General Studies Program Aims and Assessment
Derived from the learning goals of Being and Becoming and the Great Commitments, the Aims listed below identify the common expectations for all students, that can be met in a variety of ways, including curricular and co-curricular activities, residential life, convocations, and labor. These aims outline the specific knowledge, skills, and qualities of mind we would like to see all students develop in common, and they suggest certain kinds of experiences that will enable that development. Thus Berea College’s General Education Program should ensure that each student has experiences that meet these Aims.
- Knowledge
- aesthetic, scientific, historical, and interdisciplinary ways of knowing
- religion, particularly Christianity, in its many expressions
- Berea’s historical and ongoing commitments to racial (traditionally black and white) and gender equality, as well as to the Appalachian region
- the natural environment and our relationship to it
- the roles of science and technology in the contemporary world
- U.S. and global issues and perspectives
- Skills
- read and listen effectively; write and speak effectively, with integrity and style
- think critically and creatively, and reason quantitatively
- develop research strategies and employ appropriate technologies as means to deepen one’s knowledge and understanding
- work effectively both independently and collaboratively
- resolve conflicts nonviolently
- Habits of Mind
- deepen their capacities for moral reflection, spiritual development, and responsible action
- develop an openness to and knowledgeable appreciation of human diversity, in terms of race, gender, class, religion, sexuality, language, and culture
- cultivate their imagination and ability to discern connections, consider alternatives, and think about topics and issues from multiple perspectives
- think and act in ways that promote peace with justice
- develop habits leading to lifetime health and fitness
- Learning Experiences
- discussion and lecture (no current student survey data available)
- student-initiated learning (no current student survey data available)
