All undergraduate students must complete General Education Program requirements comprising slightly fewer than one-third of the total credits needed to earn a degree. The General Education Program is designed to develop essential academic skills, to acquaint students with their cultural heritage, and to provide them with a broad base of liberal studies in the humanities, mathematics, and in the social and physical sciences. This program will serve as a foundation for study in a major. Further, it will develop breadth of knowledge and will cultivate the critical judgment necessary for mature and responsible lives in work, in leisure and as citizens of the nation and the world.

Select Mission of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls

The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents has approved mission statements for the University of Wisconsin System and for the several kinds of degree-granting institutions within the System. The System Mission Statement and the Core Mission of the University Cluster (predominantly four-year campuses) are included below. The Select Mission Statement for the University of Wisconsin -River Falls follows:

1. The university provides an excellent environment for learning, emphasizing the importance of faculty-student interaction in classrooms, laboratories, academic advising and co-curricular activities.
2. The university offers liberal arts programs and degrees to meet regional needs in the arts, humanities, mathematics, natural and physical sciences and social and behavioral sciences. The liberal arts also strengthen and broaden programs in the agricultural sciences, teacher education, and business administration.
3. The university offers professional programs and degrees in teacher education with special emphases in early childhood, elementary and secondary education.
4. The university offers programs and degrees in the agricultural sciences, agribusiness and agricultural teacher education.
5. The university offers graduate programs in education, agriculture and other areas clearly associated with its mission. Development of cooperative graduate instructional programs with appropriate institutions is encouraged.
6. The university expects scholarly activity, including research, scholarship and creative endeavor, that supports its programs at the baccalaureate level, its selected graduate programs and its select mission.
7. The university continues to develop interinstitutional relationships in cooperative research, graduate training and undergraduate programs within the state, region and world. As a border institution, the University promotes interstate cooperation.
8. The university provides students opportunities to develop an appreciation of the richness and diversity of American culture and is committed to representing this diversity in its staff and student body.
9. The university offers students the opportunity to increase their global awareness and sensitivity to other cultures. It also has a continuing commitment to provide opportunities for students to live, study and travel abroad and to increase the number and diversity of international students on campus.
10. The university provides public service by using its resources to address problems and concerns throughout the state and region. Special emphasis is placed on cooperative extension, extension and economic development outreach.
11. The university offers enrichment to the citizens of western Wisconsin and the St. Croix River Valley by providing artistic, scientific and other cultural events, programs and exhibitions.

The University of Wisconsin System Mission

Each institution of the University of Wisconsin System shares in the mission of the system.

The mission of this system is to develop human resources, to discover and disseminate knowledge, to extend knowledge and its application beyond the boundaries of its campuses, and to serve and stimulate society by developing in students heightened intellectual, cultural, and humane sensitivities; scientific, professional, and technological expertise; and a sense of value and purpose. Inherent in this mission are methods of instruction, research, extended education, and public service designed to educate people and improve the human condition. Basic to every purpose of the system is the search for truth.

The Core Mission of the University Cluster

As institutions in the University Cluster of the University of Wisconsin System, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, the University of Wisconsin- Stout, the University of Wisconsin-Superior, and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater share the following core mission. Within the approved differentiation stated in their select missions, each university in the cluster shall:

1. Offer associate and baccalaureate degree level and selected graduate programs within the context of its approved mission statement.
2. Offer an environment that emphasizes teaching excellence and meets the educational and personal needs of students through effective teaching, academic advising, counseling, and through university-sponsored cultural, recreational, and extracurricular programs.
3. Offer a core of liberal studies that supports university degrees in the arts, letters, and sciences, as well as specialized professional/technical degrees at the associate and baccalaureate level.
4. Offer a program of pre-professional curricular offerings consistent with the university’s mission.
5. Expect scholarly activity, including research, scholarship, and creative endeavor, that supports its programs at the associate and baccalaureate degree level, its selected graduate programs, and its approved mission statement.
6. Promote the integration of the extension function, assist the University of Wisconsin - Extension in meeting its responsibility for statewide coordination, and encourage faculty and staff participation in outreach activity.
7. Participate in interinstitutional relationships in order to maximize educational opportunity for the people of the state effectively and efficiently through the sharing of resources.
8. Serve the needs of women, minority, disadvantaged, disabled, and nontraditional students and seek racial and ethnic diversification of the student body and the professional faculty and staff.
9. Support activities designed to promote the economic development of the state.