The General Education Program

Morgan's General Education program is a broad network of courses, tests and extra-curricular experiences aimed at ensuring a common core of liberal arts knowledge, skills and collegiate experiences for all Morgan students. The courses that are part of the General Education Requirements have seventeen discreet objectives, which are based on the principle that General Education is one of the most significant components of undergraduate education. The objectives of these courses are to provide for Morgan students:

• a cohesive and coherent program of required courses, support activities and batteries of tests and evaluations that achieve demonstrably its program objectives;
• the knowledge, skills and experiences that revolve around a liberal education core and are basic to and form a foundation for the undergraduate education, for life-long learning and for successful adjustment in life;
• a holistic approach to developing students symmetrically, with attention to their intellectual, physical and emotional education;
• an "integrated core" of complementary courses that reinforce and enhance one another and point to the interrelatedness of the various areas of knowledge and their shared truths, perceptions and values;
• a common core or common fund of knowledge and skills that are required uniformly of all students;
• required courses in language arts skills, critical thinking skills, mathematics and computational skills and computerization, arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, biological and physical sciences, the African and African-American heritage, health and physical education, and orientation to college;
• courses that establish high expectations and encourage high levels of performance for students in prescribed knowledge and skills;
• a network of placement, diagnostic, exit and proficiency testing to ensure student persistence and competency in and transit through the General Education Program;
• a focus on the freshman and sophomore years and establishment of threshold knowledge and skills as prerequisites for advancement to junior- and senior-level work;
• intelligent intervention in the freshman year through a system of grouping that facilitates a smooth, effective transition to college study for students;
• reinforcement of general education knowledge and skills in junior- and senior-level studies, including a writing-reading-speaking-critical-thinking-across-the-curriculum program;
• a network of extra-curricular activities and experiences which enhance general education courses, increase interest in intellectual matters, and enrich the cultural lives of the students;
• a clear definition of objectives of the General Education Program and of expectations for the students;
• a system of monitoring and measurement to ensure that objectives and expectations are being met;
• promotion of campus-wide respect for general education knowledge and skills, for learning, and for productivity in life;
• systematic assurance of uniform minimal content, skills and standards in all general education courses; and
• periodic assessment of the General Education Program to ensure its consistency with the needs of the university and the larger community.

General Education
GOALS FOR MORGAN STUDENTS

The General Education Program establishes a number of significant goals and high expectations for Morgan students. Upon completion of the Program, students are expected to:

• read and listen with understanding and express themselves effectively in written and spoken standard English;
• think critically and analytically;
• gather information through research and use of the library and report that information responsibly;
• solve mathematical and computational problems;
• demonstrate knowledge of problem-solving methods and of the historical development, present-day applications and cross-disciplinary connections of mathematics and information structures;
• demonstrate integrated knowledge of the major contributors, masterpieces, history, criticism and theories of literature, philosophy (including religion), art and music from the ancient to the modern world, as they developed in Western Civilization;
• demonstrate integrated knowledge of the heritage, culture, social structures and accomplishments of autochthonous African cultures and African-American Civilization;
• demonstrate a global perspective and integrated knowledge of the heritage, culture, social structures and accomplishments of one Non-Western Civilization;
• demonstrate integrated knowledge of problem-solving techniques in the basic concepts and principles of the biological and physical sciences, of the history and philosophy of science, and of ecological, personal and social issues related to the sciences;
• demonstrate integrated knowledge of the political, social and economic development of American society in relation to the world, of the history and geography of America and the world, of civic affairs and responsibilities, of personal, interpersonal, intergroup and intra-group relations, and of learning, work habits and career choices;
• demonstrate integrated knowledge of health as a personal, group and social issue, of healthful living, of physical fitness and of optimal body functioning, general wellness, stress reduction and recreation;
• demonstrate habits of courtesy, friendliness, honesty, integrity, civility and orderly conduct; and
• demonstrate a sense of discipline that lends itself to good study habits and a sense of purpose that leads to beneficial and maximal use of university resources