GVSU General Education Program

Knowledge Student Learning Outcomes Rubric (PDF)

FOUNDATIONS |TOP|
The Arts
1. Explain principles and questions that define the arts and analysis of formal elements of works of art.
2. Explain how meaning in the arts is created and interpreted.
3. Explain the historical and cultural contexts for artists and their works.

Historical Analysis
1. Describe how causation, change, continuity, and chronological thinking shape historical analysis and interpretation. 
2. Evaluate a range of primary sources (textual, material, or both) as crucial evidence to engage in historical analysis and interpretation.
3. Recognize forms of historical analysis and interpretation in secondary sources.

Life Sciences
1. Explain how life scientists investigate and understand the physical universe. 
2. Explain unifying concepts of the life sciences such as evolution and cellular organization and organisms.

Mathematical Sciences
1. Explain principles and questions that define computer science, logic, mathematics, or statistics.
2. Apply techniques for problem solving including recognition of key elements, the choice of suitable methods for solving a problem, and the appropriate application of these methods.

Philosophy and Literature
1. Explain principles and questions that define philosophy or literature and its contributions to human knowledge and civilization.
2. Explain the relationship between the works discussed, the cultures in which they were created, and the human concerns they illuminate.
3. Analyze and interpret one or more primary texts as a major portion of course content.

Physical Sciences
1. Explain methodologies physical scientists use to explore and understand the physical universe.
2. Explain ways in which physical scientists use observations and theory to explain and predict the structure and processes of the physical universe.
3. Explain fundamental concepts, principles, and issues of the physical sciences.

Social and Behavioral Sciences
1. Explain how knowledge in the social and behavioral sciences is created and applied.
2. Explain major approaches, methods, theories, and substantive findings of the field.
3. Evaluate and apply concepts and theories from the social and behavioral sciences to real-life examples.

Writing 
1. Apply general academic writing conventions for language, development, organization, and format.
2. Engage in the writing process, including invention, planning, organizing, revising, and editing.
3. Apply at least one academic citation and documentation system (such as MLA or APA style).

CULTURES

Global Perspectives
1. Explain how culture affects people's efforts to understand, use, and survive in their environments, and how these efforts, in turn, affect culture.
2. Explain within a cultural context the worldviews, language, or ways of life of societies, nations, regions, or peoples located outside of the United States.

U.S. Diversity
1. Explain historical trajectories and consequences, worldviews, languages, and/or ways of life of diverse cultures within the United States.
2. Explain how social constructions of ethnicity/race and at least one of the following social attributes shape group and individual identities: gender, class, abilities, age, sexual orientation, religion, or common history.
3. Explain how individual and systemic racism affect those who are discriminated against and those who discriminate against others in the United States.

ISSUES
Globalization
1. Explain how complementary and competing perspectives contribute to the ongoing discussion about globalization.

Health 
1. Explain how complementary and competing perspectives contribute to the ongoing discussion about health.

Human Rights
1. Explain how complementary and competing perspectives contribute to the ongoing discussion about human rights.

Identity
1. Explain how complementary and competing perspectives contribute to the ongoing discussion about identity.

Information, Innovation, or Technology 
1. Explain how complementary and competing perspectives contribute to the ongoing discussion about information, innovation, or technology.

Sustainability
1. Explain how complementary and competing perspectives contribute to the ongoing discussion about sustainability.

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Essential Skills Student Learning Outcomes and Rubrics |TOP|

Collaboration: Effectively work on a team.
Collaboration Rubric (PDF)

Students will be required to complete one large or several smaller group projects conducted over a significant portion of the semester. For GE purposes, collaboration assesses the teamwork of an individual student, not the team as a whole. Therefore, a student can receive high ratings, even if the team as a whole is rather flawed. Similarly, a student could receive low ratings, even if the team as a whole works fairly well. This rubric is designed to measure the quality of the process, rather than the quality of the end product. As a result, evidence of the student's interactions on the team must include the student's own reflections about their contribution to the team's functioning and evaluation of the student's contributions by other team members (based on the rubric - not a grade). The faculty member will analyze these two data sources and include any faculty observations (if available) to rate student performance on the rubric.

• Creates an environment in which everyone feels they can contribute as well as constructively building on or synthesizing the contributions of others. Notices when someone is not participating and works to engage them. Provides a way to assess and address team members' concerns as the project proceeds.
• Participates in creating a plan that effectively utilizes members' strengths or helps them develop new skills, clearly articulates and allocates roles and tasks to meet deadlines, and establishes a mutually agreed upon accountability system.
• Completes all assigned tasks by the deadline, revising and adjusting plans as needed; proactively helps other team members complete their assigned tasks.

Critical Thinking: Comprehensively evaluate issues, ideas, artifacts, or events before forming a conclusion.
Critical Thinking Rubric (PDF)

• States an issue clearly and describes it comprehensively
• Develops a position or interpretation, based on evidence, that thoroughly takes into account the complexities of an issue, idea, artifact, or event, the limits of the position or interpretation, and other points of view.
• Develops conclusions, implications, and consequences that are logical and reflect an informed evaluation based on strength of evidence.

Ethical Reasoning: Apply ethical principles and codes of conduct to decision making.
Ethical Reasoning Rubric (PDF)

• Recognizes ethical issues when presented in a complex, multilayered (gray) context and can recognize interrelationships among the issues.
• Applies ethical theories or concepts to a complex issue accurately and considers the full implications of the application.
• States a position in-depth and effectively defends against other ethical perspectives.

Information Literacy: Identify the need for information; access, evaluate, and use information effectively, ethically, and legally.
Information Literacy Rubric (PDF)

• Defines the scope of the research question or thesis with clarity and appropriate depth.
• Accesses information by using effective, well-designed search strategies and the most relevant research tools.
• Chooses a variety of quality sources appropriate to the scope and discipline of the research question, incorporating seminal works and essential theorists/thinkers by using multiple evaluative criteria.
• Organizes and synthesizes information from sources to fully achieve the intended purpose, with clarity and depth. Completely and accurately cites all information sources used.

Integration: Apply knowledge from multiple disciplines to new, complex situations.
Integration Rubric (PDF)

• Connects examples, facts, or theories from multiple disciplines and applies them to new, complex situations.

Oral Communication: Effectively prepare and deliver a formal oral presentation.
Oral Communication Rubric (PDF)

Students must give individual formal presentations; group presentations are acceptable if every student presents. Presentations must be at least 5 minutes in length.

• Organizes the presentation in a clear, consistent, and cohesive manner, while also stating a thesis that is compelling, precisely stated, appropriately repeated, and strongly linked to the supporting material.
• Uses language and delivery techniques that make the presentation compelling and the speaker appears polished and confident.
• Uses a variety of supporting materials that significantly enhances the presentation.

Problem Solving: Design and evaluate an approach to answer an open-ended question or achieve a desired goal.
Problem Solving Rubric (PDF)

• Constructs a clear and insightful problem statement that includes all relevant contextual factors.
• Identifies multiple approaches for solving the problem that applies to a specific context.
• Proposes one or more solutions/hypotheses that are sensitive to contextual factors and the ethical, logical, and cultural dimensions of the problem.

Quantitative Literacy: Work effectively with numerical data.
Quantitative Literacy Rubric (PDF)

Students with strong Quantitative Literacy skills understand and can create sophisticated arguments supported by quantitative evidence for various purposes and audiences. They can analyze quantitative data, perform calculations to answer questions, make judgments based on data, and clearly communicate how data can be used to support a position in an appropriate format (i.e., words, tables, graphs, and mathematical equations)

• Calculations are correct, solve the problem, and are presented clearly and concisely
• Skillfully converts data into an insightful mathematical portrayal in a way that contributes to a deeper understanding.
• Uses the quantitative analysis of data as the basis for deep and thoughtful judgments, drawing insightful, carefully qualified conclusions.

Written Communication: Write effectively for multiple purposes and audiences.
Written Communication Rubric - NEW for Winter 2025 (PDF)

For GE purposes, written communication focuses on how a specific written text or a collection of texts responds to the writer's intended context, audience, purpose, and writing task. Develops relevant and compelling content that is appropriate for the intended audience and purpose and illustrates the writer's mastery of the subject

• Uses writing skills to develop content that is relevant and compelling within the disciplinary field(s).
• Supports statements with reasoning and evidence from sources that are credible and appropriate within the disciplinary field(s) for a particular audience, purpose, and task.
• Uses words, phrases, sentences, and organizational structures typical of the task within the disciplinary field(s) to clearly and fluently communicate meaning to an intended reader.