General Education
¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥’s General Education program is a group of diverse courses and requirements that all students must fulfill before graduation to ensure they have received a well-rounded education. It promotes intellectual development and the search for truth, cultivates an appreciation for learning, and provides opportunities for students to construct a coherent framework for lifelong learning in a diverse and ever-changing world.
Program Principles
The General Education Program advances the University’s Mission to empower our students with the knowledge, skills and core values that contribute to active citizenship, gainful employment and life-long learning in a democratic society and interdependent world by:
- providing a coherent integrated curriculum that speaks largely to student learning goals. Coherence is the inter-connectedness of the curriculum within courses, across disciplines and throughout the undergraduate experience.
- encouraging the developmental progression of student knowledge, skills and dispositions throughout the undergraduate experience.
- providing a broad range of learning opportunities in courses, in co-curricular activities and in settings outside the University.
- fostering an academic community that is guided by the University's core values of excellence, student centeredness, learning, civic engagement and diversity through student-to-student, faculty-to-student and faculty-to-faculty collaborative opportunities. Collaboration may occur in linked courses, interdisciplinary courses, undergraduate research, learning communities, community projects and other venues.
- incorporating ongoing and comprehensive review of the General Education curriculum and assessment of student progress toward learning goals. This review and assessment will be used for the continuous improvement of General Education to achieve institutional goals and vision.
Student Learning Principles and Goals
The learning principles and student learning goals, which follow, represent the concepts embedded in the University’s Mission and accepted by the faculty. These principles and goals help guide the development of the General Education program at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥.
Learning Principles
The General Education program is designed to foster the personal, intellectual and social development of the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ student and is based on the following set of principles. The liberally educated person:
- communicates effectively in diverse situations,
- uses multiple strategies, resources and technologies for inquiry and problem solving,
- demonstrates qualities related to personal, social and professional integrity,
- integrates knowledge from the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences to broaden perspectives,
- reasons quantitatively and qualitatively,
- demonstrates global awareness in order to function responsibly in an interdependent world.
These principles are expressed by the following set of student learning goals.
Learning Goals & Outcomes
The General Education program is designed to foster the personal, intellectual, and social development of the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ student. ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ provides an institutional environment and academic curriculum that supports interconnected learning and experiences, which signify an ability to analyze and make connections between ideas, concepts, and experiences - both on and off campus. The following broad categories organize the student learning goals and outcomes that align with the purpose of General Education. Previously acknowledged Student Learning Goals are aligned with the proposed Student Learning Outcomes listed below.
General Education Assessment
Ensuring that we are meeting the goals and outcomes of the General Education program is a top priority at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. Every semester, the University hosts GULL Week, a time when students can provide feedback on what they are learning so we can see what we are doing well and what has room for improvement. The results from this week and other assessments give us the information we need to make the best General Education program for you.
Please Note: A new General Education model for ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ has been approved by the Faculty Senate. Faculty can review the General Education requirements and implementation plan as well as the aligned General Education Learning Goals & Outcomes. Additionally, historical materials are available on the General Education Revision: Ongoing Work course in MyClasses.