Introductory Note
These broad learning goals express the college’s expectations and hopes for all students who study within its walls no matter what path the student takes through the college experience. All of the college’s efforts will be in support of one or more of the goals, but not every student will achieve each goal in the same way.
Canisius is a Jesuit and Catholic university. It emphasizes key values, ways of knowing, and ways of learning that inform Ignatian spirituality and pedagogy. Chief among these is the notion of finding God in all things, the belief that all of creation is worth knowing and studying. This belief implies that a broad, liberal education should be the foundation stone of higher education. Another feature of Jesuit education is the explicit attention to the care for individual persons, or cura personalis. Forming its students to become men and women for and with others is central to Jesuit education. Ideally all learning should include reflection on questions of justice, especially justice for those who have been marginalized or excluded from the mainstream of society
Academic excellence is central to the mission and is a goal of every program of study. Intellect and reason are the primary ways of discovering truth. Discernment, creativity, and flexibility are also needed to solve problems and choose a right course of action. Doing service for others is the ultimate purpose of education, and the more virtues and gifts that can be brought to the task, the greater the good that can be done.
The goal statements are declarative sentences in the present tense. In practice, students move at different paces toward these goals, and assessment of goals occurs at appropriate times and places throughout the educational experience.
Goal 1. Academic Excellence
Canisius students:
a. in the Jesuit tradition, are intentional learners who can adapt to new environments, integrate knowledge, and continue learning throughout their livesGoal 2. Communication Skills
b. demonstrate a breadth of knowledge across many fields of humanistic, scientific, and social scientific fields;
c. demonstrate a depth of knowledge in one or more fields of learning; they demonstrate the skills and habits of mind that derive from that knowledge and sustain its further growth.
Canisius students:
a. demonstrate that they can write and speak with clarity and precision in both their academic disciplines and in more general situations;Goal 3. Integrity and Civility
b. demonstrate that they can listen and read with both literal comprehension and critical awareness in both their academic disciplines and more general situations;
c. integrate current technologies into research and communication.
Canisius students:
a. demonstrate knowledge of general ethical and moral issues as well as ones specific to their fields of study;Goal 4. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
b. act with civility and integrity in pursuit of the responsible use of human freedom.
Canisius students:
a. synthesize new knowledge and apply it to present and future problems;Goal 5. Community Involvement and Leadership
b. identify, analyze, and comprehend the assumptions and underlying premises in a variety of academic and real-world arguments, conflicts, and debates:
c. demonstrate that they can find, evaluate, and effectively use information while understanding the ethical and legal issues governing academic and professional work.
Canisius students:
a. demonstrate leadership in the service of others, in intellectual and spiritual inquiry, and in assuming positions of responsibility in the community and marketplace;Goal 6. Catholic Jesuit Intellectual Tradition
b. use their gifts for the service of others and the benefit of society.
Canisius students:
a. demonstrate a familiarity with dimensions of the Catholic and Jesuit intellectual traditions as they occur in literature, art, science, and social teaching
Committee Members Academic Year 2008-2009
Rev. John F. Bucki, SJ
Director of Campus Ministry
Rita A. Capezzi, PhD
Associate Professor of English
Scott Chadwick, PhD
Vice President, Academic Affairs
Patricia A. Coward, PhD
Director Center for Teaching Excellence
Karen Dutt-Doner, PhD
Associate Dean School of Education and Human Services
Guy H. Gessner, PhD
Associate Professor of Management/Marketing
Debra Instone, PhD
Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Kristine Kashbohm
Information Literacy/Reference Librarian
Terri Mangione, PhD
Dean Student Affairs
Patrick Mizak
Director of Institutional Research
Jerome L. Neuner, PhD
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
Robert Nida, PhD
School of Education and Human Services
Debra Park
Associate Vice President for Public Relations
Barbara Porter, PhD
Associate Dean College of Arts and Sciences