DCC has identified the following skills as essential to our students’ learning and development. The College provides a range of curricular and co-curricular learning opportunities for students to acquire, develop and practice these skills. DCC faculty, staff and administration assess student achievement of these six Institutional Student Learning Outcomes (ISLOs) on an ongoing basis to ensure that our graduates are well-prepared for their academic and career endeavors:

1. Oral Communication: Students will demonstrate oral communication skills in a clear and organized manner using appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication techniques with regard to subject, purpose and audience.

2. Written Communication: Students will produce writing that is well organized, well developed, and clear.

3. Scientific Reasoning: Students will apply the scientific method, develop hypotheses, analyze results and draw conclusions.

4. Quantitative Reasoning: Students will work with graphical, numerical or symbolic models to solve problems and interpret results.

5. Information Literacy and Technological Competency: Students will be able to identify the need for information, locate electronic media using appropriate technology including but not limited to the internet, evaluate the credibility of information thus obtained, use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose, and properly use and cite sources of information.

6. Critical Analysis and Reasoning: Students will formulate or evaluate arguments, problems or opinions and arrive at a solution, position or hypothesis based on carefully considered evidence.

GENERAL EDUCATION

The core of required courses within DCC Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) and Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree programs seeks to ensure that students will develop essential foundational skills.

DCC degree candidates share this foundational experience by taking the following DCC General Education Core courses:

A.A. and A.S. Degrees

• Composition I (ENG 101
• Composition II (ENG 102)
• Social Problems in Today’s World (BHS 103)
• American History
• Mathematics
• Laboratory Science

A.A.S. Degrees

• Composition I (ENG 101)
• Composition II (ENG 102)
• Social Problems in Today’s World (BHS 103)
• Mathematics or Laboratory Science

DCC, a member of the State University of New York, requires additional study in the Liberal Arts and Sciences as appropriate to each degree program. The intellectual rigor of the General Education courses is built on through the degree program, preparing each DCC student for transfer to a baccalaureate degree-granting program or for entry into the workplace.