General Education Assessment

System General Education Goals

Students will write effectively and responsibly and will understand and interpret the written expression of others.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

Write using standard American English, including correct punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure,
Write logically,
Write persuasively, with a variety of rhetorical strategies (e.g., expository, argumentative, descriptive), and
Incorporate formal research and documentation into their writing, including research obtained through modern, technology-based research tools.

Students will communicate effectively and responsibly through listening and speaking.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

Prepare and deliver speeches for a variety of audiences and settings;
Demonstrate speaking competencies including choice and use of topic, supporting materials, organizational pattern, language usage, presentational aids, and delivery; and
Demonstrate listening competencies by summarizing, analyzing, and paraphrasing ideas, perspectives and emotional content.

Students will understand the organization, potential, and diversity of the human community through study of the social sciences.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

Identify and explain basic concepts, terminology, theories, and systems of inquiry of the selected social science disciplines.
Apply selected social science concepts and theories to contemporary or historical issues from different behavioral, cultural, institutional, temporal, or spatial contexts.
Analyze the extent and impact of diversity among individuals, cultures, or societies in contemporary or historical contexts using social science methods and concepts.

Students will understand the diversity and complexity of the human experience through study of the arts and humanities.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

Demonstrate knowledge of the diversity of values, beliefs, and ideas embodied in the human experience;
Identify and explain basic concepts of the selected disciplines within the arts and humanities.
In addition, as a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will be able to do at least one of the following:
Identify and explain the contributions of other cultures from the perspective of the selected disciplines within the arts and humanities;
Demonstrate creative and aesthetic understanding;
Explain and interpret formal and stylistic elements of the literary or fine arts;
Demonstrate foundational competency in reading, writing, and speaking a non-English language.

Students will understand and apply fundamental mathematical processes and reasoning.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

Use mathematical symbols and mathematical structure to model and solve real world problems.
Demonstrate appropriate communication skills related to mathematical terms and concepts.

Students will understand the fundamental principles of the natural sciences and apply scientific methods of inquiry to investigate the natural world.

Student Learning Outcomes: As a result of taking courses meeting this goal, students will:

Explain the nature of science including how scientific explanation are formulated, tested, and modified or validated.
Distinguish between scientific and non-scientific evidence and explanations, and use scientific evidence to construct arguments related to contemporary issues.
Apply basic observational, quantitative, or technological methods to gather and analyze data and generate evidence-based conclusions in a laboratory setting.
Understand and apply foundational knowledge and discipline-specific concepts to address issues, solve problems, or predict natural phenomena.