Mission, Values & Educational Priorities

Mission

Cornell College offers an innovative and rigorous learning community where faculty and staff collaborate with students to develop the intellectual curiosity, creativity, and moral courage necessary for a lifetime of learning and engaged citizenship.

Core values

• A liberal education that celebrates discovery and embraces the integration and application of knowledge
• Intellectual, moral, and personal growth
• Civic and social responsibility
• The dignity and worth of each individual in a diverse community

Educational priorities & outcomes

The Mission and Core Values guide learning at Cornell College.The College recognizes that meaningful education occurs in multiple formats and venues, and encompasses a wide variety of disciplines and learning objectives. As an intentional learning community, the college has chosen to emphasize the following Educational Priorities and Outcomes for all students.

In order to achieve these Outcomes, the Educational Priorities are embedded in curricular, co-curricular, independent, and collaborative contexts across the campus. Faculty and staff provide opportunities for learning in a supportive environment where students ultimately take responsibility for their own education. 

• Knowledge
  Students will integrate and apply knowledge from a focused area of study as well as a broad general education which includes disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
• Inquiry
  Students will respond to  the complexities of contemporary and enduring problems using information literacy tools, research skills, creative thinking, and analysis.
• Reasoning
  Students will evaluate evidence; interpret data; and use logical, mathematical, and statistical problem-solving tools.
• Communication
  Students will speak and write clearly, listen and read actively, and engage with others in productive dialogue.
  
• Intercultural literacy
  Students will connect with diverse ideas and with people whose experiences differ from their own and that may be separated from them by time, space, or culture.
  
• Ethical behavior
  Students will recognize personal, academic, and professional standards and act with integrity.
• Citizenship
  Students will collaborate with others and contribute in their communities and the larger world.
• Vocation
  Students will discover and prepare for the range of opportunities and challenges that await them beyond their college experience.
• Well-being
  Students will respect the ways physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual well-being may contribute to a balanced life.