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 expectations, aligning curricula with expectations, and using assessment to guide continuous improvement.
This ALC lists expected core student learning outcomes for program graduates in three areas: content/discipline knowledge and skills, communication skills, and critical thinking skills. It also provides examples of strategies and mechanisms that may be used to assess individual student attainment of expected outcomes.

Graduates will be able to:

1. Synthesize the technical skills necessary to produce completed work in the student's chosen media or discipline.
2. Plan, develop, and execute a coherent project that conveys a personal expression appropriate to their area of study.
3. Analyze and evaluate the history of their chosen media or discipline.

Content/discipline knowledge and skills are assessed at the college and departmental levels through:

1. Embedded exam questions, papers and other assignments completed in ANT 2511 Intro to Physical Anthropology; ANT 3141 Development of World Civilization; ANT 3640 Language and Culture; and ANT 4034 Anthropological Thought.
2. Standardized Field Methods Log in ANT 3495 Research Methods in Anthropology; ANT 3824 Archaeological Field Methods; and ANT 4940 Internship in Anthropology.
3. Program Portfolio in ANT 4931 Senior Seminar in Anthropology. Students will assemble an integrated collection of past work that illustrates competency in anthropological outcomes.

Graduates will be able to:

1. Employ the conventions of standard written English.
2. Select a topic, and develop it for a specific audience and purpose, with respect for diverse
   perspectives.
3. Select, organize, and relate ideas and information with coherence, clarity, and unity.

Communication skills are assessed as part of the General Education Program through papers, exams, and projects completed in ENC 1101 Composition I, ENC 1102 Composition II, and HUM 2510 Understanding the Visual and Performing Arts

Graduates will be able to: 

1. Select and organize information.
2. Identify assumptions and underlying relationships. 
3. Synthesize information, and draw reasoned inferences. 
4. Formulate an appropriate problem solving strategy. 
5. Evaluate the feasibility of the strategy.

Critical thinking skills are assessed as part of the General Education Program through papers, exams, and projects completed ENC 1101 Composition I, ENC 1102 Composition II, and HUM 2510 Understanding the Visual and Performing Arts.