General Education Required Syllabus Statements

Select statements appropriate to the General Education Competency Area to include in syllabi for courses with General Education designation.

Fine Arts (GE:FA)

General Education Fine Arts Competency

Courses in the Fine Arts develop the knowledge and skills students required to create, critique and appreciate diverse forms of Fine Art. These courses develop an understanding of the Fine Arts considered for their own sake and for their social, political and other impacts. Learning to apply one or more methods of critical analysis is essential to the critique of the different aspects of the fine arts. Creating, critiquing and appreciating works of visual and performing art and engaging in the scholarly study of the history and appreciation of the Fine Arts enhances the quality of each student’s life experience and contributes to the well-being of humanity.

General Education Program Student Learning Outcomes for Fine Arts

The following program learning outcomes define the fine arts competency. Students who have completed the general education fine arts requirements can:

  1. Apply knowledge of the human condition in an area in the fine arts to convey meaning through creating, performing, producing, or responding within an artistic form.
  2. Analyze diverse genres, styles, and techniques in their appropriate cultural and historical context.
  3. Synthesize and relate discipline-specific knowledge in the fine arts through the artistic processes of creating, performing, producing, presenting or responding as applicable to cultural and personal growth.

[Insert Course Prefix, number] Student Learning Outcomes

Students who have successfully completed [Insert course prefix, number] can:

  1. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Fine Arts Outcome 1].
  2. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Fine Arts Outcome 2].
  3. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Fine Arts Outcome 3].
  4. [Insert other Course Specific Student Learning Outcomes not related to General Education]

Health Promotion (GE:HL) and Health Related Physical Activity (GE:EX)

General Education Health Promotion and Health-Related Physical Activity Competency

Students who have completed the General Education Health Promotion and Health-Related Physical Activity Requirements can:

  1. Explain the factors that influence human health and wellness, and affect major public health issues in society.
  2. Identify barriers to and evaluate strategies for achieving optimal health among all populations, including those experiencing health disparities.
  3. Apply concepts, skills, tools and methods in health promotion to assess and improve personal health.

[Insert Course Prefix, number] Student Learning Outcomes

Students who have successfully completed [Insert course prefix, number] can:

  1. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Health Promotion/Health Related Physical Activity Outcome 1]
  2. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Health Promotion/Health Related Physical Activity Outcome 2]
  3. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Health Promotion/Health Related Physical Activity Outcome 3]
  4. [Insert other Course Specific Student Learning Outcomes not related to General Education]

Humanities (GE:HU)

General Education Humanities Competency

Courses in the Humanities and in interdisciplinary areas linked to subjects in the humanities challenge students to critically examine their beliefs and the beliefs of others about what can broadly be called “human existence” or referred to as “what it is to exist as a human being.” Humanities courses address a range of issues that ancient texts show have captured people’s attention for over 3000 years. These problems include matters of value, and the courses that address them require students to critically assess diverse understandings of life’s aesthetic, ethical and moral dimensions. Humanities courses require students to learn one or more methods of critical analysis and to understand the value of knowledge both for its own sake and for its application. The knowledge gained by taking courses in the Humanities contributes to each student’s understanding of how to choose a life worth living.

General Education Program Student Learning Outcomes for Humanities

Students who have completed the General Education Humanities requirement can:

  1. Distinguish artistic, literary, philosophical, or religious creations from other types of work and describe how they address enduring human concerns and the human condition.
  2. Apply discipline-specific criteria and evaluate the significance of specific literary, artistic, philosophical or religious works to enduring human concerns and the human condition.
  3. Apply discipline-specific knowledge in the humanities to contrast their understanding with that of others of the significance of specific artistic, literary, philosophical or religious works to enduring human concerns and the human condition.

[Insert Course Prefix, number] Student Learning Outcomes

Students who have successfully completed [Insert course prefix, number] can:

  1. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Humanities Outcome 1]
  2. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Humanities Outcome 2]
  3. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Humanities Outcome 3]
  4. [Insert other Course Specific Student Learning Outcomes not related to General Education]

Mathematics (GE:MA)

General Education Mathematics Competency

Courses in the mathematics competency curriculum provides students with basic skills in mathematics or logic.

General Education Program Student Learning Outcomes for Mathematics

Students who have completed the General Education Mathematics requirements can:

  1. Correctly use/interpret mathematical notation and terminology to solve problem.
  2. Apply general concepts and principles of mathematics to solve various kinds of problems (e.g. use general formulas, recognize general patterns in a collection of problems, apply rules of logic in the process of problem solving).
  3. Model/solve problems related to applications that describe various phenomena in nature and society.

[Insert Course Prefix, number] Student Learning Outcomes

Students who have successfully completed [Insert course prefix, number] can:

  1. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Mathematics Outcome 1]
  2. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Mathematics Outcome 2]
  3. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Mathematics Outcome 3]
  4. [Insert other Course Specific Student Learning Outcomes not related to General Education]

Natural Sciences (GE:SC)

General Education Natural Sciences Competency

Courses in the Natural Sciences engage students with subjects that aim to answer fundamental questions about the structure and function of the complex systems that constitute the physical universe. Students learn to seek knowledge for its own sake as well as for its application, and to understand the relation of technological progress to advances made in the Natural Sciences. Courses in the Natural Sciences further students understanding of the scientific method. This prepares them for further study in technology or basic science. Students learn the connection between successful interdisciplinary scholarship and the knowledge provided by the Natural Sciences. Courses in the Natural Sciences initiate the development of the knowledge and skills students need to become broadly informed, to participate in interdisciplinary scholarship, and to be successful in their professional specialization.

General Education Program Student Learning Outcomes for Natural Sciences

Students who have completed the General Education Natural Sciences requirements can:

  1. Apply discipline-specific knowledge to explain natural phenomena and scientific problems.
  2. Use discipline-specific methods to test a hypothesis by collecting, analyzing and interpreting data and communicate the results.
  3. Describe the scope and limits of science and how scientific inquiry is based on investigation of evidence from the natural world.
  4. Describe how scientific data and advances in science relate to societal issues.

[Insert Course Prefix, number] Student Learning Outcomes

Students who have successfully completed [Insert course prefix, number] can:

  1. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Natural Sciences Outcome 1]
  2. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Natural Sciences Outcome 2]
  3. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Natural Sciences Outcome 3]
  4. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Natural Sciences Outcome 4]
  5. [Insert other Course Specific Student Learning Outcomes not related to General Education]

Social Sciences (GE:SO)

General Education Social Sciences Competency

Courses in the Social Sciences introduce students to the study of the psychological, social and cultural dimensions of individuals and groups. Students learn to seek knowledge for its own sake as well as for its application. Courses provide students with the knowledge necessary to solve problems in the Social Sciences and in scholarly fields that apply the methods used in the Social Sciences. They introduce students to the theoretical, analytical, and methodological techniques and perspectives of Social Sciences that advance the understanding of individual and group behavior. Scholarly study in the Social Sciences provides students with the foundation for understanding real world problems necessary for meaningful participation in society. Courses in the Social Sciences develop the intellectual abilities, knowledge and skills that students need to become broadly informed, to participate in interdisciplinary scholarship, and to be successful in their professional specialization.

General Education Program Student Learning Outcomes for Social Sciences

Students who have completed the General Education Social Sciences requirements can:

  1. Apply discipline specific knowledge in the social sciences to explain the key factors that shape social institutions, structures, and processes that shape human behavior and social interaction.
  2. Explain how cultural and historical contexts influence individual behavior, society or culture.
  3. Apply discipline specific theories and modes of inquiry in the social sciences to analyze social contemporary behavioral or cultural issues.

[Insert Course Prefix, number] Student Learning Outcomes

Students who have successfully completed [Insert course prefix, number] can:

  1. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Social Sciences Outcome 1]
  2. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Social Sciences Outcome 2]
  3. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Social Sciences Outcome 3]
  4. [Insert other Course Specific Student Learning Outcomes not related to General Education]

Written Communication (GE:EN)

General Education Written Communication Competency

Courses in the writing competency curriculum focuses on student aptitudes rather than on a particular content because composing is a recursive process that depends not on specific knowledge but on fluent, flexible, creative thinking. To concentrate on the essentials of composing, the program explicitly treats stages of process such as discovery, drafting, etc. It concentrates on exposition and argument as the modes most useful for the student and the citizen. It teaches students how to use library resources so that students may expand their access to knowledge essential for informed discourse. The program emphasizes critical thinking as well as traditional rhetorical skills because only insight can generate substance for the writer’s craft to shape.

General Education Program Student Learning Outcomes for Written Communication

Students who have completed the Written Communication General Education requirements can:

  1. Create, identify, and engage in significant research questions.
  2. Engage rhetorically and integrate a variety of appropriate sources to support a central claim.
  3. Select and use appropriate methods and rhetorical strategies that suit the purpose and audience of a specific context and discipline.
  4. Organize sentences and paragraphs to communicate central points with logical connections and a minimum of grammar and punctuation errors.
  5. Format documents and cite sources in accordance with the conventions in the individual disciplines.
  6. Demonstrate methods of inquiry and rhetorical strategies, including form, media and style relevant to the discipline.
  7. Identify and explain writing strategies used in their writing.

[Insert Course Prefix, number] Student Learning Outcomes

Students who have successfully completed [Insert course prefix, number] can:

  1. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Written Communication Outcome 1]
  2. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Written Communication Outcome 2]
  3. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Written Communication Outcome 3]
  4. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Written Communication Outcome 4]
  5. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Written Communication Outcome 5]
  6. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Written Communication Outcome 6]
  7. [Insert at least 1 Course Specific General Education Student Learning Outcome related to Written Communication Outcome 7]
  8. [Insert other Course Specific Student Learning Outcomes not related to General Education]

Faculty Senate Resolutions #17-45 (May 2017), #22-40 (May 2022)