General Education Goals

Mission

As a fundamental component of our Liberal Arts and Sciences curriculum, general education is the foundation supporting student acquisition and application of competencies that lead to and foster effective citizenship, ethical decision-making, and employability.

The general education goals are the basis for student learning experiences and assessments in liberal arts and sciences. The goals are integrated into courses and programs that provide students with practical and comprehensive competencies. This empowers them to explore, discover, and broaden their perspectives, and to successfully contribute to a changing society.

Goal 1:  Students will communicate effectively in writing.

Students will be able to:

• 1.1 Demonstrate proficiency in grammar and sentence construction
• 1.2 Compose writing through a process involving planning, drafting, editing, and revising written texts
• 1.3 Adapt language appropriately to a variety of writing contexts
• 1.4 Compose persuasive research writing using appropriate methods
• 1.5 Compose writing that avoids plagiarism, uses sources properly, and demonstrates an understanding of academic integrity

Goal 2:  Students will develop effective oral communication skills.

Students will be able to:

• 2.1 Organize and deliver presentations, using suitable introductions, transitions, content, information and conclusions
• 2.2 Develop skills in peer and self-evaluation for various presentations using a rubric
• 2.3 Identify and verbally cite credible sources

Goal 3:  Students will develop, apply and use mathematical reasoning skills.

Students will be able to:

• 3.1 Identify and interpret mathematical content presented in a variety of forms including statistics, formulas and equations, graphs, charts, and tables
• 3.2. Analyze problems that contain mathematical information
• 3.3 Apply the appropriate quantitative tools and methods including logic skills to solve problems, make decisions, and draw conclusions

Goal 4:  Students will develop critical thinking skills.

Students will be able to:

• 4.1 Organize, analyze, interpret and question information and evidence
• 4.2 Formulate, critique, and evaluate relevant responses
• 4.3 Generate and articulate solutions to problems

Goal 5:  Students will develop technological competencies and skills.

Students will be able to:

• 5.1 Develop technological skills to retrieve, organize, analyze and present projects using a variety of software applications and the web
• 5.2 Identify and evaluate emerging trends and new technologies including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence, programming, cybersecurity, and cloud computing
• 5.3 Responsibly apply appropriate and effective uses of information retrieval and security standards in technology

Goal 6:  Students will develop information literacy necessary to identify, locate, evaluate, communicate, and apply information.

Students will be able to:

• 6.1 Determine the nature and extent of information needed
• 6.2 Implement effective search strategies to access digital, print, and media sources
• 6.3 Critically evaluate the reliability and context of sources, including artificial intelligence
• 6.4 Synthesize information into own knowledge base to produce work that accomplishes a specific purpose
• 6.5 Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally

Goal 7:  Students will demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method and its application.

Students will be able to:

• 7.1 Identify the steps of the scientific method, including observation, hypotheses, experimentation, and evaluation of evidence
• 7.2 Analyze scientific data and draw conclusions
• 7.3 Recognize how scientific literature differs from other types of literature

Goal 8:  Students will broaden their knowledge and appreciation of diverse histories and cultures and how they influence society.

Students will be able to:

• 8.1 Identify contributing elements of a society’s history and culture including, but not limited to, art, literature, politics, and the economy.
• 8.2 Examine the commonalities and differences among cultures and societies
• 8.3 Describe how diverse cultures interact with one another, and within the broader society