Introduction

San Francisco State University

No overall objectives for baccalaureate degrees were located, but there is a mission statement and specified learning objectives for the general education program.

Segment I: Basic Subjects

Segment II: Arts and Science Core

Physical and Biological Sciences

Humanities and Creative Arts

Behavioral and Social Sciences

Life Long Development

American Ethnic and Racial Minorities

Segment III: Relationships of Knowledge

Mission

The mission of San Francisco State University is to create and maintain an environment for learning that promotes respect for and appreciation of scholarship, freedom, human diversity, and the cultural mosaic of the City of San Francisco and the Bay Area; to promote excellence in instruction and intellectual accomplishment; and to provide broadly accessible higher education for residents of the region and state, as well as the nation and world. To fulfill its mission, the university is committed to the following goals:

Attracting, retaining, and graduating a highly diverse student body;
Providing disciplinary and interdisciplinary liberal arts and professional education that is academically rigorous and intellectually challenging;
Providing curricula that reflect all dimensions of human diversity, and that encourage critical thinking and social and cultural awareness;
Recruiting, retaining, and supporting a diverse faculty whose teaching demonstrates an active engagement with their individual fields of study and whose creative and scholarly work is an extension of the classroom, laboratory, or studio;
Employing a staff and administration reflecting the diversity of the community and the values of the campus;
Fostering a collegial and cooperative intellectual environment that includes recognition and appreciation of differing viewpoints and promotes academic freedom within the university community; and
Serving the communities with which its students and faculty are engaged.

General Education

The current general education program at San Francisco State University (SFSU) is ground in the following precept: “General education introduces students to a lifetime of learning about themselves and about the world in which they live. Above all, general education should sharpen students’ abilities for continued intellectual growth and should develop an awareness of and appreciation for the tentative nature of human knowledge that must constantly be added to, subtracted from, and modified in light of subsequent discoveries.” (Academic Senate Policy, #F05-64) For students who complete all of their general education program at SFSU these goals are addressed in three Segments: (1) Segment I: Basic Subjects (12 units), (2) Segment II: Arts and Sciences Core (27 units), and (3) Segment III: Relationships of Knowledge (9 upper division units). The learning objectives for these segments is presented below.

Segment I: Basic Subjects

Principles and Description

Segment I of General Education at San Francisco State University is designed to “develop basic competency in communication, critical thinking, and quantitative reasoning” (Academic Senate Policy, #F05-64). This first principle is predicated on the understanding that an “educated person should be able to communicate with clarity and force, to read with discrimination and understanding, and to think with precision and creativity. The Segment I GE curriculum develops a disciplined use of language for effective communication, builds disciplined thought processes for sharpened analytical skills, and helps students develop greater ability and confidence to reason and make judgments about mathematically based information. Principle one is achieved in SFSU’s GE Segment I – Basic Subjects that consists of four requirements: Written Communication (214s), Oral Communication, Critical Thinking, and Quantitative Reasoning” (Academic Senate Policy, #F05-64).

GE Segment I - Critical Thinking - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a GE Segment I Critical Thinking course, students should be capable of:

Recognizing, articulating, and questioning assumptions and presuppositions underlying discourse, including one's own.
Identifying formal and informal fallacies of language and thought.
Distinguishing arguments from other forms of discourse, and premises from conclusions.
Using language critically and precisely.
Identifying suppressed and overlooked evidence.
Writing reasoned discourse that provides a detailed evaluation of a complex argument, including possible objections to it.

GE Segment I - Oral Communication - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a GE Segment I Oral Communication course, students should be capable of:

Demonstrating awareness of the complexity of communication in terms of its psychological, social, political, cultural, and ethical dimensions.
Demonstrating knowledge about verbal and nonverbal communication in various contexts (e.g., interpersonal, small group, public speaking, intercultural).
Reducing their own speech anxiety and projecting greater confidence as a speaker.
Listening actively and providing constructive feedback.
Considering an audience's knowledge, background and attitudes when constructing a message.
Recognizing and articulating issues from one's own perspective, while acknowledging the perspectives of others.
Locating, evaluating and reporting information in support of a point of view.
Assessing claims or arguments as a speaker and listener.
Organizing, constructing, and delivering prepared and spontaneous presentations.
Demonstrating effective verbal and nonverbal delivery skills.

GE Segment I - Quantitative Reasoning - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a GE Segment I Quantitative Reasoning course, students should be capable of:

1. Translating between verbal statements and mathematical expressions.

2. Understanding mathematics both as a descriptive language and a set of techniques.

3. Applying quantitative information and procedures to contexts both inside and outside the classroom.

4. Presenting and summarizing information in quantitative form.

5. Interpreting, making judgments about, and drawing conclusions from quantitative material.

6. Performing mathematical calculations.

7. Using appropriate technology for mathematical operations.

8. Evaluating critically the uses of quantitative procedures and descriptions, including identifying appropriate applications and deceptive or erroneous reasoning.

9. Constructing mathematical models.

GE Segment I - Written Communication - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a GE Segment I Written Communication course, students should be capable of:

1. Attaining writing skills suitable for upper division course work.

2. Understanding discipline-specific texts thoroughly and using them as a basis for their writing assignments.

3. Formulating a thesis based on their readings.

4. Substantiating a thesis through appropriate references to primary and secondary texts, and through personal insights.

5. Distinguishing between adequate and inadequate substantiation of a thesis or topic, both at the essay and the paragraph levels.

6. Writing essays and paragraphs that are well focused and relevant to the subject identified in their theses and topics.

7. Demonstrating knowledge of the principles of sentence development through the ability to develop ideas within a single, complex sentence, rather than in an accretion of simple sentences.

8. Writing compositions that are mainly free of significant errors in usage, writing mechanics, and spelling.

Segment II: Arts and Sciences Core

Principles and Description

Segment II of General Education at San Francisco State University is designed “to develop an understanding of the contributions and influences of the physical and biological sciences, the behavioral and social sciences, the humanities and creative arts toward the development of civilization and toward the identification, investigation, and resolution of individual and societal problems.

The Arts and Sciences Core helps students develop an understanding of the contributions to and influences on our world of the physical and biological sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, and the creative arts. Through study of the arts and sciences students are introduced to theories and methods of inquiry and assessment particular to these disciplines and how this knowledge is applicable to an understanding and appreciation of others and oneself. Students are exposed to multiple ways of acquiring knowledge and encouraged to participate actively in creative endeavors. Within Segment II, students gain information that will be useful to their lifelong personal development (Lifelong Development-LLD) and to their development as active and constructive participants in a diverse society (American Ethnic and Racial Minorities-AERM).

Through the physical and biological sciences curriculum, students develop skills in applying scientific methods to the search for an understanding of the components and processes that constitute our physical and biological world, and an understanding of the connections between scientific developments and contemporary issues that affect our lives.

Through the behavioral and social sciences curriculum, students enhance the understanding of themselves and others as psychological and social beings. The curriculum develops skills for analyzing human behavior and for evaluating facts and principles relevant to making social policy. Course work is designed to foster civic and global responsibility as well as an appreciation for diverse values and past and present cultural traditions.

Through the humanities and arts curriculum, students are urged to explore the fundamental questions regarding human values, aesthetics, and expression. The curriculum is dedicated to stimulating reflective thinking, imagination, and creativity; to increasing civic and global responsibility; to cultivating moral action; and to building the communication skills needed to express the best of what it means to be a human.

At SFSU one of the premises of GE is to develop an appreciation and an understanding of the richness, diversity, and heritage of America’s ethnic and racial minorities as well as its cultural ethnic and social pluralism. This element of SFSU’s GE program is achieved in its American Ethnic and Racial Minority AERM courses. A general education should also equip students for lifelong understanding and development of themselves as integrated physiological, social, and psychological individuals. The element of SFSU’s GE program is achieved through its Lifelong Development (LLD) courses” (Academic Senate Policy, #F05-64).

The principles which guide SFSU’s GE Segment II – Arts and Sciences Core are fulfilled through nine units in the Physical and Biological Sciences, nine units in the Humanities and Creative Arts, and nine units in the Behavioral and Social Sciences, for a total of twenty-seven units of breadth requirements in the Arts and Sciences Core. These twenty-seven units represent more than half (56.3%) of the forty-eight required units in general education. The American Ethnic and Racial Minorities Requirement and the Lifelong Development Requirement are overlay requirements in Segment II, which means that students can complete these requirements while fulfilling another aspect of the Arts and Sciences Core. Specific learning outcomes for each requirement can be found in the policy governing the general education program, Academic Senate Policy, #F05-64.

GE Segment II: Physical and Biological Science (PBS) Area (i.e. PBS Category A, B and C Courses) - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of each course in the Physical and Biological Sciences Area, students should be capable of:

Demonstrating verbal, qualitative, and quantitative understanding of scientific knowledge and principles.
Using critical thinking skills, such as analysis and interpretation of scientific data, integrative application of scientific concepts to problem solving, hypothetical/deductive/inductive reasoning, and distinguishing fact and logical inferences from judgment and opinion.

PBS Category C-Integrative Sciences - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a course approved for PBS Category C: Integrative Sciences, students should be capable of fulfilling the two student learning outcomes listed above for the PBS Area requirement courses, and should also be capable of fulfilling at least one of the three student learning outcomes listed below for PBS Category C-Integrative Sciences courses.

Applying integrative science concepts to problem solving.
Understanding relationships between science and society.

3. Understanding related technologies and their costs, benefits, and limitations.

PBS Lab/Field - Student Learning Outcomes: After completion of a PBS course designated as fulfilling the PBS laboratory or field requirement, students should be capable of:

1. Demonstrating data gathering, analysis, and interpretation skills.

GE Segment II: Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA) Area - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a course in a specific HCA Category listed below, students should be capable of demonstrating the student learning outcome(s) specified for that HCA Category.

HCA Category A: Major Humanistic/Artistic Achievements - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a course in HCA Category A, students should be capable of:

Comparing, evaluating, and appreciating works of literature, philosophy, visual arts, or performing arts.

HCA Category B: Disciplines and Inter-disciplines - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a course in HCA Category B, students should be capable of:

Applying a theoretical and critical perspective to the study of the arts and humanities.

HCA Category C: Historical, Social Ethnic and Cultural Contexts - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a course in HCA Category C, students should be capable of:

Appreciating the relationship between creative works and their historical and social contexts.

HCA Category D: Active Creative Participation - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a course in HCA Category D, students should be capable of:

Developing an introductory-level proficiency in one of the creative arts.

HCA Category E: Languages Other than English - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a course in HCA Category E, students should be capable of:

Developing an awareness of cultural difference and an introductory-level proficiency in a language other than English.

GE Segment II: Behavioral and Social Science (BSS) Area - Student Learning Outcomes. While students should acquire knowledge and skills related to the learning outcomes listed below in each of the courses approved for the Behavioral and Social Sciences Area, they should be capable of demonstrating the following learning outcomes after completing the minimum 9-unit requirement for the Behavioral and Social Sciences Area.

1. Understanding basic concepts used to analyze human behavior in society as well as the interrelationships among the disciplines within the area.

2. Understanding basic methods of inquiry into human behavior and the criteria by which concepts, facts, generalizations, principles, and theories of the social and behavioral sciences are evaluated.

3. Appreciating other societies, cultures, and civilizations--past and present, western and non-western--in addition to their own.

GE Segment II: Lifelong Development - Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of a course designated as fulfilling the GE Segment II LLD requirement, students should be capable of:

1. Integrating information, theories, and experiences gained from the course to themselves as physiological, social, and psychological beings.

2. Applying the knowledge gained to their current and future life experiences.

GE Segment II: American Ethnic and Racial Minorities Requirement - Student Learning Outcomes. After completing a GE Segment II course designated as fulfilling the American Ethnic and Racial Minorities requirement, students will be capable of applying scholarship in the study of American Ethnic and Racial Minorities and will be capable of demonstrating at least two of the following learning outcomes:

Identifying the ways in which the historical, political, and/or cultural and aesthetic experiences of different ethnic/racial minority groups are similar to and different from each other.
Identifying their value systems and/or styles of creative expression and those of other ethnic and racial groups.
Developing the understandings and behavioral competencies necessary for effective interpersonal and inter-ethnic group interactions such as the following :

a. Recognizing the diversity of attitudes and values which are projected in verbal and nonverbal behavior.

b. Recognizing the dynamics of interpersonal interactions from others' perspectives.

c. Identifying and recognizing the concerns regarding ethnic and racial minority stereotypes.

d. Recognizing the dynamics of racial hierarchies and power relations from others' perspectives.

Developing their social and cultural participation skills, decision-making abilities, and political awareness in order to be citizens in an ethnically and racially diverse nation.

Segment III: Relationships of Knowledge

Principles and Description

The CSU system requires that students receiving a baccalaureate degree from a CSU campus complete 9 units of upper division general education coursework at the campus granting their degree. SFSU fulfills this upper division requirement through its Segment III program, Relationships of Knowledge. Students cannot begin Segment III coursework until (or after) the semester in which they achieve junior standing. The goal of G.E. Segment III at SFSU is to “to promote an appreciation of the interrelationships among knowledge, values and skills.” This goal is grounded in a belief that students “benefit from knowledge about:

· The value and significance of human achievements.

· The experiences and achievements of various cultural, ethnic, or social groups.

· The complexity of personal, cultural, and social problems and issues.

· The impacts and consequences of solutions to existing or newly created problems.

· The problems, issues, or solutions confronted by various social, ethnic, or cultural groups and how they may be experienced in different ways.

· The integration of their abilities, knowledge, and experience in making decisions.

· The prevalence of cultural, social, personal, and/or procedural biases.

· The use of effective procedures for investigating problems and issues.

This component of our GE program consists of three upper-division courses that must be selected from an approved, internally cohesive, interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary, thematic cluster. The clusters are each organized around a central, unifying theme and range in size from very small clusters of only 4 courses to very large ones with 30 or more courses. Many clusters are broken up into 2-3 categories to insure that students are exposed to a range of ideas within the theme.

GE Segment III Student Learning Outcomes. After completion of the 9-unit GE Segment III upper division, residence requirement in a single cluster, students should be capable of:

1. Identifying interdisciplinary perspectives around a theme that focuses on human experiences, achievements, or problems, past and/or present.

2. Integrating knowledge, experience, and abilities around a theme from at least two different disciplinary perspectives.

3. Synthesizing information and engaging in critical analyses, including problem solving, decision making, investigating and/or evaluating the implications of an issue.

4. Engaging in critical analysis in classroom discussions and in writing assignments (minimum of ten, double-spaced pages).

5. Demonstrating an awareness and understanding of cultural, ethnic, or social diversity, whether local, national, or global, and the relationship of diversity to the cluster theme.