Learning Outcomes

NDNU has developed learning outcomes at three levels:

• Institutional level
• Core Curriculum (undergraduate)
• Program level

Institutional and Core Curriculum outcomes are described in this section while program level learning outcomes are given with the program descriptions later in the Catalog.

NDNU Institutional Learning Outcomes

Across all levels of education, NDNU strives to produce graduates with a common core of skills and abilities. These institutional learning outcomes are listed below.

Written Communication
Upon graduation from NDNU, students will be able to:

• Plan and generate a cogent, clear, and compelling writing project whose organizational structure and fluency contribute throughout to its purpose
• Create an analytically complex, insightful, and creative writing project that fully explores the complexities of the issues involved
• Use full, credible, appropriate, and convincing evidence in support of a writing project’s contentions and assertions
• Employ language that is clear and precise, that enhances the written project’s purpose, and whose tone and style are appropriate to the intended audience
• Generate prose that is relatively free of mechanical errors and uses format and documentation style appropriate to the discipline

Quantitative Reasoning
Upon graduation from NDNU, students will be able to:

• Solve real-life quantitative problems by performing operations with numbers, fractions, decimals, percents, and algebraic expressions, and solving simple equations and inequalities
• Solve verbal problems presented in algebraic context, use geometric reasoning, translate written phrases into algebraic expressions, and use graphing methods
• Organize and communicate mathematical information symbolically, visually, numerically, and verbally
• Reason precisely and logically with mathematical ideas. Understand and use abstract concepts and reasoning
• Use arithmetical, algebraic, geometric, and statistical methods to design solutions to practical problems
• Interpret mathematical models such as formulas, algorithms, graphs, tables, and schematics in order to draw inferences and construct deductive arguments from them
• Use the appropriate technology in the analysis, synthesis, modeling, and evaluation of mathematical and statistical problem-solving

Oral Communication
Upon graduation from NDNU, students will be able to:

• Choose and narrow oral presentation topics appropriately for audience and occasion, keeping in mind the time and place allotted for the presentation
• Organize an oral presentation with an attention-catching opening, a clearly communicated thesis and purpose, main points that are well developed and supported, vivid and moving examples and details, a logical progression within and between ideas, and a conclusion that solidly reinforces the main points
• Use language that is accurate and appropriate to the audience, occasion, and purpose with clear articulation and correct grammar and pronunciation
• Use vocal variety in rate, pitch, and intensity to heighten and maintain interest with a minimum of vocalized pauses (—ums and —uhs)
• Maintain eye contact, use physical presence and gestures that support the verbal message, and communicate engagement with the audience through confidence, sincerity, and enthusiasm for the topic
• Use notes effectively, keeping reading to a minimum
• Use a range of visual and/or technological aids, when and if necessary, that are appropriate to the audience, occasion, and purpose

Critical Thinking
Upon graduation from NDNU, students will be able to:

• Pose vital questions and identify problems, formulating them clearly and precisely
• Gather relevant information and interpret it effectively
• Consider alternative systems of thought impartially, recognizing and assessing assumptions, implications, and practical consequences
• Develop well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, checking them against relevant criteria and standards
• Communicate effectively with others in determining solutions to complex problems

Mission, Values, and Engagement

NDNU students

• Understand the Mission of the University and recognize how it is embedded in the course work and throughout the institution
• Are afforded multiple opportunities, feel invited to engage in the Mission and Core Values of the University, and recognize how they encourage personal and social growth
• Examine, develop, and express their own values inside and outside of the classroom and recognize ethical implications of course content and their personal choices
• Engage in and absorb diverse perspectives and appreciate and value human diversity
• Enjoy a full college experience and engage in and are edified by a variety of outside-of-the-classroom experiences, including clubs, student government, sports, community-based learning, cultural events, and recreational activities
• Develop the tools, habits, and intellectual curiosity to become lifelong learners

Core Curriculum Learning Outcomes

The Core Curriculum is designed to introduce all students to the Core Values of Notre Dame de Namur University and to how these values are linked to the educational pursuit. These values include development of the whole person, working in a collaborative community, and promotion of social justice.

The Core Curriculum Learning Outcomes (and similarly the Core Curriculum Requirements) are divided into:

• Common Core: Outcomes that encompass experiences shared by all students
• Breadth: Outcomes that provide students with a broader understanding of diverse disciplines while further strengthening such competencies as written and oral communication, critical thinking, and community-based learning first introduced in the common core courses
• Core Competency: Outcomes that enhance and integrate students’ abilities to research, write, and speak about both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary topics as they engage with the world around them

Common Core Learning Outcomes

Freshman Year Seminar

The Freshman Year Seminar is an interdisciplinary course that introduces traditional-aged students to the Mission of the University and its Core Values and competencies. Students explore their identities as members of local, national, and global multicultural communities through critical reflection and experiential learning activities. Readings are selected to challenge students' intellectual visions and interests. Reflection and written and oral communication skills are emphasized. Leadership and collaboration skills are developed while enrichment activities correlate residence hall and other campus events with the academic program. The undergraduate academic portfolio is implemented to document students' continuing development of core competencies and values.

Foundation Courses

Lower-division Writing

Through the Lower-Division Writing Requirement, students strengthen their skills in expository prose writing and critical thinking as they analyze fictional narratives and other types of writing, review the fundamentals of grammar and mechanics, study basic rhetorical strategies, and practice research and documentation methodologies.

World History

Action in our contemporary world requires, more than ever before, a truly global perspective. World history classes introduce students to the genesis and development of our
increasingly globalized world. Courses in history are designed to introduce students to the major persons, ideas, and movements that have shaped the modern Western world. Students will grow in their understanding of the context and development of ideas and institutions and in their critical awareness of the sources and interpretation of historical knowledge. It is hoped that this requirement will contribute to an appreciation for the interconnectedness of peoples and cultures over time as well as of the interdependency of modern nations.

Mathematics

Students gain an appreciation for the usefulness of mathematics in their everyday lives and careers and expand their sense of the place of mathematics in society. They develop and broaden their ability to:

• Translate simple questions about how the world works into mathematical language
• Reason with mathematical ideas
• Translate the mathematical conclusions back into the situation that is being studied and draw conclusions appropriate to that situation

Modern Language

Courses in a modern language develop communication skills in a language other than English and emphasize listening, reading, speaking, and writing. The language is studied as an essential component of a distinct cultural heritage so that students become familiar with the history, customs, and artistic expressions of the areas of the world where that language is spoken. Advanced courses develop skills for specific purposes such as business and community service.

Culture and Language (for BS students only)

Courses in this requirement provide a basic knowledge and understanding of the heritage of non-English speaking cultures, including their historical evolution, institutions, peoples, customs, current sociopolitical conditions, literature, art, and music. Students become acquainted with the language of the heritage area studied, including core concepts specific to social interactions and survival-level vocabulary and grammar.

Upper-Division Writing Requirement

This requirement is designed to assure that students demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly in writing at a level that meets the University's standard.

Thematic Curriculum

Social and Personal Responsibility (9 units)

Students will explore the varied experiences that have shaped human culture and use that understanding to make informed, objective, and ethical decisions. Students will investigate their own and other value systems and apply them in practical ways to address world problems with creativity, intention, and compassion. They will understand their responsibility to advocate in their communities and profession in service of the common good.

The Individual, Society, and the Environment (9 units)

In order to contribute to a more equitable, ethical, and just society, students will gain a deep comprehension of the biological, psychological, social, and environmental forces that shape our lives as humans as members of the global community and as a species interconnected and interrelated with all other forms of life. By developing analytical skills and interdisciplinary perspectives from the behavioral, social, natural, and physical sciences, the student will understand and appreciate the factors that have influenced our history and evolution, our place in the world today, and ways we may manage our entry into the future.

Creative Arts (9 units)

Students will understand the practice, interpretation, and analysis of the arts by experiencing the creative process in various media, literature, history, aesthetics, and criticism. Through the arts, students develop skills for observation, personal expression and response to culture, social justice, and the environment around them.

Community Engagement and Cultural Diversity Requirements

Community Engagement (CE)

As part of NDNU’s general education semi-thematic model, all baccalaureate day students are required to complete units in Community Engagement (CE), which engages faculty, students, and community in mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration. These interactions address community-identified needs, deepen students’ civic and academic learning, enhance community well-being/public good, and enrich the scholarship of the institution.*

Students entering as freshmen are required to take the first-year seminar, which includes community engagement. In addition to this course, all traditional day undergraduates will take a second 3- or 4-unit, lower- or upper-division course designated as a community engagement course. Courses granting units in this requirement include community-based learning, community-based research, internships, and alternative break/immersion programs, all of which require a minimum of 15 hours of community service/research.

CE courses may be used to fulfill other Core Curriculum requirements or requirements within the major. Courses fulfilling this requirement carry the notation CE after their title. Check the course description in this Catalog and the listings of each semester’s class schedule.

*For those students who entered NDNU under an earlier Catalog, they may substitute a community engagement course for the career development requirement.

Cultural Diversity (CDiv)

Courses designated as CDiv are those courses that are fundamentally concerned with exploring the contemporary or historical experiences of underrepresented or marginalized peoples. These courses give voice to world cultures whose origins lie outside the Western tradition such as Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Courses that treat the experience of ethnic minority populations in the United States, as well as topical courses on gender, sexuality, ethnicity, contemporary poverty, and minority religions, may also be granted the CDiv designation. See the section in Undergraduate Admission on fulfilling the Core Competency Requirements for more information.