Expanding Horizons

Addressing the Goals in the Undergraduate Curriculum

Discussion of the goals will be an integral part of all faculty and staff workshops.
As a result, the outcomes listed below are intended to present basic guidelines for
developing curricular and co-curricular classes and projects. Different instructors,
groups, organizations, and programs will develop additional concepts and varying
practices to realize these goals.

1. First-Year Experience—Basic Goals

During the first year, students will lay a foundation for becoming skilled
users of information. They will be introduced to basic tools in the library, and
they will learn how to use information ethically.

• Understand the varieties of information sources available
(UNDERSTAND)
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the nature of information
sources, such as books, journals, newspapers, Websites, and media, and
an understanding of how they vary in audience orientation and authority.

• Access information efficiently and effectively (ACCESS)
Students will understand and apply techniques for accessing information
which may include general searching principles, accessing appropriate
Web-based resources, becoming familiar with specialized collections, and
using Interlibrary Loan.

• Understand the concept of intellectual property and the economic, legal,
and social contexts of information, and use information ethically (USE
ETHICALLY)
Students will understand the concepts of plagiarism and copyright and
will appropriately use citation/documentation systems in their work.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the University Academic
Honor Code.

2. Common Curriculum and Departmental Majors—Basic Goals
During the course of Trinity students’ immersion in the Common Curriculum
and their majors, students will enhance their abilities to access information
efficiently. They will develop further and refine their understanding of the
concept of intellectual property and its ethical use. Students will learn to
evaluate information and its sources.

• Access information efficiently and effectively (ACCESS)
Through a variety of courses, students will use and reinforce such
techniques as advanced searching, accessing appropriate Web-based
resources, becoming familiar with specialized collections, and using
Interlibrary Loan.

• Understand the concept of intellectual property and the economic,
legal, and social contexts of information and use information ethically (USE
ETHICALLY)
Students will be introduced to the history and reasoning behind attribution
in academic writing, as well as the history of copyright. Students will learn
to distinguish plagiarism from copyright violations.

In the Common Curriculum: Students will understand that different
disciplines use different citation and documentation styles.
In the Major: Students will learn and appropriately use the citation/
documentation system specific to their major.

• Evaluate information and its sources (EVALUATE)
Students will articulate and apply initial criteria to evaluate both
information and its sources. Students will understand the peer-review
process and be able to judge the relative merits and authority of resources.

In the Common Curriculum: Through a variety of courses, students will be able to recognize and evaluate the cultural, historical, or physical contexts
within which the information is/was created.
In the Major: Students will be expected to understand how research is
conducted, evaluated, and published in their major field.

3. The Senior Experience—Basic Goals
As part of their senior experience, students will demonstrate in their use of
information a sophisticated understanding of Information Literacy.
• Incorporate and synthesize information to create individual and group
products (CREATE)
Students will demonstrate their ability to define a problem or topic, conduct the
necessary research, and write/create/perform a project or performance.

From pages 24-25 of : Expanding Horizons: A QEP for Trinity University (pdf)