CCRI’s Definition of an Educated Person

Four Abilities

The faculty and staff of the Community College of Rhode Island have established four core abilities that define the learning outcomes of a CCRI graduate. These four abilities can be applied in many contexts and are critical skills that must be developed not only at CCRI but over the course of a lifetime. These core abilities are reflected in our General Education program requirements and guide students, faculty and staff in establishing educational goals and assessing learning within and across the primary domains of knowledge: arts and humanities, science and mathematics, and the social sciences.

1. Effective Communication
   1. Create written work that develops and expresses ideas and that addresses a given context and target audience.
   2. Communicate effectively via oral presentations, performances, participation in group work, and visual presentations.
2. Critical Thinking
   1. Identify, analyze, and apply evidence and ideas, question assumptions, and draw logical conclusions.
   2. Develop information literacy by locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and using information to accomplish a specific purpose.
3. Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning
   1. Demonstrate an understanding of and apply scientific principles, theories, and methods.
   2. Apply quantitative principles to solve problems and support arguments with quantitative evidence in a variety of formats (e.g. words, tables, graphs, equations, etc.).
4. Awareness of Oneself and the World
   1. Demonstrate an understanding of global, cultural and historical perspectives.
   2. Function effectively in social and professional environments and make reasoned decisions based on ethical standards, self-awareness, and personal responsibility.

Assessment of Student Learning

CCRI is committed to providing quality education and assuring that students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful.

Assessment of student learning provides the information needed to make improvements in program structure, course content and pedagogy. To this end, information, including samples of student work provided by faculty, may be collected at the classroom, department and institution levels. The information collected is completely anonymous and has no impact on student grades. Aggregated results are used for program planning purposes and may be included in institutional research analyses and reports. In addition, students may be asked to submit samples of their coursework and engage in focus groups. They also may be asked to complete a questionnaire assessing the quality of academic services.

These activities help determine the extent to which students demonstrate competency in the areas outlined in CCRI’s Definition of an Educated Person and in their area of concentration.

General Education Core Curriculum Requirements

Minimum Credits

A minimum of 20 credits of General Education coursework is required to meet the accreditation standards established by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) for associate degree programs. Each degree program must include courses from the three broad knowledge domains of Humanities, Mathematics and Science, and Social Sciences.

All CCRI degree programs require students to complete ENGL 1010: Composition I as part of their general education. They may require additional specific general education courses and many include more than the minimum requirement of 20 general education credits. 

To ensure both breadth and depth, a minimum of six credits from each knowledge domain is required, but no more than three courses may come from the same subject code (e.g., MATH, ENGL, etc.). Also required is satisfactory performance across all four core abilities described by the Definition of an Educated Person.

All courses within each of the specific disciplines must be numbered at the 1000 level or higher to qualify as fulfilling the General Education requirements.

General education courses transfer to URI, RIC, or both. Exceptions are some courses required by Applied Associate's in Science degrees.