In September 2017, all the Massachusetts state universities received a memo from the MA Dept of Higher Education introducing Learning Outcomes for courses commonly used as transfer courses across the state higher education system.

The memo read, in part:

“As many of you know, we have been working for some time to identify foundational courses for the MassTransfer Pathways Initiative. After completing the foundational courses in their major at a community college, students will be able to transfer to any four-year institution in the Commonwealth as juniors. This work… has helped to create a unified system of transfer, and forms the underpinning of the Commonwealth Commitment. Additionally, MassTransfer Pathways helps to fulfill several major Board of Higher Education goals:

• Fostering a more integrated system of public higher education
• Elevating performance of public higher education with respect to key outcomes
• Enhancing appreciation of higher education as a central asset and competitive advantage of the Commonwealth
• Incubating innovation that transcends traditional approaches

The first phase of the project required faculty to identify the foundational courses within the major that students should complete during their first 60 credits. Faculty then came together to discuss what content needed to be covered in the foundational courses in order to be considered equivalent and for students to be successful in their upper level courses. We have now embarked on the third phase of the MassTransfer Pathways project, which consists of developing learning outcomes for the foundational courses in the MassTransfer Pathways disciplines. This process will provide the receiving institutions with additional assurances that our transfer students are prepared to do the work required as they take on more advanced coursework in their chosen fields of study… we have developed learning outcomes by faculty for use by faculty in departments across the Commonwealth. While we recognize that the use of these learning outcomes cannot be mandated, we firmly believe that learning outcomes developed by faculty with faculty for faculty will enjoy great receptivity. In addition, departments may add to these outcomes as they deem necessary and individual faculty members can add to them as well.”

History Foundational Courses

Students who complete US History I will be able to:

1. Analyze cultural interactions and differences in North America from the 15th to the 19th century

2. Explain intellectual and religious development in a national and transnational context

3. Compare ideas and events related to ideas of race, federalism, economic and geographic expansionism and sectionalism

4. Use critical thinking to evaluate historical sources and scholarship

5. Explain how evidence is analyzed and used to construct historical knowledge

Students who complete US History II will be able to:

1. Analyze the changing relationship of the United States with the rest of the world

2. Explain the centralization and decentralization of economic and political influences

3. Identify and compare the movements and interactions of people, technology, ideas and culture in a national and transnational context

4. Use critical thinking to evaluate historical sources and scholarship

5. Explain how evidence is analyzed and used to construct historical knowledge

Students who complete World Civilization I will be able to:

1. Identify and analyze western and non-western societies and cultures, and their human and physical geography, with a significant emphasis on non-western regions.

2. Summarize the emergence of human societies including features of urban life, empires and cross-cultural interaction and trade

3. Assess the development and exchange of science, technology, religion and intellectual thought

4. Use critical thinking to evaluate historical sources and scholarship

5. Explain how evidence is analyzed and used to construct historical knowledge

Students who complete World Civilization II will be able to:

1. Identify and analyze western and non-western societies and cultures, and their human and physical geography, with a significant emphasis on non-western regions.

2. Demonstrate an understanding of the processes of state-building, colonization and decolonization

3. Assess the development and exchange of science, technology, religion and intellectual thought

4. Use critical thinking to evaluate historical sources and scholarship

5. Explain how evidence is analyzed and used to construct historical knowledge

Foundational Political Science Courses

U.S. Government

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. Identify the historical and philosophical origins of the American government.

2. Analyze the organization, powers and operations of the three branches of government.

3. Appraise the various forms of political participation and the evolution of the American political process.

4. Identify the origins and changing relationship between the federal government and the states through a discussion of current public policy issues.

5. Describe and appraise the relationship between the federal government and the American people in regard to their civil liberties and civil rights, as well as their access to public benefits and services.

Comparative Government

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. Explain the historical and political origins of modern nations.

2. Summarize and assess the impact of a nation’s past on its modern governmental structures.

3. Understand the relationship between the state and society, the role of culture in shaping this relationship, and the way such relationships differ from one country to another.

4. Appraise the role of political parties and elections in selected western and non-western nations.

5. Explain the contributions of various political thinkers to the evolution of modern nations.

State and Local Government

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. Explain the historical and political origins of the American city.

2. Differentiate the organization, powers and operations of the three branches of government at the federal, state and local levels.

3. Explain and assess the origins and changing relationship between the federal, state and local governments.

4. Appraise the various forms of political participation and the evolution of the American political process.

5. Analyze the evolution of rural, urban and suburban America through a discussion of current public policy issues.

International Relations

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. Explain and apply the concepts needed for understanding international relations, including nation-state, sovereignty, conflict and cooperation.

2. Evaluate and analyze the role of political and social forces in shaping institutions of governance and foreign policies.

3. Differentiate the dominant approaches to understanding international relations, including realism and liberalism, and use those approaches to analyze issues of international concern.

4. Evaluate the importance of diversity and ethics, as expressed in cultures, societies and judicial systems, in shaping international relations.

5. Understand the role of major global institutions and organizations.

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