses included in this area embrace a broad number of principal and secondary goals. The inter-wovenness of these fields and their uniquenesses are essential concerns that students need to understand as well as the relative usefulness of each discipline in analyzing and responding to individual, social, economic, political and cultural institutions and problems. Such breadth is viewed as indispensable knowledge for educated persons who will function within– and indeed provide the future leadership for–a society that continues to be increasingly technological, complex, racially and ethnically diverse, and evolving in terms of

roles of men and women.
CNS GE Breadth Area (B) Outcomes Assessment
Committee
David Polcyn, Biology
Judy Cestaro, Computer
Science
Cindy Paxton, Health
Science
Brett Stanley, Chemistry
Sally McGill, Geology
Leo Connolly, Physics
Natural Sciences Breadth Area (B) Courses (20 units)
B1. Mathematics
NOTE: The goals and objectives for Math are included in the basic skills area of general education.
B2. Life Sciences. Five units chosen from
BIOL 100. Topics in Biology (5)
BIOL 202. Biology of Populations (5)
HSCI 120. Health and Society: An Ecological Approach
(5)
B3. Physical Sciences. A minimum of five units chosen from
CHEM 100. Chemistry in the Modern World (5)
CHEM 205. Fundamentals of Chemistry I: General
Chemistry (5)
CHEM 215. General Chemistry I: Atomic Structure and
Chemical Bonding (6)
GEOG 103. Physical Geography (5)
GEOL 101. Introductory Geology (5)
PHYS 100. Physics in the Modern World (5)
PHYS 103. Descriptive Astronomy (5)
PHYS 121. Basic Concepts of Physics I (5)
PHYS 221. General Physics I (5)
B4. Special Topics in Science and Technology. Two units chosen from
BIOL 216. Genetics and Society (2)
BIOL 217. Biology of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (2)
CHEM 105. Chemicals in Our Environment (2)
CSCI 121. Computer Technology and People (2)

CSCI 124. Exploring the Information Superhighway (2)
GEOL 210. Earthquakes: Science and Public Policy (2)
B5. Integrative Capstone in the Natural Sciences. Four units chosen from
NSCI 300. Science and Technology (4)
NSCI 310. The Environment and Human Survival (4)
NSCI 314. Life in the Cosmos (4)
NSCI 320. Energy (4)
NSCI 325. Perspectives on Gender (also counts in category
G) (4)
NSCI 351. Health and Human Ecology (4)
NSCI 360. Legacy of Life (4)
NoteStudents may receive credit for only one of the following courses
HUM 325. Perspectives on Gender
NSCI 325. Perspectives on Gender
SSCI 325. Perspectives on Gender
Goals and Objectives for Natural Sciences Breadth
Area (B)
Goal 1: Students who complete the General Education
Breadth Area B (Natural Sciences) will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method.
Objectives:
1.
Explain the use of the scientific method, including observation, hypothesis, experimentation and deductive reasoning as applied within the natural sciences area.
2.
Discuss the history of development and philosophical presuppositions of the scientific method (e.g., that the world is comprehensible, that natural events follow basic, repeatable laws that can be deduced by observation and experimentation, and that one can (or will eventually be able to) explain all events as results of natural laws without reference to supernatural causes).
3.
Explain, with the use of one or more specific examples, how scientists establish, evaluate and modify theories through the use of the scientific

method (e.g., plate tectonics, genetics, disease mechanisms, …).
4.
Utilize appropriate quantitative methods to analyze data and to test hypotheses (e.g., graphing and interpreting data, comparing experimental results with those predicted by theory, …).
5.
Apply scientific laws and/or theories to quantitatively solve problems using basic mathematical skills (e.g., solving word problems).
Goal 2: After completion of a course in the B2 area, students will be able to explain some of the most important results of scientific inquiry in the life sciences. Students will demonstrate a breadth of knowledge concerning a major area in the life sciences, which also incorporates supportive facts and concepts from other major areas in the life and/or physical sciences. In particular, students will
Objectives:
1.
Demonstrate knowledge of the life forms in nature and the rules governing their structure, function and ecology.
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of the experimental basis for current knowledge and future exploration in the Life Sciences area.
3.
Demonstrate familiarity with the usual techniques and apparatus of the life sciences (e.g, measurement techniques, sterile techniques, microscopy, …).
4.
Utilize the scientific method to design simple experiments and to collect, analyze and evaluate life science data in a lab or field setting.
Goal 3: After completion of a course in the B3 area, students will be able to explain some of the most important results of scientific inquiry in the physical sciences.
Students will demonstrate a breadth of knowledge concerning a major area in the physical sciences, which also incorporates supportive facts and concepts from other

major areas in the physical and/or life sciences. In particular, students will
Objectives:
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental rules governing matter and energy in the universe
(e.g., some but not necessarily all of the followingconservation of mass, 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics, mass/energy equivalence, the atomic makeup of matter, the subatomic particles, the elements and periodic table of elements, the basic rules of electricity and the electrical nature of matter and energy, how the laws and theories of physics describe how atoms combine to make molecules, compounds, minerals, rocks, planets, etc. and the physical properties of these substances, how solid, liquid, and gaseous substances combine to form the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere, or extraterrestrial objects, how physical materials are naturally recycled (the rock cycle, the hydrologic cycle), …).
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of the experimental basis for scientific inquiry in the physical sciences.
3.
Demonstrate familiarity with the usual techniques and apparatus of the physical sciences (e.g., measurement techniques, titration, …)
4.
Utilize the scientific method to design simple experiments and to collect, analyze and evaluate physical science data in a lab or field setting.
Goal 4: After completion of a course in the B4 area, students will be able to apply the principles, concepts and methods of the natural sciences to everyday life.
Specifically, students will be able to examine, from a scientific perspective, an important current scientific, health-related, or technological issue and to relate scientific principles to the societal impact of the issue under examination. In particular, students will be able to
Objectives:

1.
Find and evaluate information relevant to the scientific understanding of a particular contemporary issue
2.
Identify the important principles in the natural sciences underlying that particular issue
3.
Recognize the limits of science when applied to problems in the natural world.
4.
Explain the societal impact and historical context of the issue
5.
Discuss the interdependence between science, technology and modern society, including the social, political and economic aspects of that society (e.g., how modern society and the economy depend on science and technology, and how the development of science and technology are influenced by social, economic and political forces; how technology is the result of scientific development, and how technology enables the further development of science).
Goal 5 : Upon completion of a course in the B5 (natural sciences capstone) area, students will be able to understand the interrelationships among disciplines (within and across breadth areas) and their applications to contemporary complex environments.
Objectives:
1.
Discuss the social and historical context of scientific developments within the physical and life sciences.
2.
Explain the place of the natural sciences breadth area within the broader context of human thought and social development.
3.
Integrate, develop and explore the implications of the skills and knowledge acquired in the lowerdivision general education courses.
4.
Engage in a higher level of analysis than in lower-

division general education courses.
5.
Where appropriate, understand the impact of human behavior, gender roles, human sexuality, multicultural and/or international issues, and technological and organizational developments on a topic (or vice versa).
6.
Students will broaden their knowledge of fundamental laws, theories and facts that comprise our understanding of the contemporary physical world, of the origins of scientific discovery, and the social and economic implications of scientific and technological developments.
HUMANITIES GENERAL EDUCATION BREADTH
AREA (C)
OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
CAL GE Breadth Area (C) Outcomes Assessment
Committee:
Salaam Yousif, English
William Peterson, Theater Arts
Larry McFatter, Music
Mirta Gonzalez, Foreign Languages
Susan Finsen, Philosophy
Kurt Collins, Art
Arts (C.1) Goals and Objectives
Courses:
1. Arts. Four units chosen from:
ART 200. Studies in Art (4)
HUM 180. The Art of Film (4)
MUS 180. Studies in Music (4)
TA 260. Introduction to Theatre (4)
Students who complete the arts breadth area C1 (Arts) will
GOAL 1: Demonstrate an awareness of the cultural and social value and contributions of the arts (visual, music,

theatre, film, etc.) in sustaining life and nurturing human development.
Objectives:
1.
Articulate the value and contributions of the arts to society;
2.
Recognize and articulate the pervasiveness of the arts in the student's own community;
GOAL 2: Describe the mechanics of artistic production.
Objectives:
1.
Discuss and describe the basic techniques used in at least one form of artistic expression (i.e., formal structuring, artistic materials/media chosen, etc.);
2.
In the case of the collaborative arts, be able to identify and describe the contributions of key artistic collaborators (i.e., composer and lyricist, film writer and editor, etc.);
3.
Recognize the financial, political and social forces which impact and shape a particular art form;
GOAL 3: Reflect critically on significant works of the human intellect and imagination through exposure to major works of art emanating from more than one culture.
Objectives:
1.
Articulate the differences between various systems of cultural aesthetics (i.e., those of western
European and Asian musics, for example);
2.
Objectively analyze artistic works from a cultural perspective that differs from a student's own;
GOAL 4: Gain an overview of the concepts, forms and historical development of a particular art form.

Objectives:
1.
Use appropriate critical vocabulary to describe artistic development over time in, for example, the history of stylistic periods and genres in art (i.e., cubism, impressionism, etc.);
2.
Describe and explain the historical context within which a body of work was created (i.e., the historical and cultural forces that shaped, for example, 18th century western art and music);
GOAL 5: Learn to formulate, articulate and defend aesthetic judgments based on an encounter with a work of art or particular performance.
Objectives:
1.
Understand some of the methods of studying, perceiving and criticizing artistic phenomena (i.e., do background preparation for writing a review of a performance of a play, art exhibition or concert);
2.
Write critical evaluations of works of art or particular performances taking into account their cultural contexts;
GOAL 6: Experience art firsthand.
Objectives:
1.
Attend plays or concerts, visit art galleries, participate in theatre productions as an usher or backstage crew, view assigned films, etc.
2.
Critically evaluate that experience either orally or in writing;
Literature (C.2) Goals and Objectives
Courses:
ENG 110: World Literature I

ENG 111: World Literature II
ENG 160: World Drama
ENG 170: Studies in Literature
TA 160: World Drama
TA 212: Oral Interpretation of Literature
Students who complete Humanities Breadth Area C. 2
(Literature) will be able to:
Goal 1: Construct and articulate clear and informed interpretations of literary texts.
Objectives:
1.
Read with clear understanding a variety of literary texts from a range of cultures and time periods.
2.
Discuss, interpret, and reflect critically on literary works, using clear, coherent, and well-reasoned analysis and appropriate support and evidence.
3.
Understand that literary works can be analyzed from more than one critical approach, and that two or more critical approaches may be integrated to achieve a fuller understanding of the text.
4.
Find and make connections between literary works-
-thematic, stylistic, etc.
Goal 2: Demonstrate knowledge of the basic typology of the forms and genres of literature and of the standard critical terminologies for analyzing and describing these literary forms and genres.
Objectives:
1.
Identify the forms and genres of literature, both written and oral, such as fiction, drama, poetry, lyric, epic, novel, novella, short story, tragedy, comedy, etc.
2.
Use analytical skills when reading literary texts; that is, show some familiarity with the techniques of various genres and the critical vocabulary appropriate for talking about those genres (e.g.,

point of view, setting, plot, climax, flashback, rhyme, rhythm, imagery, irony).
3.
Identify several of the various elements common to all literary texts, such as theme, style, figures of speech (metaphor, simile, paradox, hyperbole), tone, etc., and recognize how the elements of form and the various literary devices contribute to the meaning and to the overall aesthetic effect of a literary text.
4.
Recognize and value the new and unfamiliar in literature (e.g., epic theater, theater of the absurd, magical realism).
Goal 3: Place the literary “text” in its intellectual, cultural, social, and historical contexts, and take into account the contextual implications of the text.
Objectives:
1.
Identify and demonstrate some familiarity with a range of major authors (female and male) and major works from both Western and non-Western literatures and from various time periods.
2.
Recognize how literary works are related to the cultures and historical epochs from which they spring, understanding the ways in which literary differences may reflect cultural differences and the ways in which disparate works may share some common human elements.
3.
Understand why a particular literary text is important to its own culture and epoch and what can make it significant to us as well.
4.
Recognize how literature makes use of culturallyspecific myths and symbols, and be able to identify such myths and symbols in a diverse array of literary texts.
Goal 4: Recognize literature’s capacity to cultivate imagination and growth in self-knowledge, to nurture empathy, and to provide insights into various fields of

knowledge and aspects of life.
Objectives:
1.
Recognize literature’s capacity to illuminate and impact personal experience, understanding, and values.
2.
Describe how literature can enable one to identify with others by inhabiting fictional points of view and thereby affect the nature of one’s own empathy and knowledge of others.
3.
Employ literature to expand one’s understanding of contemporary society, past civilizations, and cultural traditions different from their own.
4.
Recognize and identify relationships between literature and other disciplines, such as the visual and performing arts, sociology, religion, law, history, or philosophy.
Foreign Language or Literature in Translation (C.3)
Goals Objectives
Courses:
FLAN 102, Language Study
II
FLAN 150, Intermediate
JAPN 102, College Japanese
II
JAPN 150, Intermediate
Language Study Japanese
MAND 102, College
FREN 102, College French II
Mandarin II
FREN 150, Intermediate
French
MAND 150, Intermediate
Mandarin
FREN 200, Culture and
Communication
SPAN 102, College Spanish
II
FREN 201, Conversation and SPAN 150, Intermediate
Composition I Spanish
FREN 202, Conversation and SPAN 155, Interm. Span for
Composition II Span Speakers
FREN 290, French Literature
SPAN 212, Composition in English
SPAN 213, Composition for
GER 102, College German II
Span Speakers.

GER 150, Intermediate
German
SPAN 214, Conversation
SPAN 290, Span. & Latin
GER 212, Composition
Am. Lit. in English
GER 214, Conversation
GER 216, Introduction to the
Literary Text
GER 290, German Literature in English
Students completing the Humanities Breath Area C-3 will be able to do the following:
Goal 1. Communicate in the foreign language in a culturally appropriate manner.
Objectives:
1.
Engage in conversation, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions in the foreign language.
2.
Understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.
3.
Present information, concepts and ideas in the foreign language to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and English.
Goal 2. Enhance their critical thinking skills by constructing a perspective of culture(s) other than their own.
Objectives:
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture(s) studied.
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship

between the products and perspectives of the culture(s) studied.
3.
Apply analytical skills in a language other than their own.
4.
Differentiate and integrate ways to appreciate similarities and differences between cultures, including gender and social issues.
5.
Acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints only available through the foreign language and its culture(s)
6.
Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of culture through comparison with U.S. culture(s)
Students completing the Literatures in Translation 290 in the Humanities Breath Area C-3 will be able to do the following:
Goal 1. Differentiate and integrate objective and subjective responses to literature and the arts of non-English speaking culture(s).
Objectives:
1.
Comprehend a variety of literary texts translated in
English from other cultures;
2.
Interpret meaning in literary texts translated from other languages and cultures;
3.
Situate literary texts as productions emanating from specific social, historical, intellectual and cultural settings;
4.
Appraise the significance of the literary text to contemporary life in the U.S.A.;
5.
Differentiate and integrate ways to appreciate similarities and differences between cultures, including gender and social issues.
Philosophy (C.4) Goals and Objectives

Courses:
Phil 190: Introduction to Philosophical Issues
Phil 191: Introduction to Ethics
Phil 192: Introduction to Philosophy of Religion
Phil. 193: Introduction to Eastern Philosophy
Phil. 194: Introduction to Knowledge and Reality
Students who complete Humanities Breadth Area C4
(Philosophy) will be able to:
Goal 1: Develop the ability to reason and argue philosophically; develop in students the skills and dispositions of analysis and argument
Objectives:
1.
Apply the basic skills of critical thinking, and in particular argument analysis, to fundamental problems in philosophy
2.
Be able to write a coherent essay analyzing, assessing and constructing cogent arguments for and/or against philosophical positions.
3.
Apply the basic skills of oral communication through active well-reasoned philosophical dialogue in classroom discussion.
Goal 2: Challenge students to question deeply held assumptions and beliefs regarding the fundamental philosophical issues of knowledge, reality and /or values;
Objectives:
1.
Recognize assumptions and beliefs which determine one's own philosophical perspective
2.
Recognize and accurately describe the underlying assumptions and beliefs inherent in some central philosophical traditions
3.
Distinguish questions of knowledge (epistemology) from questions of reality (metaphysics);

4.
Distinguish issues of faith from knowledge claims;
5.
Distinguish questions of fact or theory from questions of values
Goal 3: Introduce students to some of the major traditions of philosophical ideas and analysis from either western or nonwestern philosophy, from the ancient, modern or contemporary period
Objectives:
1.
Accurately describe the theories and arguments of some major philosophers and philosophical traditions
2.
Be able to locate these traditions within the wider context of the history of ideas (Describe how a philosophical tradition developed within the context of a particular historical period)
3.
Cogently compare and discuss contrasting views in some area(s) of philosophy
Integrative Capstone in the Humanities (C.5) Goals
Objectives
Courses:
C5. Integrative Capstone in the Humanities. Four units chosen from:
HUM 319. Myth, Metaphor and Symbol (4)
HUM 325. Perspectives on Gender (also counts in category G) (4)
HUM 330. Arts and Ideas (4)
HUM 335. The Origin and Contemporary Role of Latino
Culture (also counts in category G) (4) HUM 340.
Interpretation and Values (4)
HUM 344. Ideas in American Culture (4)
HUM 370. African Heritage in the Arts (also counts in category G) (4)
HUM 380. Comparative Studies in the Arts: East and West
(also counts in category G) (4)
HUM 385. A Cultural History of Fashion (4)

Upon completion of the Integrative Capstone Requirement in Humanities (C5), students will be able to:
Goal 1: Understand the interrelationships among disciplines and their applications to contemporary complex environments.
Objectives:
1.
Recognize the relationships and dependencies between two (or more) disciplines, such as the relationship between developments in science and those in the arts; developments in biology or psychology and those in literature or philosophy;
2.
Demonstrate an ability to apply knowledge of the discipline(s) in question to contemporary problems and issues (for example: recognize the social and moral implications of our current understanding of global warming)
Goal 2: Extend, apply and integrate basic skills such as critical thinking, composition, oral communication, and mathematics.
Objectives:
1.
Critically reason about the interrelationships among the disciplines and their applications to contemporary environments;
2.
Construct well-reasoned essays discussing the interrelations among the disciplines and applications of the disciplines to contemporary problems and environments;
3.
Where appropriate, use mathematical skills
(numerical, graphical, symbolic) to support or criticize arguments;
Goal 3: Consider timely (important) issues and subject matter not encountered within lower division courses or within the confines of upper division courses within

specific disciplines;
Objectives:
1.
Recognize and be able to summarize and discuss the issues presented;
Goal 4: Where appropriate to the specific theme of the course, incorporate multicultural and/or international issues from a comparative perspective that goes beyond a single country, culture or social system;
Objectives:
1.
Be able to identify and describe cultural and social perspectives from those cultures and societies discussed in the course;
Goal 5: Where appropriate to the specific theme of the course, include perspectives on human behavior, gender roles, and human sexuality as they relate to the theme topic.
Objectives:
1.
Recognize the diversity of perspectives and behaviors as regards gender roles and human sexuality in relation to the topics discussed in the course;
2.
Demonstrate ability to cogently and rationally discuss the moral and social issues surrounding gender and human sexuality
Goal 6: Where appropriate to the theme of the course, consider cultural, technological and organizational developments in relation to the theme topic.
Objectives:
1.
Accurately describe technological and organizational aspects of the topics covered in the course;

2.
Cogently discuss the ethical and practical implications of the implementation of technological developments in relation to the topic.
Note: These goals and objectives are written to express the intent of the GE document (p. 22). As written, the criteria suggest reinforcement of all basic skills, which include writing, critical thinking and oral communication. Courses taught in the large lecture format pose an interesting dilemma for those who wish to genuinely reinforce these skills. Thus, for those reading these goals and objectives, it is important to think carefully about what we believe these courses are to accomplish. How can courses taught in this format achieve these goals? (C.2 Revised 11-02)
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
GENERAL
EDUCATION BREADTH AREA (D)
OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
CSBS GE Breadth Area (D) Outcomes Assessment
Committee
Lanny American History and
Fields Civilization (D1)
Scot American Institutions
Zentner (D2)
Jeff Hackel World Cultures (D3)
Carolyn
Aldana
Michael
Lewin
Discipline Perspectives
(D4)
Integrative Capstone
(D5)
American History and Civilization (D.1) Goals and
Objectives
Courses
D1. American History and Civilization. Four units chosen from
HIST 146. American Civilization (4)
HIST 200. United States History to 1877 (4)

HIST 201. United States History, 1877 to the Present (4)
After the completion of the American history and civilization requirement (D1), students will be able to
Goal 1. Understand key social, economic, cultural, and political themes in American history.
Objectives
1.
Describe a significant social, economic, cultural, or political theme in a two- decade or longer period of
American history.
2.
Name three key figures in American cultural history.
3.
List three social consequences of industrialization in American history. 4. List two causes and two consequences of either the American Civil War, the
War for Independence, or World War I.
Goal 2. Understand the various contributions of ethnic and gender groups in American history.
Objectives
1.
Name two leaders of an ethnic minority group in
American history.
2.
Describe the contributions of women to either the abolition of slavery movement or the women's suffrage movement in American history.
3.
Compare two civil rights movements and their political or constitutional issues in American history.
Goal 3. Understand the historical contexts of contemporary issues and conditions in America.
Objectives
1.
Describe two foreign policy issues that echo a

current foreign policy issue.
2.
Describe two domestic policy issues that echo a current domestic issue.
3.
Compare immigration policies in an earlier era with immigration policies today.
4.
Name two people who helped develop a particular cultural movement or genre (jazz, blues, impressionism, modernism, romanticism …).
American Institutions (D.2) Goals and Objectives
Courses
D2. American Institutions
PSCI 203. American Government (4)
Note: The American history, constitution, state and local government requirement may be met by taking
PSCI 203. American Government and one of the following
HIST 146. American Civilization
HIST 200. United States History to 1877
HIST 201. United States History, 1877 to the Present
After the completion of the American Institutions requirement (D2), students will be able to
Goal 1. Understand the foundation and development of
American political principles.
Objectives
1.
Identify the key elements of the Declaration of
Independence and to evaluate the principles of the
American Revolution.
2.
Identify the main parts of the U.S. Constitution and to evaluate the principles of the American
Founding.
Goal 2. Understand the elements of democratic-republican government and politics under the U.S. Constitution.
Objectives

1.
Assess American national government institutions
(i.e., Congress, the president, and the federal courts and bureaucracies).
2.
Evaluate American national political institutions
(i.e., political parties, interest groups, and the media).
3.
Identify the rights and obligations of citizens in the democratic-republican system established under the
U.S. Constitution.
4.
Recognize the issues of race, religion, ethnicity, and sex and their place within the development of
American political institutions and the understanding of American political principles.
Goal 3. Understand the elements of California state and local government.
Objectives
1.
Assess the law- and policy-making process under the California Constitution.
2.
Evaluate the principal institutions of California government, including state, county, and city governments, and special districts.
3.
Recognize the relationships between governments and the resolution of conflicts in the American federal system.
World Cultures (D.3) Goals and Objectives
Courses
D3. World Cultures. Four units chosen from
ANTH 140. World Civilizations I, the Rise of Civilization
(4)
HIST 140. World Civilizations I, the Rise of Civilization
(4)
HIST 142. World Civilizations II, the Civilizations of the
East and West (4)

HIST 144. World Civilizations III, the Expansion of
Europe (4)
SSCI 165. Regions and Peoples of the World (4)
After the completion of the World Cultures requirement
(D3), students will be able to
Goal 1. Understand the concepts of culture and civilization.
Objectives
1.
Define the terms culture and civilization.
2.
Compare and contrast the concepts of culture and civilization.
Goal 2. Understand the process of cultural change.
Objectives
1.
Name and discuss the contribution of important individuals who played key roles in the development of a selected culture or civilization.
2.
List possible consequences of cultural interaction.
3.
Discuss why civilizations might rise or fall.
Goal 3. To recognize cultural variation.
Objectives
1. Describe how the "cultural landscape" of two countries differ based on a selected factor (e.g., history, architecture, agricultural, economic population density)
2. Discuss the role of art and artists in a selected culture.
3. Examine class structure, gender and/or ethnic roles in a selected culture.

Discipline Perspectives (D.4) Goals and Objectives
Courses
D4. Discipline Perspectives. Four units chosen from
ANTH 100. Introduction to AnthropologyHuman
Evolution (4)
ANTH 102. Introduction to AnthropologyCulture and
Society (4)
ECON 104. Economics of Social Issues (4)
ES 100. Ethnicity and Race in America (4)
GEOG 100. Introduction to Human Geography (4)
PSCI 100. Introduction to Political Science (4)
PSYC 100. Introduction to Psychology (4)
SOC 100. The Study of Society (4)
WSTD 200. Introduction to Women's Studies (4)
Upon completion of the discipline perspectives requirement (D4), students will be able to
Goal 1. Identify prevailing theories, areas, principles, and methods of inquiry of social science in one of the disciplines (Anthropology, Economics, Ethnic Studies,
Geography, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology).
Objectives
1.
Describe the basic approaches used in the chosen discipline.
2.
Identify the principle areas of the chosen discipline.
3.
Restate the basic terms and concepts used in the major theoretical approaches of that discipline.
Goal 2. Understand the approaches within the chosen discipline to analyze social issues and evaluate solutions.
Objectives
1.
Describe aspects of social issues that are analyzed within the context of the various theories.
2.
Evaluate aspects of social issues within the contexts of the various theories.

3.
Identify the factors related to the relevant issues of race, ethnicity, or gender within the context of the chosen discipline.
Social Science Integrated Capstone (D.5) Goals and
Objectives
Courses
D5. Integrative Capstone in the Social and Behavioral
Sciences. Four units chosen from
SSCI 300. Nonwestern World (4)
SSCI 304. Contemporary Latin America (4)
SSCI 315. Cultural Adaptation: The Quest for Survival (4)
SSCI 316. Race and Racism (also counts in category G)
(4)
SSCI 320. Understanding Capitalism (4)
SSCI 321. Urbanization and the Urban Environment (4)
SSCI 325. Perspectives on Gender (also counts in category
G) (4)
SSCI 343. Understanding Socialism (4)
SSCI 345. Religious Expression in America (4)
SSCI 350. Roots of Modern Racism in America (also counts in category G) (4)
After the completion of the Social Science Integrated
Capstone (D5) requirement, students will be able to
Goal 1. Develop an understanding of the effects of societal/inter-societal factors from the social sciences (e.g., anthropology, criminal justice, economics, geography, history, psychology, political science, sociology) as they affect contemporary social issues.
Objectives
1.
Identify specific factors from the social sciences
(e.g., anthropology, criminal justice, economics, geography, history, psychology, political science, or sociology) as they relate to contemporary social issues.
2.
Analyze a specific social science issue from a multidisciplinary perspective.
3.
Identify key historical sociopolitical events that

have influenced past and contemporary social issues.
Goal 2. Develop an understanding of how cultural, economic, religious, political, and social structures/practices affect the standing of various groups in the United States or in countries/cultures abroad.
Objectives
1.
Identify key factors of social class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or gender that have affected access in the opportunity structure of the United
States or countries/cultures abroad over time.
2.
Analyze how these factors social class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or gender have affected access in the opportunity structure of the United
States or countries/cultures abroad over time.
North Park University (Chicago)
The General Education program is the core of the curriculum, foundational for all students and all areas of study and vocation. In its concern with ultimate questions, the development of the person, responsibility to society, and the integration of understanding across disciplinary lines, the program reflects the distinctive values of the
Christian liberal arts university. In its concern with basic skills of thinking and communication, the program is directed toward practical success in the wide variety of occupations and roles that our graduates enter.
In accordance with the stated Mission of North Park, we intend the entire student experience, including both curricular and co-curricular activities to achieve the following learning outcomes. These are stated with the understanding that learning outcomes can only be developed in a content-rich environment, and that academic outcomes are best formed as students attempt to enter into the community of scholars in a variety of disciplines.
A list of learning outcomes is an inadequate way to convey the whole of a person’s formal education, let alone the whole of one’s life. The arrangement of the learning outcomes as presented here is not to suggest a hierarchical or sequential relationship. As one reflects on who one is, one should come to realize what one needs to know.
Acquiring that knowledge may prompt one to action, but it may also prompt further reflection.




Introspection: examining who one is and who one should become.
Wellness: Physical and psychological well being.
Character: Moral and ethical maturity.
Faith: spiritual maturity.




Learning: a deep commitment to and pleasure in the acquisition of information and knowledge.
Responsibility: the ability to monitor, direct and take ownership for one’s own learning.
Inquiry: the ability to use a variety of means for acquiring knowledge and constructing meaning.
Analysis: the ability to evaluate information, knowledge claims and beliefs.

 Aesthetics: appreciation and understanding of different kinds of aesthetic experience.




Collegiality: ability to work respectfully with others, including people who are not like you.
Communication: the ability to convey your beliefs, ideas and feelings to others in a variety of ways and media and the ability to understand others communicating with you.
Problem Solving: the ability to take one’s knowledge and skills and apply them to solving a problem.
Social Responsibility: Desire to work with others in creating a better world.
General education requirements for students entering prior to Fall 2002
General education requirements for students entering during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 academic year
General education requirements for students entering Fall 2004 and after
Montgomery College (see link to their online Gen Ed Competency Questionnaire)
GENERAL EDUCATION OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT
1. Written and oral communication:
Competency in written and oral communication includes the ability to communicate effectively in verbal and written language, the ability to use a variety of modern information resources and supporting technologies, the ability to differentiate content from style of presentation, and the ability to suit content and style to the purpose of communication.
2. Scientific and quantitative reasoning:
Competency in scientific and quantitative reasoning includes the ability to locate, identify, collect, organize, analyze and interpret data, and the ability to use mathematics and the scientific method of inquiry to make decisions, where appropriate.
3. Critical analysis and reasoning:
Competency in critical analysis and reasoning includes the ability to arrive at reasoned and supportable conclusions using sound research techniques, including inference, analysis and interpretation.
4. Technological competency:
Technological competency includes the ability to use computer technology and appropriate software applications to produce documentation, quantitative data presentations and functional graphical presentations appropriate to various academic and professional settings.
5. Information literacy:
Information literacy includes the ability to identify, locate and effectively use information from various print and electronic sources.

Online General Education Competency Questionnaire at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/departments/outcomes/gen_ed.htm#timetable
California State, Los Angeles (see link to the General Education Assessment plan, too) http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/aa/ugs/geassess/geplan.htm
Assessment of Learning Outcomes for General Education
Goal 1. Students can integrate and express ideas in written and oral forms in
English.
Objective 1. Students demonstrate mastery of basic written and oral communication, including the ability to read and listen with understanding and critical discernment.
Goal 2. Students can reason critically across a variety of disciplines.
Objective 1. Students develop habits of critical inquiry and mastery of critical thinking skills.
Objective 2. Students demonstrate understanding of analysis, criticism, and advocacy in the context of both deductive and inductive reasoning.
Objective 3. Students demonstrate the ability to identify relevant factors needed to make a decision, solve a problem, or produce cogent reasoning.
Goal 3. Students understand basic mathematical concepts and apply quantitative reasoning.
Objective 1. Students regard quantitative reasoning not simply as a set of techniques, but as a way to think, reason, and conceptualize.
Objective 2. Students can perform computations and symbolic manipulations.
Objective 3. Students can apply quantitative reasoning to interpret information and solve problems.
Goal 4. Students have the knowledge, abilities, and values necessary for participation in American society and government.
Objective 1. Students demonstrate an understanding of the historical development of American political and social institutions and ideals.

Objective 2. Students demonstrate the knowledge, abilities, and values relevant to the democratic political systems established under the U.S. and California constitutions.
Objective 3. Students demonstrate recognition of the contributions made by major national, ethnic, and social groups to the historical development of American ideals and the contexts in which those contributions were made.
Goal 5. Students understand the distinct perspectives and major achievements in the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the arts and humanities.
Objective 1. Students demonstrate basic knowledge of the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the arts and humanities, and an appreciation of their interrelationships.
Objective 2. Students understand and apply the methodologies of the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the arts and humanities.
Objective 3. Students demonstrate an understanding of how the distinct perspectives of the major disciplines enrich their lives and foster intellectual curiosity.
Goal 6. Students understand and appreciate diversity, and develop a greater awareness of ethical and social concerns, and respect for others.
Objective1. Students can analyze similarities and differences among individuals and groups, including those based upon race, ethnicity, class, gender and social concerns.
Objective 2. Students develop greater sensitivity to perspectives and cultures other than their own.
Objective 3. Students develop skill in recognizing, analyzing and resolving ethical and social problems.
Goal 7. Students have knowledge and skills for lifelong understanding and selfdevelopment.
Objective 1. Students understand the relationship of self to others and their environments.
Objective 2. Students demonstrate an understanding of the ways humans adapt to a diverse and changing global environment.

Goal 8. Students understand the topic of an Upper Division Theme from the perspectives of three different disciplines: the natural sciences and mathematics, the social sciences, and the arts and humanities.
Objective 1. Students demonstrate how the disciplines applied together contribute to a fuller knowledge of the theme topic.
Objective 2. Students demonstrate how study of the theme topic promotes the goals of General Education.
Binghamton University (see link to assessment plan) http://provost.binghamton.edu/assessment/
(Revised 10/23/03)
C requirement - Composition
Students in C courses will demonstrate
1.
The ability to write effectively and coherently, in ways appropriate to the discipline and the level of the course.
2.
The ability to revise and improve their writing in both form and content.
O requirement - Oral Communication
Students in O courses will demonstrate
1.
Proficiency in oral presentations.
2.
The ability to improve oral presentations in response to critiques.
3.
Skill in listening to and critiquing oral presentations.
Foreign Language Requirement
Students who satisfy the Foreign Language requirement will demonstrate:
1.
Basic proficiency in the understanding and use of a foreign language.

2.
Knowledge of the distinctive features of cultures(s) associated with the languages they are studying.
G requirement - Global Interdependencies
1.
Students in G courses will demonstrate knowledge of central characteristics of western societies (i.e., those in Europe and North America) as they developed and/or continue to develop in dynamic interaction with other regions of the world and in the context of global systems of economic and/or cultural exchange.
2.
For western societies, students will demonstrate knowledge of long-term patterns of development or knowledge of broad issues or aspects that are foundational to the West.
3.
For nonwestern societies, students will demonstrate knowledge of central characteristics of one or more nonwestern civilizations.

P requirement - Pluralism in the United States
Students in all P courses will demonstrate an understanding of
1.
United States society from the perspective of three or more groups that constitute that society, including at least three of the following groups: African Americans,
Asian Americans, European Americans, Latino Americans, and Native
Americans.
2.
How these groups have affected and been affected by basic institutions of
American society, such as commerce, family, legal and political structures, or religion.
In addition, students who have not scored 85 or above on the New York State Regents examination in United States history (or its equivalent) must take a P course where they also will demonstrate knowledge of:
3.
An historical narrative of the United States and its institutions over a period of at least a century, including connections to prior and subsequent periods, with this narrative including several themes that have shaped the development of American society, such as the struggle for democracy, citizenship, racial and gender inequality, religious freedom, and civil rights; the conflicts that have erupted over these issues; and the consensus, if any, that has been reached on each of them.
4.
How the history of the United States relates to the history of at least two other regions of the world, as a means of understanding America's evolving relationship with the rest of the world.
A requirement - Aesthetics
Students in A courses will demonstrate an understanding of the creative process and the role of imagination and aesthetic judgment in at least one principal form of artistic expression in such fields as art, art history, cinema, creative writing, dance, graphic design, music, and theater.
H requirement - Humanities
Students in H courses will demonstrate an understanding of human experience though the study of literature or philosophy.
L requirement - Laboratory Science

Students in L courses will demonstrate
1.
Understanding of the methods scientists use to explore natural phenomena, including the formulation and testing of hypotheses and the collection, analysis and interpretation of data.
2.
Knowledge of concepts and models in one of the sciences.
N requirement - Social Sciences
Students in N courses will demonstrate
1.
Knowledge of major concepts, models, and issues (and their interrelationships) of at least one of the social sciences: anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, or sociology.
2.
An understanding of the methods used by social scientists to explore social phenomena, including, when appropriate to the discipline, observation, hypothesis development, measurement and data collection, experimentation, evaluation of evidence, and analysis by mathematics or other interpretive frameworks.
M requirement - Mathematics/Reasoning
Students in M courses will demonstrate competence in an area such as calculus, symbolic logic, the logic of computers, the logic of deductive and inductive reasoning, or probability and statistical inference.
S requirement - Wellness
Students in S courses will demonstrate knowledge of such topics as diet and nutrition, physical development, substance abuse, human sexuality, stress and stress reduction techniques, relaxation methods, or the characteristics that define physical, mental or emotional fitness/wellness
Y requirement - Physical Activity

Students in Y courses will demonstrate one or more of the following attributes: neuromuscular coordination, muscular strength and muscular endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, or flexibility.
Minnesota State University—Mankato (You can access their General Education booklet at http://www.mnsu.edu/acadaf/pdfs/04-05CDGenEd.pdf
)
C
ATEGORY
1: C
OMMUNICATION
Goal : To develop writers and speakers who use the English language effectively and who read, write, speak, and listen critically. At a base, all students should complete introductory communication requirements early in their college studies.
Writing competency is an ongoing process to be reinforced through writing-intensive courses and writing across the curriculum. Speaking and listening skills need reinforcement.
There are multiple opportunities for interpersonal communication, public speaking and discussion.
Part A: English Composition
(requires one course, 3 credits or more, with a grade of at least “P” or “C”)
Goal : To develop writers who use the English language effectively and who read and write critically. This course
2 Cultural Diversity: * = Core, ^ = Related will require faculty-critiqued writing. Writing competency is an ongoing process which needs to be reinforced throughout the curriculum.
Students will be able to:
(a) demonstrate and practice strategies for idea generation, audience analysis, organization of texts, drafting, evaluation of drafts, revision, and editing;
(b) write papers of varying lengths that demonstrate effective explanation, analysis, and argumentation;
(c) become experienced in computer-assisted writing and research;
(d) locate and evaluate material, using PALS, the Internet, and other sources;
(e) analyze and synthesize source material, making appropriate use of paraphrase, summary, quotation, and ci-
3 Cultural Diversity: * = Core, ^ = Related tation conventions;
(f) employ syntax and usage appropriate to academic writing and the professional world.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
ENG 101
Part B: Speech and Oral Reasoning
(requires one course, 3 credits or more)
Goal: To develop skills necessary for reasoned communication.
Courses in this category will require individual public speaking which is critiques by the instructor. Speaking and reasoning competency is an ongoing process which needs to be reinforced throughout the curriculum.
Students will be able to:
(a) understand/demonstrate communication processes through invention, organization, drafting, revision, editing and presentation;

(b) participate effectively in groups with emphasis on listening, critical and reflective thinking, and responding;
(c) analyze, evaluate, and synthesize in a responsible manner material from diverse sources and points of view.
(d) select appropriate communication choices for specific audiences;
(e) construct logical and coherent arguments;
(f) use authority, point of view, and individual voice and style in communications;
(g) employ syntax, usage and analytical techniques appropriate to academic disciplines and the professional world.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
CDIS 201 SPEE 100 SPEE 102 SPEE 212
SPEE 233
Part C: Writing Intensive
(requires one course, 3 or more credits)
Goal: Students will continue to develop skills taught in Composition, applying them in the context of a particular discipline.
Students will be able to:
(a) use writing to explore and gain a basic familiarity with the questions, values and analytical or critical thinking methods used in the discipline;
(b) locate, analyze, evaluate, and use source material or data in their writing in a manner appropriate to intended audiences (popular or within the discipline).
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
ANTH 250^ BIOL 103 BIOL 105 COMS 202
ECON 314^ EEC 222* ENG 112^ ENG 113^
ENG 211* ENG 212^ ENG 213 ENG 242
ENG 301 ETHN 201* ETHN 202* ETHN 203*
ETHN 204* FREN 302 GEOG 210 HIST 170W^
HIST 171W HIST 180* HIST 190W HIST 191W
HUM 250 HUM 280 HUM 281* HUM 282^
KSP 220* PHIL 100 PHIL 115* PHIL 120*
PHIL 205^ PHIL 222^ PHIL 224^ PHIL 226
PHIL 240 PHIL 322 PHIL 334 PHIL 336
PHIL 358^ POL 103 POL 107 PSYC 103
REHB 110* SOC 101 SOWK 190^ SPEE 101
THEA 285* URBS 230 WOST 120
C
ATEGORY
2: C
RITICAL
T
HINKING
(requires completion of the rest of the Gen. Ed. Program or one course)
Goal: To develop critical thinking, communication, and problem solving skills. Courses in this category must focus on skill development and throughout the course will provide opportunities to exercise skills. Although the exercise of skills requires a subject matter, the emphasis in this category will be on skill development. The skills will not be ones that are specific to the practice of a particular discipline or area of inquiry but rather will be skills that are common to different disciplines and different areas of inquiry.
Students will be able to:
(a) gather and analyze information of various kinds, employing formal or informal tools to represent information in ways useful for solving problems;
(b) weigh evidence for and against hypotheses;

(c) recognize, construct, and evaluate arguments;
(d) apply appropriate critical and evaluative principles to texts, documents, or works--one’s own or others’--in oral, visual, or written mediums.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
AST 115 CHEM 111 CHEM 133 CHEM 201
CSP 110 HLTH 212 PHIL 110 PHIL 112
PHIL 311 PHYS 211 PHYS 221 POL 103
PSYC 103
C
ATEGORY
3: N
ATURAL
S
CIENCE
(requires two courses from different disciplines, 6 credits or more. At least one course must have a laboratory)
Goal: To improve students’ understanding of natural science principles and of the methods of scientific inquiry, i.e., the ways in which scientists investigate natural science phenomena.
Students should be encouraged to study both the biological and physical sciences.
Students will be able to:
(a) develop understanding of scientific theories;
(b) formulate and test hypotheses in either laboratory, simulation, or field experiences;
(c) communicate his/her experimental findings and interpretations both orally and in writing;
(d) apply the natural science perspective to society issues.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
ANTH 220^-L AST 101 AST 102 AST 104-L
AST 115 BIOL 100-L BIOL 102* BIOL 103
BIOL 105-L BIOL 270-L CHEM 100 CHEM 101
4 Cultural Diversity: * = Core, ^ = Related
CHEM 106 CHEM 111-L CHEM 131 CHEM 132
CHEM 134 CHEM 201-L EET 112-L FCS 140
GEOG 101 GEOL 100-L GEOL 121-L GEOL 122-L
PHYS 100^-L PHYS 101-L PHYS 102 PHYS 105-L
PHYS 107 PHYS 110-L PHYS 211-L PHYS 221-L
C
ATEGORY
4: M
ATHEMATICAL
/L
OGICAL
R
EASONING
(requires one course, 3 credits or more, with a grade of at least “P” or “C”)
Goal: To increase students’ knowledge about mathematical and logical modes of thinking. This will enable students to appreciate the breadth of applications of mathematics, evaluate arguments, and detect fallacious reasoning. Students will learn to apply mathematics, logic, and/or statistics to help them make decisions in their lives and careers.
Students will be able to:
(a) illustrate historical and contemporary applications of mathematical/logical systems;
(b) clearly express mathematical/logical ideas in writing;
(c) explain what constitutes a valid mathematical/logical argument (proof);
(d) apply higher-order problem-solving and/or modeling strategies.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
MATH 110 MATH 112 MATH 113 MATH 115
MATH 121 MATH 130 MATH 180 MATH 181
MATH 184 MATH 201 PHIL 110 PHIL 112
PHIL 311 SOC 202 STAT 154

C
ATEGORY
5: H
ISTORY AND THE
S
OCIAL AND
B
EHAVIORAL
S
CIENCES
(requires two courses from different disciplines, 6 credits or more)
Goal: To increase students’ knowledge of how historians and social and behavioral scientists discover, describe, and explain the behaviors and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, events and ideas. To challenge students to examine the implications of this knowledge and its interconnection with action and living an informed life.
Students will be able to:
(a) employ the methods and data that historians and social and behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition;
(b) examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures;
(c) use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories;
(d) develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
ANTH 101^ ANTH 102 ANTH 240^ ANTH 250
CORR 106 CORR 132 CORR 255 ECON 100
ECON 201 ECON 202 ECON 314^ ETHN 100*
ETHN 101* ETHN 201* ETHN 203* ETHN 204*
ETHN 140* FCS 100 GEOG 103^ HIST 151*
HIST 153 HIST 154 HIST 155* HIST 170^
HIST 170W^ HIST 171^ HIST 171W^ HIST 180*
HIST 181 HIST 190* HIST 190W* HIST 191*
HIST 191W* HLTH 310 KSP 235 LAWE 132
MRKT 100 POL 100 POL 104 POL 111
PSYC 101 PSYC 206 SOC 100* SOC 101^
SOC 102 SOC 208* SOC 255 SOWK 190^
SOWK 255^ URBS 100^ URBS 150 WOST 110*
WOST 240
C
ATEGORY
6: H
UMANITIES AND THE
A
RTS
(requires two courses from different disciplines, 6 credits or more)
Goal: To expand students’ knowledge of the human condition and human cultures, especially in relation to behavior, ideas, and values expressed in works of human imagination and thought. Through study in disciplines such as literature, philosophy, the fine arts, students will engage in critical analysis, form aesthetic judgments, and develop an appreciation of the arts and humanities as fundamental to the health and survival of any society. Students should have experiences in both the arts and humanities.
Students will be able to:
(a) demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities;
(b) understand those works as expressions of individual and human values within an historical and social context;
(c) respond critically to works in the arts and humanities;
(d) engage in the creative process or interpretive performance;
(e) articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:

ART 100 ART 160^ ART 231 ART 260^
ART 261^ ART 275 ENG 110 ENG 112^
ENG 113^ ENG 114 ENG 211* ENG 212^
ENG 213 ENG 214 HUM 150^ HUM 151^
HUM 155^ HUM 156 HUM 250 HUM 280
HUM 281* HUM 282^ KSP 251* MUS 120^
MUS 125* MUS 126* PHIL 100 PHIL 115*
PHIL 120* PHIL 205^ PHIL 222^ PHIL 224^
PHIL 240 PHIL 321^ PHIL 322 PHIL 334
PHIL 336 PHIL 337 PHIL 358^ SPEE 310
THEA 100^ THEA 101 THEA 115 THEA 285*
URBS 110 WOST 251*
C
ATEGORY
7: H
UMAN
D
IVERSITY
(requires one course, 3 credits or more)
Goal: To increase students’ understanding of individual and group differences, emphasizing the dynamics of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, class, and/or disabilities in the history and culture of diverse groups in the United States; the contributions of pluralism to United States society and culture; and
5 Cultural Diversity: * = Core, ^ = Related issues--economic, political, social, cultural, artistic, humanistic, and education traditions--that surround such diversity. Students should be able to evaluate the United States’ historical and contemporary responses to group differences.
Students will be able to:
(a) understand the development of and the changing meanings of group identities in the
(b) demonstrate an awareness of the individual and institution dynamics of unequal power relations between groups in contemporary society;
(c) analyze and evaluate their own attitudes, behaviors, concepts, and beliefs regarding diversity, racism, and bigotry;
(d) describe and discuss the experience and contributions
(political, social, economic, artistic, humanistic, etc.) of the many groups that shape American society and culture, in particular those groups which have suffered discrimination and exclusion;
(e) demonstrate communication skills necessary for living and working effectively in a society with great population diversity.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
CDIS 290* EEC 222* ENG 211* ETHN 100*
ETHN 101* ETHN 150* ETHN 200* ETHN 201*
ETHN 202* ETHN 203* ETHN 204* GERO 200*
HIST 151* HIST 155* HIST 190* HIST 190W*
HIST 191* HIST 191W* HUM 281* KSP 220*
KSP 251* MUS 125* MUS 126* PHIL 115*
POL 102* REHB 110* SOC 100* SOC 208*
SPEE 203* THEA 285* WOST 110* WOST 251*
C
ATEGORY
8: G
LOBAL
P
ERSPECTIVE
(requires one course, 3 credits or more)
Goal:
To increase students’ understanding of the growing interdependence of nations, traditions and peoples and develop their ability to apply a comparative perspective to crosscultural social, economic, and political experiences.

Students will be able to:
(a) describe, analyze, and evaluate political, economic, humanistic, artistic, social and cultural elements which influence relations of nations and peoples in their historical and contemporary dimensions;
(b) demonstrate knowledge of cultural, social, religious and linguistic differences;
(c) analyze specific international problems illustrating cultural, economic, artistic, humanistic, social, and political differences which affect their solution;
(d) understand the role of a world citizen and the responsibility world citizens share for their common global future.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
ANTH 101^ ANTH 230^ ANTH 240^ ART 160^
ART 260^ ART 261^ BIOL 201^ CDIS 206
CDIS 207 ECON 314^ EET 125^ ENG 212^
ENVR 101 FREN 101 FREN 102 FREN 201
FREN 202 GEOG 100^ GEOG 103^ GER 101
GER 102 GER 201 GER 202 HIST 153
HIST 170^ HIST 170W^ HIST 171^ HIST 171W^
HIST 181 HUM 155^ HUM 156 HUM 282^
PHIL 205^ PHIL 358^ POL 106^ SCAN 101
SCAN 102 SCAN 111 SCAN 112 SOC 101^
SOWK 255^ SPAN 101 SPAN 102 SPAN 201
SPAN 202 SPEE 203* THEA 225* URBS 100^
WOST 220*
C
ATEGORY
9: E
THICAL AND
C
IVIC
R
ESPONSIBILITY
(requires one course, 3 credits or more)
Goal:
To develop students’ capacity to identify, discuss and reflect upon the ethical dimensions of political, social, and personal life and to understand the ways in which they can exercise responsible and productive citizenship. While there are diverse views of social justice or the common good in a pluralistic society, students should learn that responsible citizenship requires them to develop skills to understand their own and others positions, be part of the free exchange of ideas, and function as public minded citizens.
Students will be able to:
(a) examine, articulate, and apply their own ethical views;
(b) understand and apply core concepts (e.g. politics, rights and obligations, justice, liberty) to specific issues;
(c) analyze and reflect on the ethical dimensions of legal, social, and scientific issues;
(d) recognize the diversity of political motivations and interests of others;
(e) identify ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
BLAW 131^ CHEM 131 CORR 106 CORR 250
CORR 255 ENG 213 HIST 180* KSP 101
KSP 250 MASS 110^ PHIL 120* PHIL 222^
PHIL 224^ PHIL 226 PHIL 240 PHIL 321^
PHIL 322 POL 101 POL 107 POL 111
SOC 255 SOWK 190^ SPEE 300 URBS 230
WOST 120 WOST 220*

C
ATEGORY
10: P
EOPLE AND THE
E
NVIRONMENT
(requires one course, 3 credits or more)
Goal: To increase students’ understanding of today’s complex environmental challenges. Students will examine the interrelatedness of human society and the natural environment.
Knowledge of both bio-physical principles and psychosocial cultural systems is the foundation for integrative and critical thinking about environmental issues.
Students will be able to:
(a) explain the basic structure and function of various natu-
6
Cultural Diversity: * = Core, ^ = Related ral ecosystems and of human adaptive strategies within those systems;
(b) discern and analyze patterns and interrelationships of the bio-physical and psycho-social cultural systems;
(c) critically discern and analyze individual, social, and ecological dimensions of health;
(d) describe the basic institutional arrangements (social, legal, political, economic, health, ethical, religious) that are evolving to deal with environmental and natural resource challenges;
(e) evaluate critically environmental and natural resource issues in light of understandings about interrelationships, ecosystems, and institutions;
(f) propose and assess alternative solutions to environmental problems;
(g) articulate and defend the actions they would take on various environmental issues.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
ANTH 102 BIOL 201^ CHEM 133 EEC 205
ENVR 101 GEOG 100^ GEOG 101 GEOG 210
GEOL 100 GEOL 121 HLTH 101 PHIL 226
RPLS 282 URBS 150
C
ATEGORY
11: P
ERFORMANCE AND
P
ARTICIPATION
(requires 2-3 credits)
Goal: To prepare students for responsible and effective participation in groups and communities.
Students will be able to:
(a) participate effectively in a variety of artistic, education, political, recreational, health and public service, or social service settings;
(b) interact with others of another culture in its indigenous setting through a structured experience;
(c) participate cooperatively in group athletic activity or artistic performance.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
CDIS 205 EEC 222* ENG 242 HLTH 210
HP 101 HP 103 HP 104 HP 105
HP 114 HP 117 HP 130* HP 138
HP 139 HP 143 HP 145 HP 146
HP 147 HP 148 HP 149 HP 150
HP 152 HP 153 HP 154 HP 155
HP 156 HP 157 HP 158 HP 159
HP 161 HP 166 HP 174 HP 175
HP 176 HP 177 HP 178 HP 179

HP 182 HP 190 HP 241 HP 242
HP 245 HP 248 HP 250 HP 252
HP 257 HP 291 KSP 220* MSL 210
MUS 101 MUS 102 MUS 103 MUS 104
MUS 105 MUS 106 MUS 111 MUS 112
MUS 113 MUS 114 MUS 115 MUS 116
MUS 117 NURS 101 POL 101 RPLS 278
SOWK 214 SPEE 220 SPEE 310 THEA 102
THEA 103 THEA 105 THEA 107 THEA 108
THEA 109 THEA 115 THEA 123* THEA 125*
THEA 126 THEA 127 THEA 128 THEA 223*
THEA 225* THEA 226 THEA 227* THEA 228
THEA 229 THEA 328^ URBS 230
C
ATEGORY
12: F
IRST
Y
EAR
E
XPERIENCE
(requires 0-1 credits)
Goal: To promote further development of student success skills, such as reading, writing and speaking; help students gain intellectual confidence; build in the expectation of academic success; and to provide assistance in making the transition to the University.
Students will be able to:
(a) experience higher personal expectations of his/her ability to meaningfully participate in academic life;
(b) define and give examples of critical thinking;
(c) interact with other students regarding academic matters;
(d) affirm that careful thinking is an important aspect of the educational process;
(e) make a comfortable transition to college life.
Course(s) which satisfies this category include:
FYEX 100
C
ATEGORY
13: I
NFORMATION
T
ECHNOLOGY
(requires 0-2 credits)
Goals: To familiarize students with the tools, concepts and societal impact of information technology and to develop the skills necessary to use this technology critically and effectively.
Students will be able to:
(a) use electronic information technology ethically and responsibly;
(b) access and retrieve information through electronic media, evaluating the accuracy and authenticity of that information;
(c) create, manage, organize and communicate information through electronic media;
(d) demonstrate a working knowledge of information technology terms and concepts;
(e) understand how computers function and the limits of computation and information technology;
(f) recognize changing technologies and make informed choices in their use.
Course(s) which satisfy this category include:
COMS 100 COMS 110 EET 115 EET 116
POL 105