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Soon, objectives such as developing leadership and critical thinking skills and cultivating virtues such as responsibility and respect for others should be an integral part of the UC Davis undergraduate education.

The goals - first proposed by administrators, faculty, students and alumni at last year's Chancellor's Fall Conference (Dateline, Oct. 12, 2001) - were approved in the spring by the Academic Senate's Committee on Educational Policy, after further input from campus.

"They are not terribly different than what we left (the conference) with, but we can feel confident that more of the campus has participated in their development," said Pat Turner, vice provost for Undergraduate Studies.

Creating the objectives was required for UC Davis' re-accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Earlier this month UC Davis submitted a preparatory review of its programs to be used by evaluators who will visit campus in December of 2002 and March of 2003. The report is online at wasc.ucdavis.edu.

While the objectives - which also include those devoted to developing global perspectives and effective and diverse communication skills - were certainly prompted by the WASC review, Turner said she believes they reflect aspirations departments already hold for their students. In the year ahead, members of the administration and the Academic Senate's Undergraduate Council will develop strategies to implement the objectives, especially in the academic review process.

"I think that (the goals) will make a difference," said physics professor Joe Kiskis, who co-chairs the WASC steering committee with Turner. "My guess is that the most immediate impact will be in the way that we think about and discuss general education requirements and writing and other communication skills."

He also hopes departments will think about developing a capstone, or culminating, course that integrates student learning in the major with the objectives.

The complete list of objectives is available at http://undergraduatestudies.ucdavis. edu/wasc/edobjectivesfstudents.pdf.