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BTĚěĚĂCore

For questions or concerns, contact the Assistant Provost for Academic Assessment and General Education: Dr. Jacob Held / 450-5307

[1] Mission, Values, Goals, and Outcomes

[1.1] Mission and Values

Mission of the BTĚěĚĂCore: The BTĚěĚĂCore is designed to ensure that every student at BTĚěĚĂdevelops the essential intellectual foundation necessary for professional adaptability, informed citizenship, and lifelong learning.

Values of the BTĚěĚĂCore: The overarching of the BTĚěĚĂCore is to equip students with foundational skills—such as critical thinking, effective communication, the development of a self-aware personal identity, and the ability to conceptualize responsible courses of action—necessary to pursue advanced academic work and address real-world challenges.

[1.2] Goals and Outcomes

Students completing the BTĚěĚĂCore program will demonstrate these goals and outcomes.

[1.2.1] Global Learning (G)

Global Learning: The development of a self-aware personal identity that recognizes global interconnections, enabling learners to evaluate various viewpoints and apply their knowledge to craft sophisticated responses to real-world issues.

The goal of Global Learning is demonstrated through student achievement in the following learning outcomes:

  • Self-Awareness in a Global Context- The development of a personal identity that recognizes the interconnections between oneself and local and global communities. It involves understanding one’s own position to effectively address and relate to global topics.
  • Exploring Viewpoints- The capacity to engage with, learn from, and evaluate differing viewpoints and experiences. This skill requires both recognizing how one’s own position informs one’s knowledge, and understanding the complex relationships across personal, cultural, disciplinary, and global viewpoints.
  • Engaging with Global Topics- The ability to apply knowledge and skills gained through higher learning to address real-world global topics. It requires a deep, integrated understanding of the interrelationships between cultures, societies, and the natural world to craft sophisticated responses to complex issues.

[1.2.2] Critical Inquiry (I)

Critical Inquiry: Critical Inquiry involves clearly articulating a problem or question within its proper context, devising an appropriate methodological plan to investigate it, synthesizing evidence from high-quality sources, and arriving at informed conclusions that account for relevant contexts, limitations, and implications.

The goal of Critical Inquiry is demonstrated through student achievement in the following learning outcomes:

  • Identification of the Problem: The ability to fully articulate a problem or question within its context.
  • Methodology: The capacity to recognize and implement appropriate strategic approaches to address a problem or question
  • Analysis: The ability to synthesize information and evidence from relevant, high-quality sources related to a stated problem or question.
  • Conclusion/Outcome: The formulation of conclusions or insights that reflect an informed and well-supported evaluation of relevant evidence, demonstrating a clear consideration of relevant contexts, limitations, and implications.

[1.2.3] Effective Communication (C)

Effective Communication: The ability to develop and present ideas logically and effectively.

The goal of Effective Communication is demonstrated through student achievement in the following learning outcomes:

  • Central Message: The topic, thesis, or main point of communication that is consistent with the purpose of the assignment.
  • Organization: The grouping of material in communication, including a specific introduction, conclusion, sequenced material within the body, and transitions.
  • Supporting Material/Evidence: Explanations, examples, illustrations, statistics, analogies, quotations from relevant authorities, or other kinds of information or analysis that support the central message.
  • Context and Audience: The people and situations surrounding the communication, including the cognitive, social, and cultural factors that influence the audience and communicator.
  • For Oral Communication – Verbal and Nonverbal Delivery: Posture, gesture, eye contact, vocal expressiveness (loudness, tone, emphasis), and vocal fillers (“um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know,” etc.).
  • For Written Communication – Control of Syntax and Mechanics: The use of language to communicate meaning, including word choice, sentence and paragraph structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

[1.2.4] Responsible Living (R)

Responsible Living: The ability to understand complex issues and their impact on stakeholders, applying disciplinary knowledge to develop solutions that promote holistic well-being across personal, professional, and community contexts.

The goal of Responsible Living is demonstrated through student achievement in the following learning outcomes:

  • Issue Identification & Contextual Understanding: Ability to recognize and interpret complex multidimensional issues and how various life domains (biological, psychological, social, financial, environmental) interact.
  • Stakeholder Impact Awareness: Ability to identify relevant major and minor parties affected by an issue, including individuals, groups, and communities, and describing potential impacts.
  • Theoretical Foundations of Well-Being or Ethics: Competence in applying discipline-specific theories of well-being or ethics to analyze issues and guide decisions.
  • Identifying and Evaluating Courses of Action: Capacity to propose and appraise multiple viable options for addressing issues.
  • Application, Reasoning, and Reflection: The ability to synthesize analyses into a realistic plan or solution, demonstrating thoughtful reasoning, considering broad personal, professional, and community outcomes.

[1.2.5] First-Year Seminar (FYS)

The purpose of an FYS course at BTĚěĚĂis to provide students with an exemplary academic experience as an introduction to collegiate life at UCA. To do so, the goals of each FYS course will develop students’ knowledge and skills around the following questions:

  1. What is Academic Knowledge?
  2. How Will You Succeed in College?
  3. How Do We Work Together?
  4. How Do We Create Knowledge?

[2] Lower-Division Core Requirements

Follow this link to the current lower-division BTĚěĚĂCore check sheet: check sheet link.

[3] Upper-Division Core Requirements

In order to satisfy upper-division core requirement, students must take upper-division courses that address outcomes in each of the four competency areas of the BTĚěĚĂCore: Global Learning (G), Critical Inquiry (I), Effective Communication (C), and Responsible Living (R).  In addition, all students must take a course designated as a Capstone Experience (Z).  These courses may also count as major, minor, or elective requirements, and except for Capstone Experience courses, one course may satisfy up to two upper-division Core requirements. Students should consult their academic advisors for clarification about upper-division requirements that apply to them.

Follow this link for a current list of upper-division BTĚěĚĂCore courses: UD BTĚěĚĂCore Lists. For information about upper-division BTĚěĚĂCore courses specific to your major, please consult this Undergraduate Bulletin, your program’s Sample Degree Plan, and your advisor.