Competencies Across the Curriculum

The list of competencies, approved by the Bloomfield College faculty is as follows:

Aesthetic Appreciation (AAC)

The ability to examine, explain, and/or create a creative work as a complex, multi-layered, and transformative experience.

After a course focused on Aesthetic Appreciation, students will be able to:

Identify the vocabulary, techniques, and conventions of an artistic genre, process, and/or concept.
Explain an artist's use of genre, process, and/or conceptually specific conventions in a work of art.
Interpret an artistic creation.
Analyze how creative works both influence and are influenced by historical and cultural contexts.
Critique aesthetic works across genres, periods, processes, and/or cultures using discipline specific vocabulary.
Create an aesthetic work expressing the student's own creativity.

Communication Skills (CSC)

The ability to comprehend ideas and discourse from diverse perspectives presented in various formats, and the ability to express ideas and arguments effectively in oral, written, and/or multi-modal forms.

After a course focused on Communication Skills, students will be able to:

Identify key points of a spoken, written, and/or multi-modal message.
Explain how a communicator's choices impact the success of their message.
Apply appropriate linguistic and genre conventions to the communicative situation.
Organize ideas into a structure that supports the goals of a communicative act.
Choose appropriate supporting evidence given the means and purpose of the communicative act.
Produce a communicative act or product that successfully conveys a purpose.

Civic Engagement (CEC)

An appreciation for the civic life of our communities, including "working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes. In addition, civic engagement encompasses actions wherein individuals [may] participate in activities of personal and public concern that are both individually life enriching and socially beneficial to the community." [from AAC&U Value rubrics]

After a course focused on Civic Engagement, students will be able to:

Describe the impact of a civic practice on a specific community.
Identify the shared civic values of a specific community.
Interpret a community's actions in light of its shared civic values.
Reflect on students' own roles in civic life.
Evaluate the needs of a specific community.
Participate in a civic activity.

Information Literacy (IFC)

"The set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning" (taken from the ACRL Framework for Literacy for Higher Education).

After a course focused on Information Literacy students will be able to:

Define plagiarism and ways to avoid it, including using appropriate citation styles.
Identify types of information needed for a specific context.
Apply strategies to efficiently find information from a variety of sources for a specific context and audience.
Evaluate information to identify authorial perspectives and/or biases.
Integrate information ethically into a project to support a thesis/purpose.

Problem Solving & Critical Thinking Skills (PST)

The ability to examine, analyze, and interpret information; to question assumptions; and to apply reasoning to draw conclusions and/or solve problems.

After a course focused on Problem Solving & Critical Thinking Skills, students will be able to:

Describe the context of a given argument, explanation, problem, or theory.
Summarize the main ideas of a given argument, explanation, problem, or theory.
Identify the assumptions of a given argument, explanation, problem, or theory.
Analyze the legitimacy of a given argument, explanation, problem, or theory.
Assess explanations of a given situation or problem.
Develop probable conclusions and/or outcomes to a situation based on a set of assumptions or a given problem.

Professionalism and Career Development Literacy Skills (PSC)

The ability to recognize and adapt to different environments, particularly in workplace settings, to facilitate working with others.

After a course focused on Professional Skills, students will be able to:

Recognize the social and cultural contexts of a specific professional setting.
Demonstrate the ability to communicate in ways appropriate to a given professional setting.
Apply time management strategies to accomplish a task.
Explain the ethical constraints and implications of workplace environments.
Assess a situation to minimize potential conflict.
Organize a project with peers to complete a given task in a shared and equitable manner.

Scientific Literacy Skills (STS)

The ability to develop a question, evaluate potential explanations, formulate a hypothesis about those explanations, design a method to test the hypothesis, and interpret the results. Such actions should be completed with an awareness of the ethical impacts and constraints of scientific practices.

After a course focused on Scientific Literacy, students will be able to:

Identify the basic terminology, methodology, and distinctions used in the natural and/or social sciences.
Describe the ethical constraints of scientific practice.
Complete a provided experiment to test a given hypothesis using the techniques of scientific investigation.
Contrast the differences between scientific and non-scientific explanations.
Interpret the results of an experiment.
Design a research project and/or experiment to develop and test a hypothesis using the techniques of scientific investigation.

Technological & Digital Literacy (TDL)

The ability to use, evaluate, and understand modern and ever-changing technology, including an awareness of the personal, global, and ethical impacts of such technology.

After a course focused on Technological and Digital Literacy, students will be able to:

Identify the elements of a specified technology or digital program.
Demonstrate the ability to use a specified technology or digital program.
Apply a specified technology or digital program to solve a given problem.
Reflect on the ethical and personal impacts of a technological or digital practice.
Assess a given or spontaneous situation to determine an appropriate technological or digital response.
Produce a technological response or digital program for a given situation.

Transcultural and Global Awareness (TGA)

An awareness of the diversity and fluidity of cultures, cultural identifies, and values across boundaries and borders in global society; the development of a global historical perspective; and knowledge of diverse artistic, political, religious and spiritual traditions, values, beliefs and ideologies.

After a course focused on Transcultural and Global Awareness, students will be able to:

Identify geographic boundaries, physical or political, across the nation and the globe.
Describe social, political, religious, artistic, and/or intellectual values of a culture, ideology, or worldview.
Contrast different cultures, ideologies, or worldviews.
Examine their own cultures, ideologies, or worldviews.
Critique contemporary arguments based on culture, ideology, or worldviews.