Current Core

Outcomes | Structure | Rationale | Requirements

Core Learning Outcomes

All Fayetteville State University graduates, regardless of major, will achieve the following learning outcomes, which will be introduced in 100- and 200- level courses and reinforced throughout a student’s major courses as appropriate. Fayetteville State University recognizes eight core learning outcomes in two main groups:

A. General Education

Communication Skills: Students will comprehend, analyze, and evaluate the effectiveness of various forms of written and spoken communication, and they will assemble original written and spoken communications that display appropriate organization, clarity, and documentation for a given purpose and audience. Rationale

Reasoning Skills:
Critical Thinking: Students will accurately evaluate the reasonableness of arguments’ evidence and support, and they will construct reasonable arguments using various forms of evidence drawn from multiple sources. Rationale
Quantitative Reasoning: They will apply math to situations common in everyday living, and they will calculate, interpret, and assess statistical data and concepts, percentages, proportions, rates of change, geometric measures, linear equations, probability and risk. Rationale

Information Literacy: Students will formulate effective questions based on a need; organize, sort, evaluate, and retrieve academic information to address the need; cite sources appropriately for their context. Rationale

Scientific Literacy: Students will create and assess hypotheses using research methods, interpret and express the results of observation and experimentation, understand the fundamental concepts of natural and social sciences, and apply scientific knowledge to situations common to daily life to promote physical and psychological well-being. Rationale

Humanities and Creative Arts: Students will demonstrate comprehension, analysis, and/or synthesis of the cultural and historical contributions of the humanities and/or arts to human cultural and intellectual advancement by engaging in inquiry, writing, and/or creative processes. Rationale

Global Literacy: Students will experience global diversity through interaction, examination, and critical reflection. Our students will broaden their comprehension and appreciation of globalization and their role as global citizens. Rationale

B. University Requirements

Transitional Studies: Upon completion of transitional studies courses students will be able to demonstrate skills they need for a successful transition to university life. Rationale

Ethics and Civic Engagement: Students will demonstrate knowledge and application of principles of ethical and civic responsibility. Rationale

Outcomes | Structure | Rationale | Requirements

Structure and Purpose

Another way of grouping the core learning outcomes helps illustrate their organization and purpose:

Outcomes | Structure | Rationale | Requirements

Rationale

Each core learning outcome has a rationale explaining why it is included in the core curriculum:

Transitional Studies: Transitioning to university life is a challenge for many students. Transitional studies courses help the students develop the skills they need to ease this transition. These courses help the students develop the physical, mental, organizational, and financial skills necessary for success at the university and beyond.

Communication Skills: Writing and speaking are generally done for others, so communication requires both a communicator and an audience, and involves listening and speaking, reading and writing. These are the means for transmitting information and sharing knowledge. In particular, recognizing the importance of, and developing the skills necessary to, building and maintaining communication relationships is an important aspect of learning and leading. Being a skillful communicator is necessary to being useful to the communities to which one belongs.

Reasoning Skills - Critical Thinking. The development of critical thinking competencies supports students' acquisition of analytical and evaluative skills essential for inquiry, deliberation, and decision-making in academic and non-academic settings. As students develop their critical thinking skills, they develop more concern about rational standards. They learn to think for themselves, and this helps free them from unwarranted beliefs and bad habits of thought. By developing their critical thinking skills, they become more reasonable and more ready to fulfill responsible roles in society and live fulfilling, successful lives. Effective critical thinking skills and the habits of mind associated with these skills are essential for life-long learning and reasonable, responsible citizenship in global communities.

Reasoning Skills - Quantitative Reasoning. The development of quantitative literacy competencies supports students' acquisition of the skills essential for inquiry, deliberation, and decision-making in academic and non-academic settings. Mastery of quantitative reasoning skills enables students to employ the methods of inquiry utilized by a variety of different academic disciplines. Quantitative literacy is essential for successful living, life-long learning, and responsible citizenship in global communities.

Information Literacy: The proliferation of information and information tools in academia, the workforce, and the broader community requires students to have appropriate inquiry skills to solve problems using the best information available. Students use inquiry skills to contribute positively to the academic learning community and to practice ethical behaviors relative to information, information technology and the creation process. Effective use of Inquiry skills on a continuous basis is essential for lifelong learning and responsible world citizenship. As part of the accreditation requirements, students are expected to demonstrate sufficient level of inquiry skill.

Scientific Literacy: The world is constantly changing with new developments in economics, the sciences (behavioral and natural), health, criminal justice, and technology. Literate Fayetteville State University graduates/citizens must have the ability to critically seek out, analyze, and interpret representative data. These skills will have a profound impact on the way they live, spend, and plan. Current research indicates there is a strong link between economics, the sciences (behavioral and natural), health, criminal justice, and technology. If FSU students are to become fully productive citizens, they should understand how these scientific and behavioral disciplines enable them to function successfully in an evolving society.

Humanities and Creative Arts. Students will demonstrate comprehension, analysis, and/or synthesis of the cultural and historical contributions of the humanities and/or arts to human cultural and intellectual advancement by engaging in inquiry, writing, and/or creative processes.

Global Literacy: The world is increasingly interconnected. The economic well-being of all nations and the environmental health of the planet align all the nations of the world within an interdependent relationship. The development of a global economy and sustainable environment knows no national or cultural borders. Amid the ongoing political alliances and conflicts which span the globe, cultural differences are an inescapable feature of the post-modern world, given the revolutions in telecommunications and transportation. Given the disproportionate impact of U.S economic, political, military, and cultural policies around the globe, our students have a particular obligation to understand this impact and to appreciate the perspectives of other cultures. To understand, work in, and effectively contribute within this interconnected culturally diverse, technological world requires a broad knowledge of cultures other than one's own, a developed cultural sensitivity, and sufficient communication skills.

Ethics and Civic Engagement. To be an educated person requires more than specialized knowledge and technical skills. It also means that individuals are capable of understanding, evaluating, and acting upon their ethical and civic responsibilities. Ethics refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act in our roles as citizens, workers, students, professionals, friends, family members, and so on. Civic engagement is acting upon a sense of responsibility to the common good in our communities, including not only our geographic communities, from local to global, but also those based on interests or identity. An FSU education should help shape students' ethical values, moral reasoning, their readiness to accept personal and social responsibility, and their preparation for responsible citizenship.

Outcomes | Structure | Rationale | Requirements

Graduation Requirements and the Core

Each core learning outcome is the basis for the specific requirements students must complete to graduate with an undergraduate degree:

 *These requirements are waived for certain transfer and international students.

For more information about the courses that fulfill these requirements and the exceptions made for certain classes of students, see the FSU Undergraduate Catalog.