The objective of a communication component of a core curriculum is to enable the student to communicate effectively in clear and correct prose in a style appropriate to the subject, occasion, and audience.

1. To understand and demonstrate writing and speaking processes through invention, organization, drafting, revision, editing, and presentation.

2. To understand the importance of specifying audience and purpose and to select appropriate communication choices.

3. To understand and appropriately apply modes of expression, i.e., descriptive, expositive, narrative, scientific, and self-expressive, in written, visual, and oral communication.

4. To participate effectively in groups with emphasis on listening, critical and reflective thinking, and responding.

5. To understand and apply basic principles of critical thinking, problem solving, and technical proficiency in the development of exposition and argument.

6. To develop the ability to research and write a documented paper and/or to give an oral presentation.

The objective of the mathematics component of the core curriculum is to develop a quantitatively literate college graduate. Every college graduate should be able to apply basic mathematical tools in the solution of real-world problems.

1. To apply arithmetic, algebraic, geometric, higher-order thinking, and statistical methods to modeling and solving real-world situations.

2. To represent and evaluate basic mathematical information verbally, numerically, graphically, and symbolically.

3. To expand mathematical reasoning skills and formal logic to develop convincing mathematical arguments.

4. To use appropriate technology to enhance mathematical thinking and understanding and to solve mathematical problems and judge the reasonableness of the results.

5. To interpret mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables and schematics, and draw inferences from them.

6. To recognize the limitations of mathematical and statistical models.

7. To develop the view that mathematics is an evolving discipline, interrelated with human culture, and understand its connections to other disciplines.

The objective of the study of a natural sciences component of a core curriculum is to enable the student to understand, construct, and evaluate relationships in the natural sciences, and to enable the student to understand the bases for building and testing theories.

Exemplary Educational Objectives

1. To understand and apply method and appropriate technology to the study of natural sciences.

2. To recognize scientific and quantitative methods and the differences between these approaches and other methods of inquiry and to communicate findings, analyses, and interpretation both orally and in writing.

3. To identify and recognize the differences among competing scientific theories.

4. To demonstrate knowledge of the major issues and problems facing modern science, including issues that touch upon ethics, values, and public policies.

5. To demonstrate knowledge of the interdependence of science and technology and their influence on, and contribution to, modern culture.

The objective of the humanities and visual and performing arts in a core curriculum is to expand students' knowledge of the human condition and human cultures, especially in relation to behaviors, ideas, and values expressed in works of human imagination and thought. Through study in disciplines such as literature, philosophy, and the visual and performing arts, students will engage in critical analysis, form aesthetic judgments, and develop an appreciation of the arts and humanities as fundamental to the health and survival of any society. Students should have experiences in both the arts and humanities.

1. To demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.

2. To understand those works as expressions of individual and human values within an historical and social context.

3. To respond critically to works in the arts and humanities.

4. To engage in the creative process or interpretive performance and comprehend the physical and intellectual demands required of the author or visual or performing artist.

5. To articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities.

6. To develop an appreciation for the aesthetic principles that guide or govern the humanities and arts.

7. To demonstrate knowledge of the influence of literature, philosophy, and/or the arts on intercultural experiences.

The objective of a social and behavioral science component of a core curriculum is to increase students' knowledge of how social and behavioral scientists discover, describe, and explain the behaviors and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, events, and ideas. Such knowledge will better equip students to understand themselves and the roles they play in addressing the issues facing humanity.

1. To employ the appropriate methods, technologies, and data that social and behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.

2. To examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods, social structures, and cultures.

3. To use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories.

4. To develop and communicate alternative explanations or solutions for contemporary social issues.

5. To analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces on the area under study.

6. To comprehend the origins and evolution of U.S. and Texas political systems, with a focus on the growth of political institutions, the constitutions of the U.S. and Texas, federalism, civil liberties, and civil and human rights.

7. To understand the evolution and current role of the U.S. in the world.

8. To differentiate and analyze historical evidence (documentary and statistical) and differing points of view.

9. To recognize and apply reasonable criteria for the acceptability of historical evidence and social research.

10. To analyze, critically assess, and develop creative solutions to public policy problems.

11. To recognize and assume one's responsibility as a citizen in a democratic society by learning to think for oneself, by engaging in public discourse, and by obtaining information through the news media and other appropriate information sources about politics and public policy.

12. To identify and understand differences and commonalities within diverse cultures.

The objective of courses in a multicultural studies component of a core curriculum is to introduce students to areas of study which enlarge their knowledge and appreciation of the multicultural and multiracial world in which they live.

The term "multicultural" as it refers to the core curriculum may be interpreted as applying to any course which is designed to acquaint students with at least one culture other than the dominant one represented in a pluralistic society. However, the faculty is encouraged to develop courses that compare two or more cultures.

Through courses within a multicultural studies component of a core curriculum, the student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of those elements and processes that create and define culture.

2. Understand the bases of values, beliefs, and practices found in human societies.

3. Develop basic multicultural understanding, empathy, and communication.

4. Understand the responsibilities of living in a multicultural world.

5. Demonstrate knowledge of the development of languages and their influence on multicultural interactions.

6. Understand the underlying unity of diverse cultural expressions.

Learning outcomes for core courses in women's studies should include enabling students to:

1. Develop some understanding of feminist theory and of the nature of feminist methodology.

2. Understand the interdisciplinary nature of women's studies and be able to explain the contributions of various disciplines to women's studies.

3. Understand gender in relation to the larger world through examination of the similarities and diversities of women historically and multiculturally.

4. Understand and be able to identify some of the dynamics of gender, race, ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation, and age.

Women's Studies courses should include:

1. Feminist perspective which reflects women's experiences, ideas, and needs are valid in their own right.

2. Explanation of the status of women in society, the origin and persistence of that status, and the means for effecting change.

3. Information from a variety of methodological sources including qualitative and quantitative knowledge sources.

4. Women-centered paradigms and feminist theoretical perspectives as analytical tools.

5. Examinations of social institutions, norms, and practices for their impact on the status and roles of women.

6. Promotion of understanding of women across time and cultures.

7. Promotion of understanding of the dynamics of race, ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation, age, and disability.

8. Teaching strategies as elaborated in the Women's Studies program document including collaborative and interactive approaches and integration of subjective experience.

9. Core competencies -- reading, speaking, writing, listening, and critical thinking.