University of Maryland, Baltimore County
AC-2: Learning Outcomes
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.41 / 8.00 |
Has the institution adopted one or more sustainability learning outcomes that apply to the entire student body or, at minimum, to the institution's predominant student body?:
Which of the following best describes the sustainability learning outcomes?:
A list of the institution level sustainability learning outcomes:
UMBC GENERAL EDUCATION FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES
URL: https://calt.umbc.edu/files/2015/02/General_Education_Competencies_0805.pdf
UMBC’s General Education program prepares undergraduate students for success in their
academic majors and professional pursuits and for life as informed, responsible citizens of the
21st century. It provides a solid academic foundation in four broad areas (Arts and Humanities,
Mathematics and Sciences, Social Sciences, and Language and Culture), addressed through the
distribution requirements, and includes two required writing courses. In addition, to ensure that
students develop and master certain fundamental skills and intellectual habits of mind, it also
requires that all courses address one or more of the following functional competencies: Oral and
Written Communication, Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning, Critical Analysis and
Reasoning, Technological Competency, and Information Literacy. These competencies have
been developed as recommended standards for General Education programs and have been
adopted by the Maryland Higher Education Commission for colleges and universities in
Maryland.
All UMBC General Education courses should address one or more of the following
competencies:
I. ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Understand and apply both the verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication, by
utilizing fundamental rhetorical strategies and conventions, such as purpose,
audience, genre, tone, format, and structure.
Understand writing as a process that involves multiple drafts, incorporating
feedback, revising, editing, and proofreading.
Identify, select, and evaluate appropriate sources, including print and electronic
texts, cultural artifacts, or artistic creations.
Acknowledge and document sources used to support an argument or presentation.
Develop a foundation for cross-cultural communication.
II. SCIENTIFIC AND QUANTITATIVE REASONING
Understand and use mathematical and scientific methods of inquiry, reasoning,
processes, and strategies to investigate and solve problems.
Organize, interpret, draw inferences, and make predictions about natural or
behavioral phenomena using mathematical and scientific models and theories.
Recognize the ethical and social implications of scientific inquiry and technological
change and distinguish science from non-science and pseudoscience.
August, 2005
Recognize that mathematical, statistical, and scientific evidence requires evaluation.
III. CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND REASONING
Identify and formulate questions and problems and evaluate various methods of
reasoning and verification.
Identify and evaluate stated and unstated assumptions, supporting evidence and
data, alternative points of view, and assess implications and consequences of
particular courses of action.
Construct cogent arguments, provide supporting evidence, articulate reasoned
judgments, and draw appropriate conclusions.
Apply fundamental critical thinking skills to the analysis and interpretation of a
variety of subjects, including ideas and issues, cultural artifacts, or aesthetic works.
IV. TECHNOLOGICAL COMPETENCY
Use information technology as one tool for solving problems, identifying and
evaluating information sources, analyzing reports and presentations.
Use a variety of online or technology-assisted means to present work, such as web
pages, email, online forums, word processing, and presentation and spreadsheet
software.
Understand the essentials of technology, including hardware and software,
networks, and systems.
V. INFORMATION LITERACY
Identify and access a variety of documentary sources of information effectively and
efficiently via traditional and electronic-based retrieval systems.
Evaluate information sources and content in terms of accuracy, authority, bias, and
relevance.
Use information effectively to support a particular argument or to produce a result.
Respect and observe appropriate laws and institutional policies regarding the legal
and ethical retrieval and use of information.
Total number of graduates from degree programs:
Number of graduates from degree programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability:
A brief description of how the figure above was determined:
Departments that have sustainability-focused courses were researched to discover if they included topics above in their mission, program-level objectives, or degree course courses. The number of graduates from the programs was determined via tracking by the University Registrar and the office of Institutional Research, Analysis & Decision Support.
A list of degree programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability:
Please see attached documentation.
Documentation supporting the figure reported above (upload):
Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
Percentage of students who graduate from programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability:
Website URL where information about the sustainability learning outcomes is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.