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Faculty of New Century College believe that all graduates, regardless of
their major or area of concentration, need to have a command of the following
nine abilities.
1.
Communication
Speak,
read and write effectively. Aspects include effective and appropriate
use of language; coherent and forceful expression; recognizing the rhetorical
context of audience and purpose; appropriate use of research or sources;
careful editing and proof reading; revising and expanding one's work; clear
and well organized presentation of material orally or visually; thoughtful,
careful listening and note taking; using computers and the world wide web.
2.
Critical Thinking and Analysis
Think
clearly and critically. Fuse experience, reason, and training into
considered judgements. Aspects include differentiating facts from
opinions and inferences; recognizing assumptions; identifying language
problems such as ambiguity; finding relationships and dividing a complex
problem into parts; analyzing and summarizing arguments; synthesizing ideas
from multiple sources; finding connections between a range of ideas, facts
and experience.
3.
Problem-Solving
Determine
what the problem is and what is causing it. With others or alone,
form strategies that work in different situations. Act on these
strategies, then evaluate effectiveness. Aspects include forming
questions to clarify a problem or issue; identifying multiple perspectives
and alternative methods; developing a framework or prioritizing order for
solutions; collaborating to maximize individual strengths within a group.
4.
Valuing
Recognize
different value systems while developing one's own values. Recognize
the moral dimensions of decisions and accept responsibility for the consequences
of one's actions, including self knowledge and reflective practice.
Aspects include understanding multiple perspectives; analyzing values underlying
a particular perspective; articulating one's own values; understanding
how one's actions are shaped by one's values; demonstrating sensitivity
toward others.
5.
Group Interaction
Know
how to get things done in group settings. Elicit the views
of others to help reach consensus. Aspects include ability to initiate
and sustain group activity; determine goals when working with a partner
or group; understanding how consensus is different from compromise; reflecting
perceptively on group actions/interactions; assessing one's role within
a group.
6.
Global Perspective
Demonstrate
an understanding of and respect for the economic, social, and biological
differences in global life. Aspects include seeing different perspectives
and ways of knowing that are based in cultural and geographical difference;
understanding connections between local and global issues; understanding
the reality of global interconnectedness in areas such as economics and
the environment; learning to raise questions about global aspects of a
range of issues and knowledge.
7.
Effective Citizenship
Demonstrate
an informed awareness of community and community responsibilities.
Indicate an informed awareness of contemporary issues and their historical
contexts. Develop leadership abilities. Aspects include community
involvement (for example, in leadership or service roles); developing of
leadership abilities; analyzing the nature of leadership and "fellowship";
placing issues within historical contexts; awareness of multiple perspectives
in civic life; awareness of issues of social justice.
8.
Aesthetic Response
Appreciate
various forms of art and the contexts from which they emerge. Make
and defend judgements about the quality of artistic impressions.
Aspects include developing criteria to judge the quality of artistic impression;
awareness of the process involved in creating a particular work; awareness
of methods for analyzing a particular medium or work; understanding of
component parts of a particular medium; appreciating genre, period, cultural
and historical contexts.
9.
Information Technology
Understand
and use current information technology applications based on computers
and networks. Able to master basic skills to acquire, organize and apply
information using databases, spreadsheets, word and information processing,
and presentation graphics; evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of
various information sources for their appropriate use. Critical awareness
of public policy issues relating to information technology.
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