General Education Program

Program Overview

The role of the general education program in the liberal arts education provided by UW-Parkside is twofold: 1) to acquire a knowledge and skill set used across all academic disciplines; and 2) to become aware that knowledge is diverse and composed of different principles and methodologies. The goal is to prepare students to be successful in their professional, civic, and personal lives because a liberal arts education takes students beyond training for a specific career; it establishes the knowledge and fundamental skills used throughout life.

The program learning goals are communication, reasoned judgment and social and personal responsibility. These goals are defined by outcomes that reflect skills and abilities valued by all employers. These learning outcomes are:

Communication

1. Literacy – reading for understanding and writing effective communication
2. Oral communication – listening, speaking and presenting effectively
3. Information technology– using modern information technology to retrieve and transmit information
4. Creative expression – communicating through artistic statement

Reasoned Judgment

1. Critical thinking – applying logic and reasoning to problem solving
2. Ethical thinking – recognizing and analyzing ethical issues and actions
3. Scientific thinking – understanding and applying the scientific method
4. Analytical skills – understanding how to produce and interpret quantitative and qualitative information
5. Aesthetic skills – critiquing and appreciating the fine arts (literary, visual, and performing)

Social and Personal Responsibility

1. Individual accountability – understanding what a responsible choice is and that one’s present education and lifelong learning is a personal responsibility
2. Social justice – understanding and questioning the values and beliefs about social, political, economic and historical contexts that construct diversity and inequality
3. Civic engagement – learning to use knowledge and skills to contribute to the community
4. Global perspective – acquiring the knowledge and skills that provide an understanding of international/global issues and processes
5. Teamwork – working effectively with others for a common goal

These goals serve as university-wide shared learning goals and represent the foundational framework for achievement in the major. In order to support that success, the distribution requirement fosters awareness of the difference principles and methodologies across disciplines as well as the similarities in the essential skills used by all disciplines. Students learn a “breadth” of knowledge by completing courses from disciplines representing:

• Humanities and the Arts
• Social and Behavioral Science
• Natural Science

The humanities and the arts foster imagination and creative expression through and about human experience in ways that the other areas do not. The social and behavioral sciences develop an understanding of social systems, the dynamics of individual and group behavior and the forces that operate in social relationships in areas ranging from economics to politics. The natural sciences develop an understanding of natural phenomena and the process and importance of scientific investigations

Courses are approved on a yearly basis and reviewed on a five-year cycle by the General Education Committee. All general education courses are to be offered on a yearly basis and at least one of the offerings from every department should be offered in an alternative format every three semesters. This offering frequency requirement ensures course availability. Course substitutions are typically not allowed because the assessment protocols are also part of the university’s accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. In general, changes are announced a full year in advance. The general education web site is updated on a regular basis and students are encouraged to check the website to ensure that the course is in good standing in the year they plan to complete it.

The general education distribution requirement is part of the graduation requirements that also include essential skills (reading, writing and mathematics), the ethnic diversity requirement, the foreign language requirement, and in addition to fulfilling the requirements of the desired major, minor and/or certificate programs. Additional information related to these degree requirements is available in the Policies section of the catalog.

Courses in General Education (GNED)