The seven competencies addressed below are required of each student who wishes to graduate from the
Competency in Area of Study
One's area of study should be one of the main forces propelling a student to further her or his educational goals. It is therefore very important for the student to be able to go beyond the normal boundaries of their chosen major. Students should enjoy the content of their area of study and the work that they have done within that field should reflect that enjoyment. Outside the college environment students will have to put their newly received diplomas to work and it is therefore desirable for the student to show that they have taken the steps to be successful in whatever applications may arise after their time at the
Two points that could aptly prove this are:
• The student should look to outside opportunities to show their enthusiasm for the content they are studying.
• Students, through grades and practical experience within the collegiate environment, should demonstrate their passion for their area of study.
My area of study is communications. I feel that within my area of study I have demonstrated my ability to fulfill these requirements with the examples listed below:
1. By substitute teaching within the local school district I have been provided with an excellent work-based environment in which I can both demonstrate and test learned communicational theories. I am able to introduce these theories to those I teach as well as those with whom I work. References to my 2 years of experience in the
2. Participating in local musical events, poetry readings, local political venues and within any other public setting, I have been able to give back something to the town that I grew up in. In addition, being in the spotlight for any small amount of time gives me “real” experience in front of the public that might just give me the extra edge when it comes time to apply for “real world” jobs! Click here to hear examples of my music.
Competency in Critical Thinking
Through critical thinking and evaluative problem solving, students should be able to create new ideas and concepts that in turn allow them to solve problems in a manner in which everyone befits. This could be demonstrated in a variety of areas that make up the whole of the University experience. For example, being able to look past the normal parameters of a given situation by being able to relate it to something else will not only include others who will not have your experience, but it will also make the problem solver better able to understand those around her or him. Students should be able to:
• Provide academically based work in which new views were introduced by the student.
• Show examples of situations that were dealt with by using effective critical thinking or problem solving skills.
1. In order to demonstrate my competency in this area I have provided a link to a paper I wrote in an English course, entitled “An Exploration in Victorian Poetry through a Romantic Lens.” The paper explores Robert Browning’s poem “Porphyria's Lover” through an essay written by Percy Shelley called “A Defense of Poetry”. Being able to interpret a work or an idea in a different context than was originally planned is an effective way to express critical thinking in an essay. I was once told by a teacher in high school that finding comparisons in two different bodies (of….?) was the heart of wisdom. I think that if we want to see a world at peace, we should all get a better sense of what our similarities are and cast our differences aside. Click here to see my paper.
2.Critical problem solving goes beyond academically based work. Because the possibility of needing to use this skill in a work place environment I have decided that my second form of proof within this competency will be an outline of the Student Government committee I created while I was a student senator. The committee has since been adopted into the Student Safety and Wellness committee of the
Competency in Professional Behavior
Professional behavior in the collegiate environment has many contexts and meanings. However, students who wish to succeed at the
Students should do the following:
• Establish a healthy relationship with their fellow students in which to help foster a positive learning environment.
• Seek positive role modeling opportunities in which their professionalism can be exemplified.
1.During my sophomore year of college, I was asked to participate in and facilitate the freshman organization called Student Leadership In Residence Program or SLIPR. The program was originally designed to promote freshman wellness and responsibility, as well as to help develop leadership skills for its participants. For Spring break that year we participated in what was aptly deemed “Alternative Spring Break”. Those who wanted could drive with the group leader and housing coordinator to participate in community service projects in
2.As a student here at UAS I know that sometimes things get a little mundane, especially during the cold winter nights, and dark winter days. I think that it was this kind of mentality that drove me to join the Student Activities Board second semester of my junior year. I offer my involvement with this group as the second example for this competency area. SAB is a student-run organization that plans and promotes events on campus. They have been the main force behind such acts as Buzz Sutherland, Jonathan Kingham, and the very well attended Spring Formal. I helped in the planning of the Spring Concert series and was then asked to open for one of the acts. It’s this sort of thing that helps promote the idea that if you’re positive and choose to interact with your surroundings, the sky’s the limit. Here's a link to the SAB site!
Competency in Computer Usage
It is vital in today's world that students be able to employ a wide range of technological skill. The call for real world applications in this area are getting louder and louder each day. It is therefore beneficial for the student to be able to demonstrate a variety of technological programs. Most importantly students must be able to:
• Demonstrate use of a number of the programs made available by the
• Create multimedia projects in which they their grasp of new ideas and new technology skills.
1.As a communications major who has taken many communication courses, being able to use Excel and Power-point has proved invaluable. Both programs have been able to help me get main ideas across easier and more efficiently. From the finer points of fly-fishing to compiling data for an audience analysis spread sheet, computer literacy can only get more useful. To demonstrate this I have provided a link to a Power-point project I used while teaching Communication 111 in the capacity of a teaching assistant. The PowerPoint was used to demonstrate some of the problems with visual learning and presentations, while also being used to facilitate discussion concerning active listening. Click here to see the PowerPoint that I created.
2.My second example of this competency is the video that I created as part of the Humanities Capstone 499 courses. The video details my love for music, where that love began, and how music helps me unwind from pontificating professors and heavy hills of homework. Creating this piece of new media required me to integrate a number of technological skills, including audio and video recording, narration development and image use, and to do so within the context of a media development program, iMovie. Here's the movie!
Competency in Information Literacy
To quality as information literate, a student graduating from the
• Show a way in which they used an array of references to complete a task.
• Be able to provide an example of correct citation with a diverse set of sources.
1.To demonstrate this competency I have provided a link to an annotated bibliography I submitted for a project I completed concerning the history of the ever so popular "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." I had to use three sources, which could be either secondary or primary sources. My part of the project had to deal with the history of the original writers and their surroundings in the mid 1800’s. Click here to see the bibliography!
2.My second example has to due with a paper I wrote for a British Literature course I took a few years ago. In the paper I examine the poem “The Lady of Shallot” written by Lord Alfred Tennyson. We took an analytical approach to the poem and were instructed to use the poem to extract meaning from an external situation. I chose to relate the poem to the American Revolution. Given the imagery Tennyson uses in the poem this wasn’t has hard a task as you might think, especially considering that the poem is about a princess in a tower who, due to a curse, is unable to look directly at the fair town of
Competency in Quantitative Skills
It is the hope that through this competency, a graduate of the
• The ability to show work done in the mathematical based arena of quantitative problem solving.
• Proof of going beyond the means of mere academic math, by taking on extracurricular responsibilities that involve the use of mathematical and arithmetical oriented teaching. These responsibilities can be found in the students volunteerism in a teaching or tudoring capacity or in any other nonacademic environment where math was used or taught.
1. First and foremost as proof of my quantitative skills I offer the scores I received on Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test. I took the test in the Fall of 2005 of my sophomore year and received top marks. I was interested in the Navy at the time, and when I graduate form UAS, the military will be an option that I will consider heavily. The test took 3 hours and 20 minutes to finish, which was just under the time limit allowed. Apart from the mathematical knowledge and arithmetic reasoning parts of the test, the ASVAB also includes general science and electronic phases of the exam. Click here to see my results!
Here I will provide a link to the math homework of two courses I will be completing next semester.
Competency in Communication
Prior to the completion of a Baccalaureates degree from the
• Be able to show that their communication skills have been honed by interacting within their educational community.
• The student must show competency in the ability to learn new media communication skills as new technology will only be developed faster in the future, it is imperative that the student be able to adapt and change to his or her own environment.
1.The first example of my aptitude in this competency are the marks I have received in the course entitled Communication 494. The course was specially made for three students who were teaching assistants for Dr. Jean Richey for the spring semester of 2008. As a TA for Dr. Richey I was expected to have read all course materials for the introduction course of Comm. 111, and be able to demonstrate my competency of those materials for the 25 students enrolled in the course. I was also expected to put on a lesson every week ranging in duration from 5 minutes to 25 minutes. As it turns out, the professor became ill during the semester and I was asked to teach for the full time of an hour and 45 minutes. The one or two times this transpired I was able to experience what it was like to develop a full lesson plan, prepare the students for the following day's activities and also gain some perspective of life on the other side of the desk. This is a link to my final grade in the course, and I also provided a link the class website.
2. The second example I have for this competency is a video of me presenting the project that I created for this class which took place May 1, 2008. The video incorporated multiple dimensions in movie making and editing. Original music was incorporated using software outside of the class, however we were always given opportunities to have our material edited and double checked by both the professors. Imagination and creativity were fostered in the class and as a result I think we were able to pull off an outstanding project.
