CORE Curriculum

CORE Coordinator

Leslie Collins, Ph.D.

Mission Statement
The General Education or CORE Curriculum program provides a pedagogical framework for students to develop their skills in becoming competent, resourceful, global leaders. The curriculum explicitly teaches critical thinking in the humanities and social and natural sciences. The curriculum reinforces respect for diverse viewpoints and ethical values in the academy. Students develop effective problem-solving skills for addressing real world problems, and intellectual humility through service learning. Students engage in quantitative and qualitative research in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities as they understand the complexities of the human condition.

The goals of the CORE Curriculum are to:

• Foster and enhance skills, knowledge, awareness, and dispositions that lead to the development of competent, resourceful, and imaginative leaders;
• Encourage understanding of the social world and natural environment and their relationships to communities; and
• Encourage exposure to various creative experiences.
  
  

The objectives of the CORE curriculum are to provide experiences that:

1. Allow students to read in a way that leads to critical thinking.
2. Allow students to communicate effectively, both in writing and orally, reflecting in both instances, a command of the language, logical thinking and comparative analysis, and a facility to locate, identify, and use sources.
3. Instructors can determine when is the best time to verify attendance (beginning, mid-point or end of the session).
4. Instructors should determine which attendance verification procedure works best for them and ensure that students are aware of the procedure (e.g., roll call, sign in sheet, clickers, etc.).
5. Each week, on dates specified on the academic calendar, all instructors are required to verify student class attendance in CAMS.
6. Encourage and create a passion for investigation, exploration, and application of knowledge to the social world and natural environment.
7. Encourage the development of personal values and ethical decision making.
8. Encourage students to synthesize and think beyond disciplinary boundaries.
9. Encourage and promote creativity.
10. Encourage logical application of quantitative and qualitative values.
11. Encourage engagement in political and social issues that impact global and local communities.

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the CORE Curriculum, the Fisk student will demonstrate mastery of the following student learning outcomes

Learning Outcome 1. Written and oral communication skills

• Students communicate effectively using appropriate writing conventions and formats.
• Students communicate effectively using appropriate oral conventions and formats.
• Students interpret and communicate quantitative information.

Learning Outcome 2. Knowledge of African American and diverse cultures.

• Students effectively analyze contemporary issues within the context of diverse disciplinary perspectives.
• Students effectively analyze contemporary multicultural, and global questions.
• Students effectively analyze historical and contemporary society based on a diverse cultural, social, economic, political, religious and artistic knowledge. 

Learning Outcome 3. Foundational knowledge and skills in humanities, math and science, and social science.  

• Students effectively perform mathematical operations, as well as reason and draw appropriate conclusions from numerical information.
• Students effectively translate problem situations into symbolic representations and use.
• Students display technological proficiency by effective use of computers and other technology appropriate to the discipline.
• Students locate, identify and use data resources.
• Students demonstrate competence in research methodology.

Learning Outcome 4. Leadership activities and teamwork through participation in and description of community service experiences.

• Students identify personal values and employ them in ethical decision making.
• Students participate effectively in collaborative activities with persons of diverse backgrounds.
• Students engage in community and global affairs.
• Students practice effective time and financial management.
• Students show leadership ability.

Students make a valuable contribution to the community.

Learning Outcome 5. Critical Thinking

• Upon completion of the CORE Curriculum, the Fisk student is to demonstrate critical thinking skills in his or her mastery of the four general areas.
• The student will formulate appropriate questions for research, collect appropriate evidence, evaluate claims, arguments, evidence, and hypotheses.
• The student will use the results of analysis to construct new arguments and formulate new questions.

There are eight courses in this curriculum that students will be required to complete. Students will earn 22-23 credit hours upon completion of these required courses of the CORE curriculum. 
The remaining 14-24 hours of the CORE curriculum will be chosen from one of the courses in each of the following groups, A through E. In total, the student will earn 36-47 credit hours in CORE curriculum.