The Foundational Studies Program is organized around eleven University Learning Outcomes (ULO’s)[1], which every Boise State University graduate is expected to have met, regardless of major or baccalaureate degree. These outcomes guide the development of the courses that students take throughout the undergraduate degree. They are also built into many experiences outside the classroom through Student Life and other student activities at Boise State University.
For ULO Rubrics – please follow this link.
| University Learning Outcomes | Cluster Name |
| 1. Write effectively in multiple contexts, for a variety of audiences. | Writing |
| 2. Communicate effectively in speech, both as speaker and listener. | Oral Communication |
| 3. Engage in effective critical inquiry by defining problems, gathering and evaluating evidence, and determining the adequacy of argumentative discourse. | Critical Inquiry |
| 4. Think creatively about complex problems in order to produce, evaluate, and implement innovative possible solutions, often as one member of a team. | Innovation and Teamwork |
| 5. Analyze ethical issues in personal, professional, and civic life and produce reasoned evaluations of competing value systems and ethical claims. | Ethics |
| 6. Apply knowledge of cultural differences to matters of local, regional, national, and international importance, including political, economic, and environmental issues. | Diversity and Internationalization |
| 7. Disciplinary Lens: Mathematics. Apply knowledge and the methods of reasoning characteristic of mathematics, statistics, and other formal systems to solve complex problems. | Mathematics (DLM) |
| 8. Disciplinary Lens: Natural, Physical, and Applied Sciences. Apply knowledge and the methods characteristic of scientific inquiry to think critically about and solve theoretical and practical problems about physical structures and processes. | Natural, Physical, and Applied Sciences (DLN) |
| 9. Disciplinary Lens: Visual and Performing Arts. Apply knowledge and methods characteristic of the visual and performing arts to explain and appreciate the significance of aesthetic products and creative activities. | Visual and Performing Arts (DLV) |
| 10. Disciplinary Lens: Literature and Humanities. Apply knowledge and the methods of inquiry characteristic of literature and other humanities disciplines to interpret and produce texts expressive of the human condition. | Literature and Humanities (DLL) |
| 11. Disciplinary Lens: Social Sciences. Apply knowledge and the methods of inquiry characteristic of the social sciences to explain and evaluate human behavior and institutions. | Social Sciences (DLS) |
ULO’s 1-6 are competency-based outcomes that are developed throughout the academic career and in multiple courses and contexts. After exposure to these ULO’s in early courses, students revisit these ULO’s in greater depth throughout their college experiences and academic programs.
ULO’s 7-11 are associated with disciplinary course clusters that represent multiple perspectives to be encountered during a student’s academic career. The disciplinary clusters are clearly not mutually-exclusive: a particular course might be such that reasons could be given for including it in several different clusters. However, it is assumed that for each course there will be a cluster whose learning outcomes fit the course most naturally, and all sections of the course in question will belong to that particular cluster.
[1] These were inspired by the AAC&U’s “LEAP” framework: http://www.aacu.org/leap/index.cfm