General Education Matrix

State-Level Goals: Skill Areas

Truman’s Institutional Competencies

Course(s)

Credit Hours

Associated Assessment

To develop students' effective use of the English language and quantitative and other symbolic systems essential to their success in school and in the world. Students should be able to read and listen critically and to write and speak with thoughtfulness, clarity, coherence, and persuasiveness

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION:

1.       an ability to generate writing via critical thinking and discussion;
2.       an ability to develop those ideas by means of drafting, seeking the interventions of others, revising;
3.       an ability to anticipate and address the demands of various purposes and audiences;
4.       an appreciation of and familiarity with academic honesty and the conventional use of a variety of academic sources;
5.       progress toward computer literacy; and
6.       skilled use of conventions of academic prose.

ENG 190: Writing as Critical Thinking

3

1.       CIRP
2.       CSEQ
3.       GSQ
4.       NSSE
5.       Portfolio
6.       Writing Assessment

SPEECH COMMUNICATION:

1.       an ability to compose a message and provide ideas and information suitable to the topic, purpose, and audience;
2.       an ability to transmit the message by using delivery skills suitable to the topic, purpose, and audience; and
3.       an ability to listen with literal and critical comprehension.

COMM 170 Public Speaking

3

QUANTITATIVE COMMUNICATION:

1.       an ability to demonstrate the overall importance and broad application of statistics from its use in research to its use in everyday life.

STAT 190 Basic Statistics or STAT 290 Statistics

(3 hours assigned else- where)

State-Level Goals: Skill Areas

Truman’s Institutional Competencies

Course(s)

Credit Hours

Associated Assessment

To develop students' ability to distinguish among opinions, facts, and inferences; to identify underlying or implicit assumptions; to make informed judgments; and to solve problems by applying evaluative standards.

MODES OF INQUIRY: The modes of inquiry require students to develop multiple modes of thinking by engaging in critical analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.  From the exposure to the distinct perspectives of multiple modes, students become facile learners and acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to engage in higher-order thinking in a complex society.

Courses from at least 7 of 8 LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES MODES OF INQUIRY:
1. Aesthetic-Fine Arts
2. Aesthetic-Literature
3. Historical
4. Philosophical and Religious
5. Mathematical
6. Scientific-Life Sciences
7. Scientific-Physical Sciences
8. Social Scientific

(22-23 hours assigned else- where)

1.       Academic Profile
2.       CAAP
3.       CIRP
4.       CSEQ
5.       NSSE
6.       Portfolio
7.       Writing Assessment

FRESHMAN PROGRAM: By the end of the first semester students will have an increased understanding of the characteristics of a liberal arts and sciences education including an introduction to critical reading, writing, and thinking.

Freshman Program

(1 hour assigned else-
where)

WRITING AS CRITICAL THINKING:

1.       an ability to generate writing via critical thinking and discussion.

ENG 190: Writing as Critical Thinking

(3 hours assigned else-
where)

State-Level Goals: Skill Areas

Truman’s Institutional Competencies

Course(s)

Credit Hours

Associated Assessment

To develop students' abilities to locate, organize, store, retrieve, evaluate, synthesize, and annotate information from print, electronic, and other sources in preparation for solving problems and making informed decisions.

COMPUTER LITERACY:

1.       an ability to use a computer to create a document in an appropriate format;
2.       an ability to retrieve and cite information from the World Wide Web;
3.       an ability to utilize electronic means of communication;
4.       an ability to retrieve information from a bibliographic database;
5.       an ability to organize, manipulate, and present numeric data in a document;
6.       an ability to save, retrieve, copy, print, and delete files; and
7.       an ability to recognize unethical use of technology including copyright and privacy issues.

Freshman Program

1

1.       CIRP
2.       CSEQ
3.       GSQ
4.       NSSE
5.       Portfolio
6.       Writing Assessment

WRITING:

1.       an ability to use a computer to create a document in an appropriate format
2.       an ability to retrieve and cite information from the World Wide Web
3.       an ability to save, retrieve, copy, print, and delete files; and
4.       a familiarity with issues of academic honesty and the conventional use of a variety of academic sources.

ENG 190: Writing as Critical Thinking

(3) hours assigned else- where)

STATISTICS:

1.       an ability to use a statistical package for computation and meaningfully interpret the results

STAT 190 Basic Statistics or STAT 290 Statistics

3

State-Level Goals: Skill Areas

Truman’s Institutional Competencies

Course(s)

Credit Hours

Associated Assessment

To develop students' abilities to understand the moral and ethical values of a diverse society and to understand that many courses of action are guided by value judgments about the way things ought to be. Students should be able to make informed decisions through identifying personal values and the values of others and through understanding how such values develop. They should be able to analyze the ethical implications of choices made on the basis of these values.

INTERCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE: at least two of the following competencies:

1.       a greater knowledge and appreciation of cultural diversity through the study of one's own and/or other societies;
2.       a critical or self-reflective understanding of cultural process or how culture influences intercultural behavior; for example, role of the individual in different cultures and the impact of one's cultural heritage on one's values, aspirations, outlook and appreciation of other cultures; and
3.       a critical awareness of the political or social ends of culture and cultural diversity, or an increased knowledge of how educated persons may achieve a sense of tolerance and use their awareness to transcend (but not erase) cultural and ethnic differences.

One course designated as meeting this element of the Liberal Studies Program

3

1.       CIRP
2.       CSEQ
3.       GSQ
4.       NSSE
5.       Portfolio

PERSONAL WELL-BEING

1.       a knowledge of the patterns of addictive behavior, characteristics of alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse, and the consequences of substance abuse to both short-term and long-term needs; and
2.       a knowledge of the formation of romantic relationships, the human sexual response, the consequences of common sexually-transmitted diseases, and effective methods of preventing sexually-transmitted diseases.

HLTH 194 Personal Well-Being

2

State-Level Goals: Skill Areas

Truman’s Institutional Competencies

Course(s)

Credit Hours

Associated Assessment

To develop students' understanding of themselves and the world around them through study of content and the processes used by historians and social and behavioral scientists to discover, describe, explain, and predict human behavior and social systems. Students must understand the diversities and complexities of the cultural and social world, past and present, and come to an informed sense of self and others. (Students must fulfill the state statute requirements for the United States and Missouri constitutions.)

1.       an understanding of theories, principles, and concepts of at least one discipline in the social scientific or historical mode;
2.       a knowledge of the specialized vocabularies and symbols relative to the field of study;
3.       an understanding of the relationship between humans and the societies in which they live;
4.       an understanding of the multiple roles that humans play in their society and the influence they have, both as individuals and collectively, over the development of their society;
5.       an appreciation of the complexity and diversity of human cultures; and
6.       the development of the critical thinking skills and analytical abilities essential for moving on to higher levels of inquiry in the social and behavioral sciences.

At least one course fulfilling the HISTORICAL or the SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC mode

3-6

1.       Academic Profile
2.       CIRP
3.       CSEQ
4.       GSQ
5.       NSSE
6.       Portfolio

MISSOURI STATUTE REQUIREMENT: Students will take a course examining the Constitution of the United States, the state of Missouri, and American history and institutions.

One course designated as meeting this requirement

1-3

State-Level Goals: Skill Areas

Truman’s Institutional Competencies

Course(s)

Credit Hours

Associated Assessment

To develop students' understanding of the ways in which humans have addressed their condition through imaginative work in the humanities and fine arts; to deepen their understanding of how that imaginative process is informed and limited by social , cultural, linguistic, and historical circumstances; and to appreciate the world of creative imagination as a form of knowledge.

1.       an ability to respond to a creative work by using a range of tools that include aesthetic sensitivity, personal experience, understanding of social context, recognition of cultural/historical references and influences, and the analysis of structural elements and their relationships;
2.       an understanding of specialized vocabularies and symbols relative to the field of study;
3.       an awareness how our own culturally and experientially derived assumptions shape our understanding and appreciation of creative works;
4.       familiarity with a significant number of influential and representative works;
5.       understanding of the diversity of human experience as expressed in creative works;
6.       understanding the values and concerns expressed in creative works; and
7.       situating works into historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts.

At least one course fulfilling the AESTHETIC - FINE ARTS or the AESTHETIC- LITERATURE mode

3-6

1.       Academic Profile
2.       CAAP
3.       CSEQ
4.       GSQ
5.       Portfolio

State-Level Goals: Skill Areas

Truman’s Institutional Competencies

Course(s)

Credit Hours

Associated Assessment

To develop students' understanding of fundamental mathematical concepts and their applications. Students should develop a level of quantitative literacy that would enable them to make decisions and solve problems and which could serve as a basis for continued learning. (The mathematics requirement for general education should have the same prerequisite(s) and level of rigor as college algebra.)

ELEMENTARY FUNCTIONS:

1.       an ability to reason mathematically in a variety of applications that demonstrate the prevalence of mathematics in the world around us;
2.       an understanding of the fundamental concept of a function;
3.       the ability to use and apply algebraic, exponential, and trigonometric functions;
4.       an ability to use basic algebraic skills; and
5.       an ability to succeed in more advanced mathematics courses, in particular calculus.

MATH 186 Elementary Functions or MATH 156 College Algebra and MATH 157 Plane Trigonometry (with this latter choice students will earn 5 hours of credit)

3-5

1.       Academic Profile
2.       CAAP
3.       CIRP
4.       CSEQ
5.       GSQ
6.       NSSE
7.       Portfolio

STATISTICS: Students will recognize the overall importance and broad application of statistics.

STAT 190 Basics Statistics or STAT 290 Statistics

3

State-Level Goals: Skill Areas

Truman’s Institutional Competencies

Course(s)

Credit Hours

Associated Assessment

To develop students' understanding of the principles and laboratory procedures of life and physical sciences and to cultivate their abilities to apply the empirical methods of scientific inquiry. Students should understand how scientific discovery changes theoretical views of the world, informs our imaginations, and shapes human history. Students should also understand that science is shaped by historical and social contexts.

1.       a familiarity with approaches, methods, and values that are aimed at understanding the natural world;
2.       experience in scientific research in a laboratory setting, including experimental design, the collection and analysis of data, and the interpretation of results;
3.       an understanding of the evaluative process by which scientific theories are generated, tested, and either accepted, revised, or rejected;
4.       an appreciation for science as a human endeavor, including some aspects of its history and its application to the needs of human civilization;
5.       an understanding of the unifying principles and repeatable patterns immanent within nature;
6.       an awareness of and familiarity with the role science plays in human society; and
7.       an ability to make informed decisions about public policies by drawing on one's knowledge of science and technology.

At least one course fulfilling the SCIENTIFIC- LIFE SCIENCE or the SCIENTIFIC- PHYSICAL SCIENCE mode

4-8

1.       Academic Profile
2.       CAAP
3.       CIRP
4.       CSEQ
5.       GSQ
6.       NSSE
7.       Portfolio