Consistent with its mission and guiding principles, Florida Gulf Coast University
is committed to academic excellence and continuous quality improvement, as supported
by a sound teaching-learning process. Within this process, students and instructors
share responsibility for learning that is a movement from the simple to the complex,
the concrete to the abstract, and the dependent to the independent. The Academic Learning
Compact (ALC) initiative supports the teaching-learning process by clearly identifying
expected core student learning outcomes in the areas of content/discipline knowledge
and skills, communication skills, and critical thinking skills; aligning curricula
with expectations; and using assessment to guide continuous improvement.
Content/Discipline Knowledge and Skills
Graduates will be able to:
- Synthesize the technical skills necessary to produce completed work in the student's
chosen media or discipline.
- Plan, develop, and execute a coherent project appropriate to their area of study.
- Analyze and evaluate the conceptual placement of their chosen media or discipline.
Assessed in DIG 4972 Senior Project in Design. Each Digital Media Design major must
complete a senior project in which s/he successfully plans, creates, and executes
a body of work that is conceptually strong and technically proficient. The results
of this project are presented in a professional exhibition open to the university
community and general public.
Communication Skills
Graduates will be able to:
- Formulate hypotheses, present coherent arguments and explanations, and communicate
ideas within a logical, well organized written structure.
- Write on design topics using an appropriate vocabulary of relevant technical terms
and concepts, with mature understanding of word meanings and usage.
- Support arguments and hypotheses with clear evidence and well-chosen comparisons.
- Demonstrate a command of the syntax, grammar and writing mechanics of Standard English
academic prose, and of the standard conventions of academic paper presentation and
formatting.
Communication skills are assessed based on projects assigned in DIG 3595 Professional
Design Practice and/or DIG 3800 Contemporary Design Theory.
Critical Thinking Skills
Graduates will be able to:
- Select specific subjects and directions as the basis for their production.
- Analyze contexts and perspectives relevant to their production.
- Develop a logical, consistent plan to solve technical and conceptual issues.
- Assess and defend the quality of their final project outcomes through a critical,
reflective process.
Critical thinking skills are assessed using targeted exercises in DIG 4920 Digital
Media Design Workshop.