Liberal Education and

General Education

University 100
What is Liberal Education Today?
 A philosophy of education that empowers individuals with core
knowledge and transferable skills, and a strong sense of ethics,
values, and civic engagement.
 Involving challenging intellectual encounters with important
and relevant issues today and throughout history, a liberal
education prepares graduates for socially valued work and civic
leadership.
 A liberal education usually includes a general education
curriculum that provides broad exposure to multiple disciplines
and ways of knowing, along with more in-depth study in one or
more field.
 A liberal education provides students with the knowledge and
skills employers are calling for and the society needs.
 Frequently Confused Terms

 Liberal Education—a philosophy of education that

provides broad general education, cultivates intellectual
agility, and fosters ethical and social responsibility
 Liberal Arts and Sciences—specific disciplines
traditionally associated with liberal education
 General Education—the part of a curriculum shared
by all students; provides broad study in liberal arts and
forms basis for developing intellectual and civic capacities
What is the Same and What is Different
About Liberal Education Today?
 Today’s liberal education helps students discover clear
connections between what they are learning and the lives they
will lead as workers, citizens, community and family members.
 A strong foundation in arts and sciences disciplines remains
absolutely essential to a quality contemporary liberal education.
 Today’s liberal education focuses both on important content
and on teaching the arts of analysis and argument that can be
carried to any field of study or endeavor.
 Liberal education has always and continues to introduce and
examine diverse perspectives on any subject and to teach
students how to evaluate competing claims and different
perspectives while they form their own judgments.
“Today’s students and their parents have heard the
message that college is essential to success in
today’s world. But no one has told them what they
really need to gain from college or how to prepare
for it.”
What Business Leaders Say About
What Really Matters in College
 Executives will need a broad understanding of other cultures,
other languages, history, science, and the arts, if they are to
successfully navigate a rapidly changing future business
environment.

 Good writing skills and good public speaking skills are

crucial to business success.

 The real challenge of today’s economy is not in making

things but in producing creative ideas.

 Reading, writing and basic arithmetic are not enough. These

skills must be integrated with other kinds of competency to
make them fully operational.

 Sources: Paul Dillon, The College Board Review, no. 164; David
Kearns, quoted in Reclaiming the Legacy by Denis Doyle; SCANS
Report, “What Work Requires of Schools”
What Do Private Employers Think?

 The most important outcomes: problem-solving

and analytic thinking; oral and written
communication; critical thinking; teamwork skills;
strong work habits.
 Recent graduates most lack: work ethic, people
skills, and communication skills.
 Civic engagement is not an important outcome of
college.
 Limited and/or misguided understanding of liberal
education; believe it is less rigorous.
 The New Global Economy and
Environment
 Today’s graduates are likely to change jobs and
careers several times.
 Complex oral and written communication skills
more important than ever and lacking.
 Creativity and innovation are keys to success.
 Scientific and quantitative literacy increasingly
important and lacking.
 Cross-cultural communication and knowledge
increasingly important.
Importance Of College Education
 The primary motivation is self development and
maturation to enhance potential for success in the
workforce
 How college contributes to career success:
 More career choices and job opportunities
 Specific skills and knowledge required by field of
interest
 Knowledge that will be helpful throughout life (on and
off the job)
 Capabilities, ethics, and values essential to
professional success
What Do Students Think About College Education?

Most Important Outcomes

Maturity and ability to succeed
on one’s own
Time-management skills
Strong work habits
Self-discipline
Teamwork skills and ability to
get along with different types
of people
What Do Students Think About College Education?

Middle Tier Outcomes

Tangible business skills and
specific expertise in field of focus
Critical thinking skills
Communication skills
Problem-solving skills and
analytical ability
Exposure to business world
Leadership skills
What Do Students Think About College Education?

Least Important Outcomes

Values, principles, ethics
Tolerance and respect for different
cultural backgrounds
Competency in computer skills
Expanded cultural and global
awareness and sensitivity
Civic responsibility and
orientation toward public service
 What do we know about Liberal
Education’s Benefits?
 Students attending a college that provides strong liberal
arts experiences (rather than just calling itself a liberal arts
college) graduate with better skills:
 Reading comprehension
 Critical thinking
 Science reasoning
 Writing skills
 Openness to diversity/challenge
 Learning for self-understanding
 Sense of responsibility for one’s own success
 An Urgent Agenda For
Today’s World
“Liberal Education is essential to an economy dependent on
innovation and to the success of a deliberative and diverse
democracy. We must do far more to ensure that students
achieve key liberal education outcomes. When we make
the aims of liberal education our compass, we build
society’s ability to creatively solve problems, engage and
learn from our differences, and forge a stronger
community. It is for just these reasons that liberal
education is our best investment in America’s promise.”
 FCCU Degree Requirement
 BA (Hons)
 130 credit hrs
 CGPA 2
 GPA 2 in major
 12 upper level 300 or 400\ 36 credit Hrs
 General Education
 Comprehensive Exam
 Competency Exam
 FCCU Degree Requirement
 BS (Hons)
 12 upper level 300 or 400\ 48 credit Hrs
 BSc (Hons) Business
 12 upper level 300 or 400\ 64 credit Hrs
 BSc (Hons) Computing
 12 upper level 300 or 400\ 64 credit Hrs
 FCCU General Education
 Two components of General Education
 47 crdt hrs in 4 semesters
 Competency exam in following areas:
 Written communication in Urdu
 Written communication in English
 Oral communication in English
 Quantitative skills
 Information technology
 FCCU General Education
 Humanities
6 courses 18 credit hrs
 Written comm. Eng 101, Eng 103, Urdu
101
 Oral comm. MCOM 100: Fundamentals of
Speech
 Social and Behavioral Sciences
 3 courses 9 credit hrs
 FCCU General Education
 Science and Mathematics 5 course/17 or 18
credit hrs
 At least two science courses (not form same
discipline)
 Atleast one mathematics and one computer
course
 One other course in either science, math,
statistics, logic or computer.