Jenzabar University

Mission

In keeping with Dominican University's mission of preparing students to pursue truth, to give compassionate service, and to participate in the creation of a more just and humane world, the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences strives to embody a community of learners seeking truth through free and open inquiry and dialogue with a diverse array of persons, places, texts, objects, ideas, and events, past and present, supportive of each learner's development, and committed to using our talents to make a positive contribution to the world. We strive to produce graduates of a liberal arts and sciences program who can think critically; communicate ideas well, orally and in writing; and achieve both breadth of understanding across fields and depth of knowledge in one field.

Vision

As a college we are committed to the Vision for Undergraduate Education, which characterizes our work with students as follows:

A Vision for Undergraduate Education

Steeped in Dominican Ethos, Liberal Learning

through Foundations, Breadth, Depth and Integration

for Responsible Global Citizenship

We educate one student at a time in the company of others, each unique yet all distinctly Dominican.  In dialogue with a Dominican ethos, our students grow as liberal learners through creative and rigorous study marked by solid foundations, disciplinary breadth and depth, and ongoing integration as they aspire to become ethically responsible global citizens.  Each student develops an emerging sense of personal and professional vocation through a variety of means, including thoughtful interaction with courses, professors and other students, and intensive advising and mentoring. We encourage students to participate in internships, study away (international and domestic), community-based learning, and undergraduate research, scholarship and creative investigations.  Diverse insights coalesce in each student’s distinctive educational trajectory, purpose and plan, as we inspire students to discern the big picture and name their place within it -- to stand somewhere and to stand for something, conscientiously positioned in relationship to the world. 

Dominican ethos describes the distinctive character of our university’s culture. It includes an environment of Caritas et Veritas, in which we contemplate the meaning of existence and strive collaboratively for a more just and humane world. It understands that study is at once contemplative and communal. It unites reflection and dialogue as we collaborate in the search for truth.  It enables students to develop a sense of care and responsibility for oneself, one’s community, and the wider creation. It fosters trust, tolerance, mutual accountability, and belonging. Students enter into conversation with a Catholic intellectual tradition that affirms the compatibility of faith and reason, a universe marked by both intelligibility and mystery, the sacredness of all creation, the dignity of every living being, and concern for the common good. They acquire basic knowledge about Christianity in its various dimensions, and how it interacts with secular and other religious beliefs, practices and worldviews.

Upon graduation, students educated at Dominican University possess character, knowledge and skills to take informed, ethical action in the world and to influence others for the good.

 Foundations

Foundations are the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for further learning. They are generally cultivated during the first year, and they are continually developed and built upon in later academic work. In alphabetical order, these are:

Application Software.  Effective use of application software is the ability to solve real-world problems using computer applications and includes being able to determine the appropriate application to use for a particular need. 

Students will be able to:

·         create and use dynamic spreadsheets to analyze and present information;

·         create and use databases to organize data and answer data-driven questions;

·         create and manage digital content, including word processing, e-portfolios, and digital video; and

·         independently research questions regarding application software use and effectively employ learning resources as a means for learning new and updated applications.

Communication. Effective communication is purposeful expression that increases knowledge, fosters understanding, and/or promotes change in attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors.

Written communication is the development of effective expression of ideas in writing.

Students will be able to:

·         use rhetorical conventions appropriately;

·         use appropriate examples, sources, and evidence in support of their own ideas;

·         incorporate supporting materials (e.g., visual images, statistics) when appropriate; and

·         demonstrate effective organization, syntax, and mechanics.

Oral communication is the development and expression of ideas orally.

In class discussion and oral presentations, students will be able to:

·         use rhetorical conventions appropriately;

·         use appropriate examples, sources, and evidence in support of their own ideas;

·         incorporate supporting materials (e.g., visual images, statistics) when appropriate; and

·         use effective delivery techniques (e.g., posture, gesture, eye contact, vocal expressiveness, clarity).

Critical thinking. Critical thinking is a habit of mind animated by a spirit of inquiry and problem solving characterized by the rigorous exploration, analysis, and evaluation of diverse issues, ideas, artifacts, data, and events in order to formulate an opinion, conclusion, or solution.

Students will be able to:

·         comprehend the content necessary for an appropriate understanding of the topic;

·         examine one’s own and others’ assumptions;

·         evaluate the claims and arguments or tools under consideration based on explicit criteria; and

·         formulate a defensible opinion, conclusion, or solution.

Cultural knowledge. Students develop the willingness to engage diverse dimensions of human experience and understand with empathy other cultures. Students demonstrate the ability to interact with a diverse contemporary America and the world, in relation to differences that include but are not limited to: race, ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, physical and intellectual abilities, and ways of knowing.

Students will be able to:

·         identify one’s own cultural rules and assumptions;

·         recognize the rules and assumptions important to another culture;

·         demonstrate ability to communicate in a second language;

·         express openness to interactions with culturally different others.

Information literacy. Information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, and use information responsibly and effectively.

Students will be able to:

·         access needed information effectively and efficiently;

·         evaluate the information and its sources critically;

·         incorporate selected sources into their work products; and

·         use information responsibly (i.e., ethically and legally).

Quantitative reasoning. Students develop competency in comprehending and analyzing numerical information. Students conceptualize problems in terms of quantitative dimensions and reason and solve quantitative problems from a wide array of authentic contexts and everyday life situations. They understand and can create arguments supported by quantitative evidence, and they can clearly communicate those arguments in a variety of forms (using words, tables, graphs, mathematical equations, etc., as appropriate). 

Students will be able to:

·         interpret information presented in mathematical forms;

·         represent information in various mathematical forms;

·         perform calculations, applying the appropriate mathematical processes; and

·         draw appropriate conclusions based on the quantitative analysis of information.

Reading. Students develop competency in understanding and interpreting written and visual works.

Students will be able to:

·         develop strategies to engage written texts and visual media;

·         identify the purpose(s) of the works;

·         analyze and discuss works in ways that enhance understanding; and

·         critically evaluate written and visual works and their sources.

Research fundamentals. Conducting research entails rigorous inquiry through which students join a community of scholars in order to pursue truth. This pursuit is conducted with sincerity and respect for the rights of others. 

Students will be able to:

·         formulate a research question;

·         identify relevant resources and strategies for answering the question;

·         distinguish among modes of inquiry; and

Breadth

Dominican University traditionally recognizes distinct areas of study and diverse ways of knowing necessary for students to engage in informed conversations of genuine breadth, both within and beyond the university.  Students are enabled to appreciate the content and methods of diverse fields of study, recognize different ways of knowing and creating knowledge, and demonstrate understanding of disciplinary concepts and approaches, specifically in fine arts, history, literature, natural sciences, philosophy, social sciences, and theology.

Depth

Dominican students develop competence in and an in-depth understanding of one or more academic disciplines.  After completing significant coursework in a particular field of study, students will have developed a body of work that demonstrates substantial domain knowledge and a growing awareness of the underlying structures of an academic discipline.  Additionally, they will have had extensive practice in applying disciplinary principles, perspectives and discourse to diverse problems and in adopting a critical stance to evidence and argument.  

Integrative Learning

Integrative learning is the practice of making meaningful wholes -- that is, synthesizing knowledge across academic boundaries; connecting personal, academic, work, and community experiences; and evaluating and reflecting on their own learning. This enables students to develop increasingly complex frameworks for future learning and action in multiple communities.

Global Citizenship