Academic Program Characteristics
In accordance with the University of Minnesota Crookston mission, all programs are:
Employment-oriented
- Prepare students to participate in and manage a diverse workforce.
- Linked to employers in a variety of ways (such as field trips, on-site assignments, shadowing, and shared databases).
- Require an internship or field experience.
- Respond to changes in the workforce via interaction between faculty and employers.
- Are evaluated by a Program Improvement Advisory Committee whose membership comes from business and industry.
- Designed around active learning and responsive teaching.
- Taught by team leaders and project directors.
- Actively involve students in the learning process.
- Emphasize application and solving real world problems.
- Allow students to develop portfolios of their experiences to demonstrate their personal and career development.
Technology-driven
- Technology outcomes are central to every course.
- Students gain technical competence that meets or exceeds the needs of industry.
- Students use e-mail, interactive communication technology, and the Internet.
- Interactive television and online course delivery enables students to take courses offered by other higher education institutions.
- Students develop the ability to adapt to technological change—an essential ability for career success.
Focused on three core competencies
Every program has curriculum focused on developing skills in the following core areas:
- Communication
- Reading
- Writing
- Speaking
- Listening
- Using technology
- Critical Thinking
- Problem solving
- Applied learning
- Working With Others
- Teamwork
- Diversity
Note: See expanded definitions and performance indicators of our core competencies.
Outcome-based
- Learner outcomes are published for each course.
- Program outcomes are published for each program.
- Active assessment of outcomes guides curriculum decisions.
- Quality is judged through annual assessment reports and comprehensive program reviews that occur every six years.