Missouri State University
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

With the three pillars of sustainability in mind, the Academics Subcommittee of the Sustainability Advisory Committee reviewed the general education learning goals and outcomes and identified the following set of outcomes that constitute Sustainability Learning Outcomes (SLOs): 1. Identify and follow through on personally and socially relevant problems and reasonable solutions to those problems. 2. Demonstrate values, knowledge, and skills, such as building upon the ideas of others and treating team members with respect, which support a collaborative culture. 3. Understand various institutions (e.g., cultural, political, economic, religious, and educational) and their historical backgrounds, as well as principles of human behavior and social interaction. 4. Articulate interdependence of people and places around the globe. 5. Cultivate their intellect, imagination, and creativity as they develop an understanding of how social, cultural, linguistic, artistic, religious, philosophical, and historical contexts have shaped the thoughts and actions of people worldwide. 6. Analytically compare the influences of community, institutions, and other constructions such as class, gender, and race on the ways of thinking, believing, and acting in cultural and historical settings other than one’s own. 7. Understand basic concepts of living things, the nature of scientific knowledge, and relevance of biological knowledge to human affairs. 8. Make logical connections between key concepts in the physical sciences and describe the interaction between human lives and the physical world. 9. Understand the ways the environment impacts humanity and how human actions affect the environment. 10. Identify the rights and responsibilities they have in their own communities and the broader society. 11. Utilize knowledge from academic fields, making relevant connections to civic and political participation. 12. Recognize the needs of the communities to which they belong and understand how to address those needs. 13. Analyze the role that different languages, cultures, institutions, and beliefs have in shaping individual and collective behavior. 14. Articulate their value systems, understand the ethical implications of their actions based on those values, and develop skills consistent with having a positive impact on individuals, groups, or communities. 15. Understand and evaluate the causes of societal problems and potential solutions. 16. Integrate knowledge, abilities and skills across disciplines to understand real life experiences and/or social situations. These learning outcomes are achieved as students complete the general education requirements at Missouri State University. Some of the General Education classes that contribute to these outcomes include: • AGR 100 – Food Security • ANT 125 – Exploring our Human Ancestry • GRY 108 – Principles of Sustainability • REL 131 – Religion in America • BIO 101 – Biology in Your World • GLG 171 – Environmental Geology • SWK 219 – Human Diversity • ECO 101 – Economics of Social Issues • PLN 100 – Understanding Cities