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Additional ECCE Information and Advising Guides
From the Association of American Colleges and Universities, "What is Liberal Education?" :
"General education is part of what American colleges and universities call liberal education, which has been called 'a philosophy of education that aims to empower individuals, liberate the mind from ignorance, and cultivate social responsibility.'"
General education
The UIS General Education Curriculum offers an array of courses that help students gain the skills and knowledge to succeed in any of our 20 majors and in life beyond college.
The program has two main goals. We aim to insure that students:
Courses in the program are divided into two categories:
Lower division distribution requirements offer a variety of courses in discipline-specific areas like written communication, oral communication, science, math, humanities and social sciences. These courses provide a foundation of knowledge and skills that are crucial for a broad liberal arts education.
The Engaged Citizenship Common Experience is designed to help students become aware of their roles in a complex, interdependent set of communities. ECCE categories promote cultural awareness and engagement experiences.
By emphasizing scholarship skills in the service of the public good, UIS prepares students for life-long learning and engaged citizenship. UIS prepares students to discover, integrate, apply, and communicate knowledge for the benefit of individuals, families, and communities.
1. Discovery of Knowledge
UIS graduates should be information and communication technology literate, exhibiting a strong proficiency in locating, reflectively comprehending, and synthesizing appropriate college level readings, toward the goal of knowledge creation.
Competencies include:
a. Reading baccalaureate-level materials effectively, reflecting comprehension and synthesis.
b. Exhibiting a knowledge of and ability to effectively locate, evaluate, interpret, and use information.
c. Exhibiting a knowledge of and ability to use information and communication technologies.
2. Integration of Knowledge
UIS graduates should be able to evaluate and integrate information and concepts from multiple disciplines and perspectives.
Competencies include:
a. Engaging in critical thinking by analyzing, evaluating, and articulating a range of perspectives to solve problems through informed, rational, decision-making.
b. Differentiating the approaches that underlie the search for knowledge in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, history, or social and behavioral sciences.
3. Application of Knowledge
UIS graduates should be able to apply knowledge to address meaningful problems and issues in the real world.
Competencies include:
a. Exhibiting a knowledge of and ability to use contemporary technologies.
b. Identifying, interpreting, and analyzing quantitatively presented material and solve mathematical problems.
c. Constructing intellectual projects independently and work effectively in collaboration with others
4. Communication of Knowledge
UIS graduates should be able to communicate knowledge and ideas effectively both orally and in writing.
Competencies include:
a. Expressing ideas, facts and arguments in a written format that depicts competency in the use of syntax, organization, and style appropriate to the audience.
b. Exhibiting effective oral communication skills, paying attention to content and audience.
5. Engaged Citizenship
UIS graduates should be able to engage in questioning and critical thinking that leads them to explore peoples, systems, values, and perspectives that are beyond their usual boundaries. Students should engage in active and integrative learning to become ethical, responsible, and engaged citizens in a democracy.
Competencies include:
a. Recognizing the social responsibility of the individual within a larger community.
b. Practicing awareness of and respect for the diversity of cultures and peoples in this country and in the world.
c. Reflecting on the ways involvement, leadership, and respect for community occur at the local, regional, national, or international levels.
d. Identifying how economic, political, and social systems operate now and have operated in the past.
e. Engaging in informed, rational, and ethical decision-making and action.
f. Distinguishing the possibilities and limitations of social change.
