James Madison University
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Mission Statement: In the liberal arts tradition, General Education: The Human Community aspires to create informed global citizens of the 21st century.

Philosophy: General Education: The Human Community is the core academic program of James Madison University in which students come to understand how distinct disciplines look at the world from different vantage points. Courses in The Human Community are organized into five areas, each emphasizing unique tools, rationales and methodologies. Taken together, courses in a student’s chosen major and The Human Community complement and complete each other. Both are integral and essential components of a student’s full and proper education.

Source: https://catalog.jmu.edu/content.php?catoid=54&navoid=2899 

The Natural World:

Scientific investigations into the natural world use analytical methods to evaluate evidence, build and test models based on that evidence, and develop theories. Quantitative reasoning, broadly construed, is humanity’s most powerful language for prediction and analysis of physical and human phenomena. Courses in The Natural World provide students with the opportunity to develop methodological awareness and problem-solving skills in the sciences and quantitative disciplines at the college level. Students will be introduced to the scientific method along with a substantial body of scientific facts, concepts, models and theories. They will also gain experience in using quantitative methods to obtain knowledge about the natural, mathematical, and social worlds. This area is cross-disciplinary, thereby demonstrating boundaries and connections among mathematics, statistics, the sciences and other aspects of culture.

The General Education program recommends that students begin The Natural World during their first year and complete it by the end of their sophomore year if possible. Individual courses satisfy requirements in a number of major and professional programs. Students are encouraged to select appropriate courses in The Natural World on the basis of their backgrounds, interests and educational objectives.

After completing courses in The Natural World students will be able to meet the following objectives:

• Describe the methods of inquiry that lead to mathematical truth and scientific knowledge and be able to distinguish science from pseudoscience.
• Use theories and models as unifying principles that help us understand natural phenomena and make predictions.
• Recognize the interdependence of applied research, basic research and technology, and how they affect society.
• Identify the interdependence of natural systems with the social, economic and ethical aspects of global and local issues.
• Use graphical, symbolic and numerical methods to analyze, organize and interpret natural phenomena.
• Discriminate between association and causation and identify the types of evidence used to establish causation.
• Formulate hypotheses, identify relevant variables and design experiments to test hypotheses.
• Evaluate the credibility, use and misuse of scientific and mathematical information in scientific developments and public-policy issues.

The outcome underlined is the sustainability-focused outcome.

Source: https://catalog.jmu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=54&poid=23341 (Accessed 08/27/24).  

The source for graduates from each degree program is JMU Institutional Research, Fall, Spring, and trailing Summer terms data as reported to the US Department of Education (IPEDS) for 2022-23, https://www.jmu.edu/pair/ir/factbook/dc-01.shtml. The figure for total graduates includes 4,373 Bachelor's Degrees, 701 Master's Degrees, 29 Educational Specialists Degrees, 40 Doctorates, and 75 Post-Baccalaureate Certificates from 2022-2023. That was the most current information available.

Essa Paterson, ISNW, identified the number of graduates from degree programs that met the criteria following a methodology consistent with the 2018 and 2022 STARS reports.  Three sources of learning outcomes were used.

First, the most current Assessment Progress Templates (APTs) for each program were obtained from JMU's Center for Assessment and Research Studies in Fall 2023. The APTs were reviewed to identify programs and learning goals/outcomes/objectives that met the STARS criteria. 

Next, programs with a required sustainability-focused course were identified, using the sustainability course list from AC 1. The 2022-23 catalog was reviewed to identify which of these were required courses in degree programs. Three programs were identified that required a sustainability-focused course but were not already counted based on the program having a sustainability-focused outcome.

Third, JMU program websites were reviewed for published goals.

The number of graduates from the programs reported for this credit were obtained from the same Institutional Research source as was the data for total graduates (described above) https://www.jmu.edu/pair/ir/factbook/dc-01.shtml (Accessed 05/20/24).

(1) The following are degree programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability according to Assessment Progress Templates (APTs). This means that all graduates upon completion of the degree should have an understanding of sustainability as articulated below:

Program: Geography B.A./B.S.

59 graduates

Relevant Program Goal: (3) After completing a degree in Geography, students will be able to apply geographical thinking (spatial thinking, holistic thinking, integration of human/natural environment, current state of the discipline) to real-world problems, including appraisal (analysis) of societal and environmental issues.

Program: Integrated Science and Technology B.S.

67 graduates

Relevant Program Goals/objectives: Obj. A-7 Explain how organisms interact with the physical environment and consequences of these interactions for population, community, and ecosystem dynamics. Obj. A-8. Describe how human activities affect the living world and the physical environment. Obj. C-3. Describe the dynamics of natural and human built systems using the concepts of steady state, equilibrium, feedback, decay, non-linearity, and emergent properties. Program Educational Outcome 1: Seek to understand the systems from which problems emerge, including the technological, institutional, cultural, and natural dimensions. Program Educational Outcome 2: Use both social and natural science methodologies to understand and solve problems.

Program: Earth Sciences B.A.

10 graduates

Relevant Program Goals/objectives: Content Knowledge = understanding fundamental facts and concepts (e.g., relationships, principles, theories) important in the geosciences. The following are topical themes that are important in the span from introductory to advanced levels of mastery: 

Program: Geology B.S.

9 graduates

Relevant Program Goals/objectives: Content Knowledge = understanding fundamental facts and concepts (e.g., relationships, principles, theories) important in the geosciences. The following are topical themes that are important in the span from introductory to advanced levels of mastery: 

Program: Political Science M.A. - European Union Policy Studies Concentration

14 graduates

Relevant Program Goals: Category 3: Graduating students will possess expertise in contemporary policy issues in political science in their concentration area including international security, immigration, human rights, environmental protection, welfare provision, health and human services, and information technology and their underlying political philosophies. Objective 3.1: Graduating students will be able to gather and analyze data for the purpose of addressing public policy problems. Objective 3.2: Graduating students will be able to analyze and affect all stages of the policy cycle, from agenda setting through program evaluation.

Program: Architectural Design B.F.A.

27 graduates

Relevant Program Goals: The Bachelor in Fine Arts in Architectural Design educates future design leaders. It is an intensive program focused on rigorous design processes. Architectural Design is approached holistically – emphasizing investigations into representation, the nature of materials and objects, space, building technology, sustainability, site condition and strategies, architectural history and theory, programmatic invention, functional poetics, and collaboration across disciplines. Relevant Program Objectives: Students graduating from the BFA program will: 1. Create designs that through research incorporate Environmental Ethics 4. Communicate complex projects that incorporate public, community-based, multi-program spaces that enhance social consciousness, environmental consciousness and education. 5. Use the production of visionary designs as a means of inquiry into environmental and socio-economic concerns found in the built environment, including spatial practices, materials and site, and technology.

Program: Nursing M.S.N.

31 graduates

Student Learning Outcome 5: Analyze economic, policy, environmental, and social forces to impact health care delivery, quality of care, and safety.

Program: Engineering B.S. (also included in AC 3) 

66 graduates

Relevant Program Outcomes: JMU Engineering graduates should have: 2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specific needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors. 4. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.

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(2) The following are degree programs that require sustainability-focused course(s):

Program: Social Work B.S.W

44 graduates

Required course: SOWK 288. Human Rights, Social, Economic and Environmental Justice (https://catalog.jmu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=50&poid=21112&hl=social+work&returnto=search Accessed 05/20/24)

Program: Integrated Science and Technology M.S. (also included in AC 4)

0 graduates (newly redesigned program that had been on hold during redesign)

Required course: ISAT 502. Earth Systems

(https://www.jmu.edu/catalog/pdfs/2022-2023-jmu-graduate-catalog.pdf p.123 Accessed 8/5/24)

Program: Education, Adult Education/Human Resource Development M.S. Ed

15 Graduates

Required course: AHRD 575. Diversity and Ethics in AHRD (https://www.jmu.edu/catalog/pdfs/2022-2023-jmu-graduate-catalog.pdf p.131-132)

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(3) The following is a degree program that requires an understanding of the concept of sustainability according to the published Program Goals. This means that all graduates upon completion of the degree should have an understanding of sustainability as articulated below:

Program: Elementary Education B.S.

116 graduates

Relevant Program Goal: Goal 2. Candidates possess and are able to use content knowledge in planning and instruction. 2.6 Develops an appreciation for the global connection of all humanity and our interdependence on the finite, natural resources of the earth. https://www.jmu.edu/coe/eere/_files/ELEDGoalsOutcomes.pdf, Accessed 10/12/23.

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Description of General Education and learning outcome from JMU catalog 24-25: https://catalog.jmu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=54&poid=23341. General Education applies to the predominant student body, i.e., students at the undergraduate level who have not transferred in. 

Responsible parties for providing reports: Dr. Joe Kush, Assistant Assessment Specialist, Center for Assessment and Research Studies, September 8, 2023.