Student Learning Goals

UCORE is the centerpiece of the undergraduate curriculum supporting the advancement of the WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals. Each UCORE course designator includes a set of student learning outcomes, aligned with the WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals, that articulate what students are expected to achieve as they complete a course in that designator. All UCORE course designators require students to demonstrate learning outcomes aligned with Critical Thinking, Information Literacy, and Written Communication, while other learning goals are advanced in UCORE courses as appropriate to the course designator (see the UCORE Curriculum Map (PDF) and UCORE Curriculum webpages for more information) and course/discipline. (Note: Announced in May 2022, revised designator learning outcomes were approved by the UCORE Committee to help clarify what students, regardless of major, should be able to know and do upon the successful completion of a course in that designator. Additionally, effective Fall 2023, UCORE added the [EQJS] designator to the “Ways of Knowing” component of the curriculum, with the requirement that students complete courses in at least six of the seven Ways of Knowing designators.)

Note: The WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals are faculty developed and expressed broadly so as to frame study in UCORE (general education) as well as the major. Through the achievement of program-level student learning outcomes for the major or degree program, students generally demonstrate specialized knowledge and skills in the discipline, as well as disciplinary achievement of some WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals (as appropriate to the disciplinary focus), through depth of study within the chosen academic field.

WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals
CRITICAL and CREATIVE THINKING Graduates will use reason, evidence, and context to increase knowledge, to reason ethically, and to innovate in imaginative ways.
INFORMATION LITERACY Graduates will effectively identify, locate, evaluate, use responsibly and share information for the problem at hand.
COMMUNICATION Graduates will communicate successfully with audiences through written, oral, and other media as appropriate for the audience and purpose.
QUANTITATIVE REASONING Graduates will solve quantitative problems from a wide variety of authentic contexts and everyday life situations.
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY Graduates will have a basic understanding of major scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision-making, participation in civic affairs, economic productivity and global stewardship.
DIVERSITY Graduates will understand, respect and interact constructively with others of similar and diverse cultures, values, and perspectives.
DEPTH, BREADTH, AND INTEGRATION OF LEARNING Graduates will develop depth, breadth, and integration of learning for the benefit of themselves, their communities, their employers, and for society at large.

Visualization of Undergraduate Education: Supporting Student Achievement of WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals