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The global objective of the Colorado Technical University (CTU) English Composition courses is to prepare students to succeed in the world outside of and beyond the classroom by teaching and promoting personal development in content and theory, technical processes and technical skills, and attitudes and values in oral and written communication so that, upon graduation, students have the ability to be productive members of a democratic society.

At CTU, the English Composition course instructors are focused on students' needs, and, therefore, the course content is designed to be presented within an interactive learning environment.� Instructors and students assume active responsibility for theContinuous Acquisition of Life-long Learning Skills [CALLS^�] and, through the free exchange of ideas, intellectual challenges, and high scholarly standards, the development of school-to-work skills.� The assignments included in all the CTU English Composition courses strive to facilitate the development of school-to-work skills by applying classroom learning to real-world, community-based situations, by providing a real-world perspective through a multidisciplinary learning approach, and by encouraging students to build relationships within the classroom and with real-world industry partners when working on and completing assignments relevant to the needs of a technological, knowledge-based society.� Assignments and discussions are structured to provide students the opportunity to apply theoretical written and oral communication concepts, critical and creative thinking skills, and technical skills to community-based, practical situations, which will enhance life-long learning skills and create opportunities for growth in social development skills and interpersonal communication skills.� Within the CTU English Composition courses, assignments are structured to facilitate student learning with five specific outcomes in mind:

1. Life-Long Learning & Personal Development Skills (Continuous Acquisition of Life-long Learning Skills [CALLS^�] during a time of rapid change and development for real-world application)
2. Knowledge Skills & Task Mastery (Formal English and Written Communication theory-based learning combined with personal analysis, synthesis, and understanding skills for real-world application)
3. Critical and Creative Thinking Skills (Cogitative planning and problem-solving skills for real-world application)
4. Technical Literacy Skills (Information retrieval and handling, computer hardware/software operation, Internet competency, electronic collaboration, and general equipment operating skills for real-world application)
5. Interpersonal Communication & Social Development Skills (Internal and External based exposure to and understanding of a variety of issues related to social development, oral communication, and teamwork skills for real-world application)

Within the English Composition I course (English 111), the assignments are designed to facilitate the improvement of students' written and spoken communication skills from a school-to-work perspective.� The assignments introduce students to four (4) written strategies/devices [exemplification, description, compare and contrast, and process analysis) and one (1) oral strategy/device (informative) they can expect to use in other university course assignments and in work related tasks.