The broader your educational experiences, the better equipped you will be for the personal, professional, and educational challenges you will face in the future. Parkland College is committed to equipping you with knowledge, skills, and values through your experiences in general education classes.
All degree programs and some certificate programs at Parkland College include a general education component. No matter your area of study, when you complete a degree at Parkland College, you will have gained skills to communicate effectively, think through problems, and seek out new information.
Students planning on transferring to a four-year university in Illinois should visit the General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) page to see how general education classes at Parkland College can transfer as a package to your target university.
In addition to general education classes, all courses at Parkland College include one or more of the college's General Learning Outcomes (GLOs).
General Learning Outcomes (GLOs)
The six GLOs were designed by Parkland College faculty to provide broad knowledge and skills that will benefit students whatever their future plans may be. A course with a GLO includes assignments that develop skills in that area. GLOs for the course are listed on the class syllabus.
- Communication: Read, write, listen, and speak effectively.
- Creativity and Innovative Thinking: Design, present, and interpret materials, information, and ideas in innovative ways.
- Critical Thinking and Information Literacy: Evaluate perspectives, evidence, and implications, and locate, assess, and use information effectively.
- Reasoning and Inquiry: Solve problems using deductive reasoning and logic, quantitative reasoning, or the scientific method.
- Technology: Evaluate, select, and appropriately use current and emerging tools.
- Global Awareness and Cultural Reasoning: Demonstrate understanding of global issues, gender and sexual orientation, and multicultural perspectives.