Four broad learning goals of the General Education program:

From the NIU Undergraduate Catalog 2010-11

1. Students develop habits of writing, speaking, and reasoning necessary for continued learning.

1. Students communicate clearly in written English, demonstrating their ability to comprehend, analyze, and interrogate critically.
2. Students communicate in a manner that unites theory, criticism, and practice in speaking and writing.
3. Students perform basic computations, display facility with use of formal and quantitative reasoning analysis and problem solving, and interpret mathematical models and statistical information.
4. Students are able to access and use various information resources.

2. Students develop an ability to use modes of inquiry across a variety of disciplines in the humanities and the arts, the physical sciences and mathematics, and the social sciences.

1. Students demonstrate a knowledge of the historical and prehistorical development of societies and cultures, and of the relations of such development to the present.
2. Students demonstrate an ability to articulate the significance of the arts and an ability to apply analytical and interpretive skills to the critical examination of the social/cultural values and aesthetic qualities found in the arts and popular culture(s).
3. Students demonstrate a knowledge of the cultural traditions and philosophical ideas that have shaped societies, civilizations, and human self-conceptions.
4. Students demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method and an ability to use scientific methods and theories to understand the phenomena studied in the natural and social sciences.

3. Students develop an understanding of the interrelatedness of various disciplines by integrating knowledge from several disciplines and applying that knowledge to an understanding of important problems and issues.

4. Students develop social responsibility and preparation for citizenship through global awareness, environmental sensitivity, and an appreciation of cultural diversity.

*On November 4, 2010 the Undergraduate Coordinating Council approved a new baccalaureate purpose statement, goals, and learning objectives. The 2010-11 General Education Goals do not reflect a realignment with the new baccalaureate goals.