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The foundational and formative aims of the Core are expressed in a set of goals and outcomes developed and assessed in courses throughout the Core curriculum: 

Goal 1: To help students develop the foundational skills and competencies of written and oral communication, quantitative reasoning, critical inquiry and analysis, and technological competency and information literacy. In pursuit of this goal, ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ’s has established the following outcomes for students: 

With respect to written communication: 

1. Support a significant central idea with thoughtfully chosen evidence and details appropriate to the purpose and genre;  

2. Demonstrate organization and cohesion in writing; 

3. Incorporate effectively and document properly sources that are reliable, accurate, and relevant; and 

4. Demonstrate facility with the English language, including conventions, sentence structure, and diction.  

With respect to oral communication: 

1. Engage in discussion to acquire, develop, and challenge ideas, even in the face of disagreement;  

2. Generate and develop clear main, subsidiary, and supporting ideas for presentations;  

3. Structure and phrase effective introductory, transitional, and concluding speech segments;  

4. Select and execute language that is correct, concise, concrete, colorful, and clear; and 

5. Effectively deliver messages from appropriate performance documents.  

With respect to quantitative reasoning: 

1. Convert information into various mathematical forms;  

2. Perform calculations successfully;  

3. Explain information presented in mathematical forms; and 

4. Analyze a problem’s framework, including generalizations of the problem and how modifying the problem’s assumptions will affect conclusions that can be drawn from the problem.  

With respect to critical inquiry and analysis: 

1. Identify the tone, purpose, audience, and main ideas of a text and interpret its meaning through close analysis;  

2. Critically evaluate arguments;  

3. Synthesize materials to construct and express ideas, formulate positions, and solve problems; and 

4. Formulate a research question or problem. 

With respect to technological competency and information literacy: 

1. Define and articulate the extent and type of information and sources needed;  

2. Use appropriate technologies to access the needed information effectively;  

3. Interpret and evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base; and 

4. Use information and information technologies ethically, legally, and effectively  

Goal 2: To lead students to become conversant with the Catholic intellectual tradition. In pursuit of this goal, ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ’s has established the following outcomes: 

1. Identify and explore ideas of faith, reason, and meaning;  

2. Critically analyze some of the Catholic intellectual tradition’s major texts, themes, concepts, figures, and histories;  

3. Engage in interfaith dialogue; and 

4. Construct and defend an argument on wisdom, faith, or the good life.  

Goal 3: To enable students to recognize, formulate, and address matters of moral significance and concern. In pursuit of this goal, ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ’s has established the following outcomes: 

1. Demonstrate a basic knowledge of philosophical and Christian ethics;  

2. Analyze moral arguments about matters of contemporary and perennial importance in view of differing moral perspectives locally and across cultures; 

3. Apply fundamental principles, such as those of the Catholic social justice tradition, to important economic, social, and political issues; 

4. Construct, evaluate, and defend moral arguments about matters of contemporary and perennial importance; and 

5. Develop self-awareness about core moral convictions and a capacity for self-criticism and scrutiny.  

Goal 4: To cultivate students’ capacity to appreciate, analyze, and engage the human experience in its many creative forms. In pursuit of this goal, ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ’s has established the following outcomes: 

1. Identify and analyze the formal and thematic features of a variety of artistic and literary works;  

2. Situate an artistic or literary work in a larger context; and  

3. Demonstrate creative capacities through inventing, designing, writing, or performing. 

Goal 5: To advance our students’ scientific reasoning and literacy. In pursuit of this goal, ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ’s has established the following outcomes: 

1. Demonstrate familiarity with theories and research methods in the natural and social sciences, including qualitative and quantitative interpretations and analyses;  

2. Critically assess sources and claims to test their validity from a scientific and quantitative perspective;  

3. Evaluate the strengths and limits of the scientific method and articulate the relationship between science and other ways of seeking knowledge;  

4. Design an experiment with a sound hypothesis or research question;  

5. Demonstrate knowledge of the principles of ethically responsible research; and  

6. Demonstrate knowledge of discoveries and trends in the natural and social sciences.  

Goal 6: To prepare and dispose our students to be responsible citizens in our increasingly interdependent world. In pursuit of this goal, ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ’s has established the following outcomes: 

1. Recognize the causes and consequences of historical events;  

2. Recognize the historical context for contemporary issues;  

3. Critically assess societal structures and institutions;  

4. Demonstrate knowledge of the interrelatedness of local and global issues;   

5. Engage critically with one’s own and other cultures; and