General Education

To ensure educational quality and curricular coherence, the University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu has identified Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) and General Education Learning Outcomes (GELOs) which all students will have achieved upon graduation from UH West O‘ahu. The ILOs and GELOs provide guidance to the degree and concentration outcomes which define the knowledge, skills and abilities of students earning a degree in a specific discipline. ILOs were adopted by the UH West O‘ahu Faculty Senate in Spring 2000 and most recently revised in Spring 2013; the GELOs were adopted by Faculty Senate in Spring 2013 and revised in Fall 2013. The Institutional Learning Outcomes address effective communication, cultural awareness, critical thinking, disciplinary knowledge, and community engagement; the General Education Learning Outcomes focus on written communication, oral communication, quantitative reasoning, Hawaiian-Pacific issues, global and multicultural perspectives, arts/ humanities/and literature social and natural science literacy, and contemporary ethical issues. Degree and concentration learning outcomes are listed in each Division’s chapter of this catalog.

Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILO)

ILO1 – EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION:
- Use relevant information to communicate clearly and effectively to an intended audience through written and spoken language.
- Effective written and oral communication typically requires information literacy to access valid source material. Written communications may include (but are not limited to) narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive prose; developed in the context of essays, research papers, position papers, technical writing , reflections, creative writing , lesson plans or letters.
- Oral communications may include (but are not limited to) narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive discourse; in the context of preparing and delivering a speech, giving a class presentation, engaging in a small group discus

ILO2 – CULTURAL AWARENESS:
- Demonstrate knowledge of different cultures, sub-cultures or cultural phenomena through the study of art, music, history, literature, ideas, language or cross-cultural research.
- Cultural awareness includes demonstrated knowledge of different human activities, groups or artifacts in contemporary, historical, indigenous, artistic, musical, geographic, economic, political, legal, literary, business related or research contexts.

ILO3 – CRITICAL THINKING:
- Demonstrate critical thinking skills by applying information to make well reasoned arguments or solve a problem.
- Critical thinking includes using research, knowledge, math, data, ideas, concepts, theories, or other information to reason or solve a problem logically.

ILO4 – DISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the purview, processes, and contributions associated with an academic discipline.
- Disciplinary knowledge includes knowledge of methods,
  history, major works, applications, technologies, and/or ethical standards associated with an academic discipline or a student’s declared concentration of study

ILO5 – COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
- Demonstrate engagement with campus life, the broader community or service to others through the use of cocurricular resources, participation in extra-curricular activities or service learning.
- Community engagement is demonstrated by (but is not limited to) use of the James & Abigail Campbell Library or the No‘eau Center; participation in student government, academic clubs or volunteer service; attendance at campus sponsored events or enrollment in service learning courses.

General Education Learning Outcomes (GELO)

GELO1 – WRITTEN COMMUNICATION:
- Demonstrate clear and effective writing about relevant
  information for an intended audience.
- Writing typically requires information literacy to access valid source material that is relevant to a discipline. Examples of written communications may include (but are not limited to) narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive prose; developed in the context of essays, research papers, position papers, technical writing , reflections, creative writing , lesson plans or letters.

GELO2 – ORAL COMMUNICATION:
- Demonstrate clear and effective speaking skills about relevant information when communicating with an intended audience.
- Speaking well typically requires information literacy to access valid source material relevant to a discipline or audience. Examples of oral communications may include (but are not limited to) narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive discourse; in the context of preparing and delivering a speech, giving a class presentation, engaging in a small group discussion, lecturing on or explaining a topic, or debating an issue.

GELO3 – QUANTITATIVE REASONING:
- Provide students with theoretical justifications for and limitation of mathematical or statistical methods, and the formulas, tools, or approaches used in the course.
- The quantitative reasoning outcome includes application of abstract or theoretical ideas and information to the solution of practical quantitative reasoning problems arising in pure and applied research in specific disciplines, professional settings, and/or daily and civic life.

GELO4 – HAWAIIAN-ASIAN-PACIFIC ISSUES:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the intersection of Native Hawaiian issues with Asian and/or Pacific Islands issues.
- This knowledge should be based upon the cultural perspectives, values, and world view of the indigenous peoples of Hawai‘i, the Pacific, and/or Asia. Students will demonstrate knowledge of at least one crucial topic, such as the histories, cultures, beliefs, arts, social, political, economic or technological processes of these regions. along with critical analysis of the topic.

GELO5 – GLOBAL & MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVES:
- Demonstrate knowledge of different cultures, civilizations, and global events associated with human history.
- The global and multicultural perspectives outcome includes demonstrated knowledge of different human groups, activities or artifacts in contemporary, historical, indigenous, artistic, musical, geographic, economic, political, or literary contexts.

GELO6 – ART, HUMANITIES AND LITERATURE:
- Demonstrate knowledge of artistic and philosophical endeavor through study of works or primary sources drawn from diverse media, genres and historical periods.
- The art, humanities and literature outcome may include (but is not limited to) demonstrated knowledge of visual arts, philosophy, religion, literature, music, or dance.

GELO7 – SOCIAL AND NATURAL SCIENCE LITERACY:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the purview, processes and contributions associated with different social and natural scientific disciplines.
- Social and natural science literacy includes knowledge of research methods, laboratory techniques, disciplinary history or major findings of more than one social and natural science discipline. This outcome reflects what students will learn by graduation and not what a single social or natural science course will cover

GELO8 – CONTEMPORARY ETHICAL ISSUES:
- Analyze a dilemma, issue or topic to develop an ethical judgment, argument or position.
- Contemporary ethical issues include (but are not limited to) ethical reasoning about events, governmental policies, human rights, business practices and the conduct of research.