The BLUEprint General Education Program

Illinois College prepares students for fulfilling lives of leadership and service in the 21st century through the liberal-arts general-education program and their majors.  Through the BLUEprint, our general education program, Illinois College students will acquire a broad and diverse body of knowledge about artistic, cultural, humanistic, political, scientific, and social dimensions of our past and present as foundations for our future. Illinois College students will also learn to communicate effectively and responsibly, orally and in writing, and achieve various proficiencies, including statistical reasoning and information literacy.  With this educational program, Illinois College students prepare for lives as ethically responsible members of communities. They will also become lifelong learners through experiences inside and outside the classroom. Illinois College prepares its graduates to serve and lead in their communities.

Lists of courses that fulfill each of the BLUEprint categories are available on Connect2.

• Building a Strong Foundations – 4 courses
• First-Year Seminar (of varying themes)
  • Meets 3 hours each week with professor
  • Meets 1 hour each week with professor, student mentor, and other professional mentors to discuss common themes and issues related to college transitional success
• Oral Communication 
• Written Communication
• IC 102: Introduction to Information Literacy and Critical Thinking

Either Oral Communication or Written Communication is taken concurrently with the First-Year Seminar in the fall semester, while the remaining course is usually taken in the spring semester of the first year.

• Exploring the Liberal Arts – 5 courses
  All courses within Exploring the Liberal Arts must be 3 or 4 credit hours, except for Creative Expressions Studio courses which may be 1-4 credit hours. Courses in the Exploring the Liberal Arts theme must also meet one of the following BLUEprint Skills: Writing Extensive, Speaking Extensive, Information Literacy, or Empirical Analysis (however, 1-2 credit hour Creative Expression Studio courses are excluded from the skills requirement).
  • Creative Expressions Studio 
    • Students in the Creative Expressions Studio category will develop an aesthetic appreciation of formal artistic elements, will evaluate art from a variety of perspectives, and will engage in the artistic process through their own creations.
  • Cultural Literacy
    • Students in Cultural Literacy courses will learn how various cultures, past and present, address both unique and shared challenges of human life. Through the analysis of cultural artifacts, students will gain an understanding of particular cultures and ways of being. Grounded in specific cultures, including their own, students will reflect on the way culture shapes their worldviews.
  • Science and Society Lab
    • Students in Science and Society Lab courses will apply the scientific method using concepts and tools from the natural or physical world by conducting experiments in the lab or in the field and analyze quantitative or qualitative data to form conclusions. In doing so, students will explore how the products of the scientific method serve to inform the interaction of human societies and the natural world.
  • Social Behavior
    • Students in Social Behavior courses will examine fundamental principles of human nature as a product of social influences, structures, and institutions. Students will analyze human thought, behavior, and action in light of social constructs at the individual and group levels.  In addition, students will explore how these constructs inform human realities.
  • Humanistic Values
    • Students in Humanistic Values courses will recognize and engage with foundational questions of meaning and values within human communities. Through careful study of written texts representing philosophical, religious, and/or literary traditions, students will examine and refine their own values in the context of exploring those they study. 

• Preparing for Leadership and Service – 5 Classes
  All courses within Preparing for Leadership and Service must be 2 to 4 credit hours.
  • Modern Languages
    • Complete at least one course in modern language at the 102-level or beyond.
  • Global Awareness
    • Students will learn from and about various cultures in the world. Global Awareness courses enable students to know about diverse cultures beyond the geographical borders of the United States. Students will reflect on issues of global importance.
  • U.S. Diversity
    • Students in U.S. Diversity courses will learn from and about various cultures in the United States and will understand how the dynamic character of the nation is comprised of many diverse cultures.
  • Community and Civic Engagement
    • Students in Community and Civic Engagement courses will learn how to make a difference in communities by using their academic knowledge and skills to address community issues. Students will develop the skills, knowledge, confidence, and motivation to effect change in local, state, national, and/or global communities.
  • Statistical and Quantitative Literacy
    • Statistical and quantitative reasoning courses develop the ability to critically evaluate quantitative data, to draw appropriate inferences from mathematical or statistical models, and to present data-based arguments in order to address real-world problems.