The Avila University Curriculum An Avila University education prepares graduates for responsible life-long contributions to the contemporary world. The curriculum has well-defined outcomes and is designed to involve the student in the learning process. Through coursework and campus activities, the Avila student learns to communicate effectively, to employ higher level thinking skills, to acquire knowledge in the liberal arts and a field of specialization and to develop personally, spiritually and social- ly. In order to participate in an education that has both breadth and depth, all students complete a Core curriculum and a major curriculum. Each course of study is designed so that clearly identified objectives are built upon and reinforced. COMMUNICATION SKILLS In the Core and major curricula, certain courses are designated as Communication Intensive courses. These courses incorporate assignments, activities and assessment focused on develop- ing skills in listening, reading, writing, public speaking and group process. Avila students are expected to complete a specific number of these Communication Intensive courses in addition to English Composition and Fundamentals of Communication with a grade of “C” or better. First-year   students   must   complete   English   Composition   and   Fundamentals   of Communication within the first thirty semester hours. To graduate, they must also complete five Communication Intensive (CI) courses. Of the five courses, one CI course must be a course in the Core curriculum, one must be a course in the major numbered 310 or above and one must be the capstone course in the major. At least two (2) CI courses must be com- pleted by the end of sixty semester hours of credit. Transfer students must complete the Writing and Communication requirements within the first thirty hours at Avila University. The number of Communication Intensive courses a transfer student must complete prior to graduation is determined by the number of transfer credits accepted by Avila University at the time of admission to the university. -   Less than 32 transfer credits: Same requirements as first-year students -   32-63 transfer credits: Three CI courses including the capstone course in the major -   64-95 transfer credits: Two CI courses including the capstone course in the major -   Greater than 95 transfer credits: The capstone course in the major The  course  description  in  the  catalog  indicates  if  the  course  is  a  Communication  Intensive course in the major and the capstone course in the major. HIGHER LEVEL THINKING SKILLS Throughout  the  curriculum,  higher  level  thinking  skills  are  addressed  by  focusing  in  each course on one or more of five modes of thinking. In this manner, students are provided multi- ple opportunities to practice and develop their critical thinking abilities within the context of various academic disciplines so that upon graduation they may be able to: -   identify a problem and using the steps involved in problem solving processes, develop viable solutions -   employ skeptical, evaluative and logical approaches in processing information and draw- ing conclusions -   make and evaluate decisions based on appropriate criteria and projected consequences AVILA UNIVERSITY 74