Gen Ed Requirements for Georgia Tech Graduates

Final Report of the ad-hoc Subcommittee on General Education
January 2002

Revised August 2003: focused objectives to manageable number (sw)

Bethany Bodo (Assistant Director, Office of Assessment), Carol Carmichael (Senior Research Scientist, Manufacturing Research Center), Fred Andrew (Professor, Mathematics), Bryan Church (Professor, Management), David Collard (Associate Professor, Chemistry), James Craig (Professor, Aerospace Engineering), Kurt Eiselt (Associate Dean, Computing), George Johnston (Associate Chair, Architecture), Gordon Kingsley (Associate Professor, Public Policy), Peter McGuire (Professor, Literature, Communication, and Culture), Scott Wills (Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chair)

General Education Mission Statement

General Education at the Georgia Institute of Technology is essential to the development of our extraordinary students beyond the deeply rigorous technical and applied education they receive.

General Education at Georgia Tech is designed to produce student who are:

• Mathematically, scientifically, and technically competent;
• Competent in information research;
• Literate in reading, writing, and presenting; and
• Literate in the use of a computer.

Georgia Tech General Education is also designed to produce students who are able to:

• Think critically and
• Effectively collaborate with others.

Additionally, it strives to:

• Enhance students' awareness of scientific values and ethics;
• Enable them to articulate their personal and social values and how these values are shaped by the world around them;
• Encourage them to examine individual and social behaviors; and
• Develop their ability to effectively work in group settings.

General Education at Georgia Tech seeks to develop students who have an appreciation for technology, society, and their interaction and to produce students who will utilize these talents to substantially impact the future as leaders and lifelong learners.

Objectives and Outcomes

The committee identifies the following general education objectives for all students who earn a Georgia Tech baccalaureate degree. The objectives represent an effort to integrate the BOR general education requirements with the unique mission of Georgia Tech. Specifically, the objectives call for

• Technical, mathematical, and scientific competence
• An ability to communicate to and productively interact with others
• An awareness of culture and values in a diverse world
• An understanding of ethical issues surrounding one's personal and professional activities

It is the opinion of the committee that a great strength of the Georgia Tech degree lays not only in the content but also in the exceptional quality of the programs and units that support these General Education requirements. The committee recommends these outstanding elements remain a part of all Georgia Tech degrees.

It is the recommendation of the committee that these objectives be implemented, whenever possible, in an integrated fashion through interdisciplinary courses, certificate programs, and minors.

Mathematics Objective:

Georgia Tech students will be proficient in basic mathematical skills, able to formulate problems mathematically, able to use mathematical methods to solve original problems, and able to demonstrate an understanding of the nature of mathematical reasoning.

Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Apply basic elements of differential and integral calculus, and linear algebra to relevant problems.
2. Define fundamental mathematical concepts (such as induction, recursion, estimation, and approximation).
3. Given quantitative data, identify trends and other qualitative relationships.

Communication Objective:

Georgia Tech students will be able to read a variety of documents critically, acquire and synthesize information, and shape a written or oral presentation that accommodates audience needs and shows a mastery of basic communications skills.

Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Locate the primary thesis in a written work and explain how it is supported by logical arguments.
2. Produce effective writing that supports a given thesis using clear prose, logical organization, and standard spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
3. Deliver a presentation that demonstrates effective core presentation skills, including focus, organization, and delivery.
4. Conduct an effective information search that includes a variety of reference sources (e.g., indexes and library catalogs, bibliographies, and Internet searches).

Computer Literacy Objective:

Georgia Tech students will be able to use appropriate software applications effectively, demonstrate an understanding of the organization and operation of computer systems, and apply programming techniques to solve problems.

Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Describe the basic operation and organization of major computer hardware and software components, and the networking environments in which they operate.
2. Design, implement, and evaluate algorithms to solve a given problem within a programming environment.
3. Query a large database, combining quantitative results to support a thesis.

Science Objective:

Georgia Tech students will demonstrate an understanding and application of scientific methodology, laboratory techniques, quantitative problem solving, modeling skills, and experimental design to formulate and evaluate hypotheses.

Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Describe how a hypothesis to explain natural phenomena is evaluated and refined through experimentation (e.g., the scientific method).
2. Demonstrate proper analysis of experimental data (e.g., error estimation, statistical analysis, noise rejection).
3. Apply knowledge of a scientific theory to practical problem solving.

Scientific Culture and Values Objective:

Georgia Tech students will demonstrate knowledge of the dynamic relationships among science, technology, cultural values, and creative expression and how these relationships must be framed by ethical principles.

Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Identify the interaction between science and technology and social, historical, political, and economic values.
2. Identify ethical issues relating to the application of science and technology.

Global Awareness, Human Values, and Culture Objective:

Georgia Tech students will be able to articulate their personal and social values, articulate how those values have been informed by both humanistic and social perspectives, understand how these shape their view of the world, and compare these with other world values.

Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the diversity of values and traditions, including the contributions of diverse groups, which shape society and institutions
2. Describe the organization and operation of a social or political system that governs society.
3. Relate significant historical events to their effects on contemporary society.

Individual and Society Objective:

Georgia Tech students will be able to examine and conceptualize individual and social behaviors in disciplined and critical ways.

Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Identify and engage in distinctive modes of scientific and humanities-based inquiry appropriate to studying individual and social behavior.
2. Demonstrate dimensions of creativity, beyond analytic thought, including imagination, intuition, and metaphor.

Group Involvement Objective:

Georgia Tech students will demonstrate their ability to work effectively in both face-to-face and electronic group contexts in order to achieve specified objectives.

Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Describe how complex problems can be solved in a multi-disciplinary group context.
2. Contribute effectively to the overall knowledge/ skills set of the group.
3. Participate in group interaction, including effective leadership, communication, integrating diverse approaches, and conflict resolution.

Health and Wellness Objective:

Georgia Tech students will develop an understanding of the psychological and physiological bases of a healthy mental and physical lifestyle.

Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Explain the elements necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
2. Describe of the impact of diet, activity, and genetics on health.