General Education

Subdomains

Click on the subdomain titles to examine the range of skills and concepts a student can expect to demonstrate for assessment of this Domain:

• Language and Communication
• Literature, Arts and the Humanities
• Natural Science (Lib Arts)
• Quantitative Literacy
• Reasoning and Problem Solving
• Social Science

Language and Communication

• The graduate documents sources consistently and accurately.
• The graduate constructs meaning by using multiple strategies to comprehend a variety of texts.
• The graduate identifies relationships among ideas, points of view, and language choices by reading critically.
• The graduate selects information from oral, written, or electronic sources to inform an audience about complex subjects.
• The graduate accurately evaluates the validity, reliability, and significance of information in a given context.
• The graduate prepares an oral presentation with a visual aid.
• The graduate presents information to an audience using effective communication strategies.
• The graduate adapts a particular writing to meet the needs of a specific audience, purpose, and situation.
• The graduate applies a process approach to creating effective writings for different audiences and purposes.

Literature, Arts and the Humanities

• The graduate recognizes and analyzes relationships within the disciplines of the humanities; and how themes and concepts connect across individual disciplines of the humanities.
• The graduate recognizes and analyzes the interaction and integration of the humanities with cultures, and how specified cultural attitudes change over time.
• The graduate examines the characteristics, historical origins, and roles of ethics and belief systems in human cultures, and applies this knowledge to explain human behavior.
• The graduate recognizes and defines concepts from the visual and performing arts, identifies and defines media and processes, and applies these concepts and knowledge in evaluating works of art.
• The graduate recognizes various creative, philosophical, and linguistic artifacts and events in the humanities and applies approaches and methods of the humanities to address them.
• The graduate examines concepts and modes of expression in human imagination, values, and emotions.

Natural Science (Lib Arts)

• The graduate recognizes and analyzes various natural phenomena; applies natural science methods, and approaches to these natural phenomena.
• The graduate examines fundamental concepts and theories in the natural sciences.
• The graduate analyzes the organization, interactions, and predictable processes of the universe.
• The graduate identifies and analyzes the organization, interactions, and processes of the Earth.
• The graduate analyzes the components, organization, interactions, and processes of ecosystems.
• The graduate recognizes and applies underlying principles of matter and chemical reactions to analyze the structure, organization, interactions, and processes of organisms.

Quantitative Literacy

• The graduate applies basic numeracy and calculation skills and algorithms in arithmetic and in basic algebra.
• The graduate solves algebraic equations and constructs equations to solve real-world problems.
• The graduate understands and applies the basic properties of functions to solve problems.
• The graduate applies basic geometric, trigonometric, and measurement skills and processes to problems in mathematics as well as in a variety of disciplines.
• The graduate understands and applies elementary probability and statistics concepts and knows the relationship between them and sampling and inference.
• The graduate constructs reasonable quantitative arguments, reasons deductively and inductively, solves quantitative problems using a variety of techniques, and determines whether a given argument has logical flaws.
• The graduate interprets documents and materials containing quantitative information and effectively communicates mathematical arguments and quantitative results.
• The graduate uses appropriate technological tools, including regular and graphing calculators, databases, and/or statistical analysis programs, to solve problems involving computation, graphical information, and informational technology in a wide range of areas.

Reasoning and Problem Solving

• The graduate analyzes open-ended problems by learning about the problem and evaluating the accuracy and relevance of different perspectives on the problem.
• The graduate evaluates different sources representing a range of perspectives on a problem in order to weigh the implications and consequences of different solutions to the problem.
• The graduate identifies internal and external biases and assumptions related to a problem, and evaluates the influence and validity of these biases and assumptions
• The graduate synthesizes information to understand a problem’s complexities and potential solutions, and then evaluates the reasoning and evidence in support of these different solutions.
• The graduate logically brings together information to arrive at a viable solution to a problem, and then clearly and accurately communicates the results.
• The graduate recognizes the value of critical thinking in identifying and understanding the underlying structures of the disciplines and professions.

Social Science

• The graduate can describe and discuss fundamental concepts in geography.
• The graduate can describe and discuss places and regions.
• The graduate can describe and discuss physical systems.
• The graduate can describe and discuss human systems.
• The graduate can describe and discuss environment.