Liberal Arts Program Outcomes

Because Massasoit has a tradition of incorporating core competencies into its programs, the Liberal Arts Studies Program and the Liberal Arts Transfer Programs have recognized these competencies as their general outcomes, while giving program options the opportunity to tailor additional outcomes to their particular goals. The faculty have not yet adopted a final version of these outcomes, but when that work is complete, the Liberal Arts programs will also adopt that wording.

A. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is the process of self evaluation and correction after giving careful consideration to evidence, context, ideas, methods, and criteria. Critical thinking focuses on inquiry and learning rather than the accumulation of disjointed skills and senescent information. As students develop their critical thinking skills, they are improving their ability to listen and read more carefully and their ability to interpret, analyze, and evaluate what they have just heard or read. Furthermore, the students are developing their ability to make logical judgments and organize their thoughts when speaking or writing, thus improving their oral and written communication skills.

Students at Massasoit would display competency in Critical Thinking by demonstrating the following sub-skills:
Evaluation
Self-regulation (synthesis)
Interpretation
Analysis
Explanation
Inference
Characteristics of these critical thinkers are:
Open-minded
Truth seeking
Analytic
Systematic
Self-confident
Inquisitive
Mature

B. Computer Skills
Computer competency is the understanding of basic terminology and the fundamental skills associated with computer processing of data. The basic skills will remain the same, while the use of applications to accomplish this technological skill may vary depending on the course content. Students may use or create documents in word processing, spreadsheet, database, graphing, mapping or presentation applications. They may also use current electronic databases available in the library or current multi-media resources.

Skills component:
creating a file
opening an existing file
modifying an existing file
saving a file to a disk
printing a file
using software which is dependent upon course content

C. Oral Communication
The student will be able to listen effectively to messages in a variety of contexts.
The student will demonstrate effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills by organizing, constructing, and presenting formal informative and persuasive messages to an audience of their peers, and by participating in interpersonal communication situations.
The student will understand communication concepts such as self-concept, perception, use of appropriate language and nonverbal communication and apply them to personal life experiences.

D. Quantitative Skills
Quantitative skills is the ability to read, understand, manipulate, and express numerical information encountered in the real world and in other courses.

Specifically, the student should be able to:
solve word problems
work with descriptive statistics
read and construct charts and graphs
perform numerical computations
take/calculate measurements
make numerical estimations

E. Reading
Reading is the process of decoding and comprehending the printed word through the interaction of the reader and that which is to be read. The reader must be able to recognize an author’s message and different patterns of organization in the various required textbooks. Readers’ learning and performance is based on their bringing to the material their past and present experiences, knowledge of the reading process, and the ability to apply those skills and strategies to all college level materials.

Associated Terms:
prior knowledge
abstract ideas
concrete ideas
vocabulary development
previewing
questioning
main ideas
contexts
related details
outlining
summarizing
mapping
concept diagramming
comprehending, both literally and interpretively

F. Writing
The writing competency ensures that each student will understand the writing process from idea generation through final editing stages. Writing is used not only to produce papers but also to organize thoughts, to transmit accurately the ideas of others, and to make self-discoveries. As the competency is applied across the curriculum, student writers customize the writing process for personal and professional effectiveness.

Graduates of Massasoit Community College will be able to:
Write thesis-driven documents that are logical and analytical
Employ discipline-specific conventions when writing for different audiences
Research, evaluate, integrate, and document ideas gathered from a variety of sources
Edit their writing according to the rules of Standard American English