General Education - Core Assessment
Overview
The purpose of the core curriculum is to ensure that Texas undergraduate students
enrolled in public institutions of higher education will develop the essential knowledge
and skills they need in order to be successful in college, in a career, in their communities,
and in life. The core curriculum facilitates the transfer of lower-division course
credit among public colleges, universities, and health-related institutions throughout
the state.
Core Objectives
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has adopted a set of six core objectives
to guide essential learning for college students in the state of Texas.
- Critical Thinking Skills (CT) - creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information
- Communication Skills (COM) - effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication
- Empirical and Quantitative Skills (EQS) - manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions
- Teamwork (TW) - ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal
- Social Responsibility (SR) - intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities
- Personal Responsibility (PR) - ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making
Foundational Component Areas
There are also nine Foundational Component Areas (FCA) with specific core objective
requirements.
- Communication
- Mathematics
- Life and Physical Sciences
- Language, Philosophy and Culture
- Creative Arts
- American History
- Government/Political Science
- Social and Behavioral Sciences
- The Component Area Option
Based on these mandates, UHCL has adopted the following Core Course Curriculum and will assess objectives based on the nine Foundation Component Areas.