General Criteria for Common Core Courses

In general, common core courses are expected to meet all of the following general criteria:

• (a)
  the course should broaden students’ horizons;
• (b)
  the course should not have a prerequisite and should be open to all students;
• (c)
  the course should enhance students’ competencies such as communication, quantitative reasoning, and critical thinking; and
• (d)
  the course should challenge students to consider social, cultural, or philosophical issues.

These criteria may be reviewed and revised in the future in response to changing circumstances or needs. Nevertheless, they should always adhere to the goals and objectives of the Common Core Program and be read and interpreted in conjunction with these goals and objectives.

To assure that courses developed are achieving the goals of the Program, the course proposal will be evaluated with regard to the following aspects:

• (a)
  Course Curriculum: The outcome-based education (OBE) approach is adopted in the design of course curriculum. The course learning outcomes are aligned with the intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of the common core area and achieved through a coherent and effective course content and structure.
• (b)
  Contribution to Common Core Program: The course contributes to the objectives of the Common Core Program in complementing studies in specialist disciplines and providing a whole-person learning and developmental experience for students.
• (c)
  Teaching and Learning: The teaching and learning activities are effective in delivering the course learning outcomes and course content.
• (d)
  Assessment: Assessment methods are appropriate to enable and evaluate students’ achievement of the course learning outcomes.