office tech image

General Education Student Learning Outcomes

In 2009 COD faculty approved a set of General Education Student Learning Outcomes which they later modified and reaffirmed in 2018 for students enrolled in all associate degree programs. General Education refers to a broad body of knowledge and skills common to all educated people, regardless of their profession. A strong general education curriculum includes courses in the arts; the humanities which include literature, history, philosophy and foreign languages; mathematics, natural sciences and the social sciences.

Critical Thinking

Graduates can effectively identify and challenge assumptions, develop and assess viability of solutions and provide a logically structured argument.  They can make connections between subject areas and use interdisciplinary thinking to evaluate contemporary social issues.  

Information Literacy

Graduates can explain the need for information, locate information effectively and efficiently, evaluate information and its sources critically, and use information effectively, ethically and legally to accomplish a specific purpose.  

Communication

Expression and Exchange of Ideas

Graduates can formulate coherent, well-supported oral and written arguments that use language and rhetoric appropriate to the setting, purpose, and audience.  

Physical & Life Sciences

Scientific Reasoning

Graduates can use generally accepted scientific means and procedures to analyze data, make inferences and advance logical conclusions.

Mathematics

Quantitative Reasoning

Graduates can interpret mathematical models and identify their limitations, employ strategies to model and find solutions to problems, and use terminology to represent and communicate mathematical information.

Humanities & Fine Arts

Cultural & Historical Comprehension

Graduates can demonstrate an understanding of and critically evaluate diverse events, values and ideas rooted in human experience and apply socially responsible and ethical reasoning to local and global concerns.  

Social & Behavioral Sciences

Human Behavior & Societal Knowledge

Graduates can recognize how social, political, historical and economic institutions shape society and individual behavior.  They can apply methods of inquiry used by social and behavioral scientists and identify causes and variations of social diversity.

(Approved by College of DuPage Faculty Senate, March 2018)