Why is General Education Required at UCCS?

A general education curriculum required for all students is common at most colleges and universities in the U.S. General education helps to provide college graduates with a core set of skills and experiences no matter their degree choices. We believe that all students at UCCS will benefit from the curriculum we have designed and that students will find the curriculum useful in whatever path they follow after graduation.

The UCCS Compass General Education program is based on nation-wide best practices including those recommended by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. In particular, the UCCS Compass program is intentional in integrating high-impact practices. which have been shown to promote learning and college success. Our curriculum also reflects the most recent research into the skills that matter to employers such as the AAC&U's report on "How College Contributes to Workforce Success." The curriculum is also informed by work from leading scholars like Dr. Matthew Sanders, one of the authors of our Gateway Program Seminar (GPS) textbook.

At UCCS the core skills and experiences for students in the Compass General Education Curriculum are broken into three main areas:

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

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

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