Corrick Center for General Education

About Us

Welcome to the Corrick Center for General Education

The Corrick Center was developed in 1972 as an alternative entry point into Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Corrick Center for General Education offers a curriculum that fosters mastery of freshman and sophomore coursework while students acclimate to the academic environment at Minnesota State University Moorhead. The purpose of the curriculum offered by the Corrick Center for General Education is to enhance opportunities for student success as they bridge the transition from high school to university education.

At the Center for General Education, new students experience a small-college environment within the larger university community. In this community of learners created within the Center for General Education, students are introduced to the academic and career programs available at Minnesota State University Moorhead while they explore first-hand these opportunities with the academic advisors and a cohort of entering freshman that usually number no more than 200 students in the fall semester and no more than 50 in the spring. Within the cohort, students explore career paths available to them and develop strategies for developing, planning toward, and eventually reaching their academic and career goals.

Through the educational process at the Center for General Education, students also develop academic skills as they are afforded the opportunity to take classes to help prepare them for the rigors of further academic work. Based on their preparation, students may take advantage of courses that assist them in developing “studenting” skills, such as reading and math readiness skills, note-taking and study techniques, and test-taking strategies. In addition, they may take advantage of tutors that are available during scheduled hours in the study areas of Murray Commons, and they may also use the services of the larger University community, including the services offered by the Write Site, the Counseling and Personal Growth Center, and the Career Center, to name a few.

At the Center for General Education, students are encouraged to take an active part in planning the education they receive and in preparing themselves with the skills and strategies they will need to develop in order to make the most of their educational opportunities at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Once they have planned a course of study, taken the necessary prerequisites to qualify for that course of study, and have fulfilled the requirements for transfer to the department of their major, students who enter Minnesota State University Moorhead through the Center for General Education transfer to their major course of study well prepared to meet the challenges of the education they receive.

Mission Statement

The Corrick Center for General Education is a nationally recognized program that provides a supportive learning community for a selected number of first and second-year students admitted to Minnesota State University Moorhead. This unique program prepares students for success in their chosen field of study by offering a college-level liberal studies curriculum emphasizing writing, critical reading, and mathematical skills. The faculty provide personal advising and are committed to helping students build a foundation of success to achieve their academic goals. Students enrolled in the program can also fulfill the requirements for the Associate in Arts degree in Liberal Studies (A.A.).

Goals

Following are the goals of the program for the students and for the Corrick Center.

The students will:

  1. Demonstrate fluency in reading and writing, and skills in mathematical problem solving.
  2. Demonstrate Critical Thinking skills.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of knowledge from historical perspectives.
  4. Demonstrate an awareness of ecological concerns.
  5. Demonstrate an understanding of cultural diversity.
  6. Students will be advised to choose and plan for the transfer into an appropriate major or an AA degree.

To encourage students to accomplish these goals, the Corrick Center will:

  1. Encourage and support faculty development.
  2. Maintain an admission policy consistent with its goals and resources.
  3. Maintain an emphasis on student advising.
  4. Monitor student progress and keep students informed of their academic standing.
  5. Strive to present an integrated liberal studies curriculum.
  6. Maintain its efforts in community service.
  7. Continue to seek innovative teaching methods.
  8. In teaching, stress learning and thinking processes.
  9. Maintain a sense of community among students and faculty.

Philosophy

Education should be holistic, empowering students to learn and to integrate knowledge, skills, and values. It should assist students to develop appreciation for their own and others’ humanness and uniqueness, to discover the potentials of themselves and others, and to make choices which will help them to effectively and responsibly participate in their total environments. Education should enable people to successfully perform various social roles and to accept diverse cultures and lifestyles. It should foster commitment to self, to others, and to lifelong learning.

Tenets

  1. The wisdom of the past accessed through Liberal Studies and contemporary skills and knowledge are equally important to students’ higher education.
  2. All individuals should have the opportunity to develop their potentials.
  3. People best develop knowledge, skills, and values when striving to improve upon success.
  4. Because learning styles vary among individuals, alternative routes to the goals of higher education should be made available.
  5. In a supportive atmosphere with appropriate instruction, past academic performance measured by high school grades or standardized tests is less significant for success at college than present commitment to learning.
  6. Realistic understanding of abilities, motivations, interests, and values increases the likelihood of progress toward goals and toward personal satisfaction.
  7. Integration of knowledge occurs within the individual; therefore, instruction should place the learner at the center and incorporate instruction in a variety of disciplines.
  8. Active learning produces meaningful, long-lasting effects on behavior.
  9. Understanding one’s own values and those of others is an essential part of education.
  10. Education should encourage responsibility to both self and society.
  11. Holistic education should foster life-long learning.
  12. Individuals learn best in an enjoyable and helpful setting of cooperation and community.
  13. Student-faculty interaction fosters student motivation, involvement and retention.