Core Goals for General Education

UCCS General Education Goals

(Approved by the faculty in Fall 2010)

Vision

General education at UCCS prepares students for success in their majors, professional pursuits, and lives as creative, thoughtful, informed, and engaged members of our diverse, global society.

The goals of our general education program focus on three interrelated areas of learning, all of which are essential to an undergraduate education. Through the general education curriculum, students will develop competencies in each area and the ability to integrate these competencies as a foundation for lifelong learning.

Goal 1: Evaluate and Create

Students will develop intellectual and practical skills central to investigation, creative pursuits, and problem solving. Students will gather, understand, analyze, and evaluate information as well as synthesize that information in order to create and articulate new ideas. This area includes:

  • Critical and creative thinking
  • Quantitative and qualitative reasoning
  • Information literacy
  • Communication: reading, writing, speaking, and listening

Goal 2: Know and Explore

Students will have a broad understanding of fundamental explorations, applications, and innovations in the natural sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and arts and humanities. This area includes knowledge of:

  • The physical and natural world
  • Humanities, arts, and culture
  • Society, social and economic institutions, health, and human behavior

Goal 3: Act and Interact

Students will cultivate self-awareness and understanding of their impact—locally, nationally, and globally. Students will be prepared to participate effectively in a society that encompasses diverse experiences, perspectives, and realities. This area includes:

  • Responsibility—personal, civic, and social
  • Engagement—creative, collaborative, artistic, and innovative
  • Inclusiveness—competencies for cultural responsiveness across social differences in contexts ranging from local to global
  • Sustainability—understanding the interaction between human development and the natural environment