THE NEW KENT CORE

Engagement:  To engage in learning that results in informed action and involvement in the human condition.

Engagement. Kent State emphasizes civic, intercultural knowledge and competencies through students’ direct involvement in research, creative activity, community outreach, and through progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards of performance across the disciplines. Involved in scholarly and creative activity and in outreach, our students combine the intellectual and practical benefits of education for lifelong learning and engagement in our local and global communities.

Students demonstrate the ability to:

Act upon their moral and ethical obligation to others and demonstrate the impact of their actions within local, national, and global communities.

Respect and value “difference” in all interpersonal interactions.

Gather and evaluate knowledge to seek solutions for critical problems and shape positive change in society.

Engage with and understand the diversity of cultures in the U.S. and around the world

Engage with others in a civil exchange of differing and even conflicting viewpoints to make decisions, take risks and become personally involved in the world around them. 

Knowledge: To initiate and encourage the process of life-long learning

Knowledge. Study in the arts, humanities, interdisciplinary studies, languages, mathematics, sciences, and social sciences provides our graduates with knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural worlds. Our graduates develop the general knowledge that is the foundation of informed judgment, and life-long learning; they develop specialized understanding and appreciation for the key concepts and skills of their chosen fields.

Students demonstrate the ability to:

Understand the content and methodology of disciplines and areas of knowledge.

Comprehend and apply knowledge acquired within and across disciplines and areas of knowledge.

Analyze and adapt knowledge to solve a variety of problems and develop new ways of knowing about new and emerging fields.

Create and synthesize various knowledge sets to offer new perspectives and formulate new ideas.

Critically assess and direct their learning.

Insight:  To explore and develop multiple ways of knowing and forms of understanding.

Insight. Learning based in inquiry, evidence analysis, critical and creative thought, and collaborative problem-solving provides our graduates with the intellectual and practical skills fundamental to 21^st-century literacies.  Information literacy, quantitative literacy, digital literacy, interpersonal skills, and aural, oral, visual, and written communication skills enable our graduates to bring critical and creative insight to the construction, articulation and application of new knowledge.

Critical thinking and analysis is embedded in academic disciplines and is fostered through the careful assessment of the logic, processes and outcomes of these disciplines. Both quantitative and qualitative reasoning are necessary in the development of critical thinking and creative insight.

Students demonstrate the ability to:

Comprehend, analyze, and interpret facts and express ideas in various written, oral and technological formats.

Apply appropriate 21^st century literacies (information, financial, cultural, quantitative, digital, and visual) to create, examine, and critique knowledge relevant to real-world problems.  

Apply appropriate 21^st century communication skills (interpersonal, aural, oral, and written) to create, examine, and critique knowledge relevant to real-world problems.  

Analyze multiple perspectives and contexts to develop reasoned conclusions about complex issues such as diversity, sustainability, human rights, etc.

Responsibility:  To analyze and understand diverse moral and ethical views.

Responsibility. The undergraduate education at Kent State University emphasizes critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and moral judgment in conjunction with the acquisition of expertise. Kent State graduates are involved astutely and practically in diverse communities and real-world challenges and grow to become reflective, responsible, and productive citizens.

Students demonstrate the ability to:

Make informed and principled choices and decisions and comprehend the consequences of those choices and decisions.

Use knowledge and information ethically and legally.

Create solutions to public problems through civil discourse and personal actions. 

Learn in a variety of ways that represent historical and cultural understandings of the world as a global society, and exercise leadership in addressing issues of concern to the community.

Understand the moral, ethical and social roles that an educated citizen plays in a democratic society.

Apply moral and ethical reasoning skills and understanding for the advancement of a diverse society.

Take responsibility for living an examined life.