College of Applied Science and Technology
General Education Program Assessment
The collection and compilation of artifacts will be organized and managed by the University Assessment Office; per the Provost’s charge. Each fall and spring semester faculty teaching courses in the targeted core [Inner, Middle, or Outer] and shared outcome [Public Opportunity, Diverse and Global Perspectives, Critical Thinking and Inquiry and Lifelong Learning] under review will be invited to submit student artifacts that address the assessment items as outlined by a rubric which has been designed for each of the four Shared Learning Outcomes. This is a voluntary system with no penalty for not participating and faculty retain the autonomy to select the assignment(s) for review.
During the first week of the Fall and Spring semesters faculty teaching general education courses in the targeted core and Shared Learning Outcome will receive a letter inviting them to participate in the semester’s General Education assessment. Included in the letter will be the rubric representing the Shared Learning Outcome for which the assessment is targeted and for which the faculty member can identify an assignment or collection of assignments that meet the criteria. Specific instructions will be provided regarding how the faculty should proceed if they elect to participate. The faculty member has 10 business days to respond to the invitation; a follow-up e-mail reminder will be sent 5 business days following the initial invitation.
After reviewing the rubric faculty may elect to participate in the assessment process by identifying one (1) assignment [discovery activity, paper, speech, exam, etc.] or a collection of no more than three (3) complimentary assignments [whether individual assignments or excerpts from a required student portfolio] that address the majority of the criteria outlined. Faculty will be instructed to complete an on-line Intent to Participate Form.
For the purpose of tracking artifacts a standardized cover sheet must accompany each assignment identified. Faculty can instruct students where to access this coversheet from the UAO – Gen Ed Assessment web site. Faculty will also be provided an e-mail reminder regarding their participation in the Gen Ed assessment process which will include a link to the coversheet for faculty to send to their students.
Based upon the preferred date/time indicated by the faculty member on the original Intent to Participate form, a date, time, and location will be confirmed with the faculty member 2-weeks prior to pick-up. The faculty member will also receive an e-mail reminder of the scheduled pick-up date/time/location 2-days prior to its occurrence. Faculty may request a change in artifact pick-up at anytime via the UAO General Education Assessment – Change Artifact Pick-up page. A final date/time/location will always be confirmed with an e-mail message.
A member of the University Assessment Office staff will collect all artifacts on the confirmed date/time/location. The artifacts will be directly returned to the UAO office where they will be duplicated and returned within one (1) business day. All artifacts will be returned to the Department/School Office in a secured box which is labeled for the faculty member. To insure receipt of the returned artifacts a two-part signed receipt form will be used.
The Gen Ed Assessment Review Teams will be populated by tenure track and 50% or greater appointment non-tenure track faculty and administrative professionals with teaching responsibilities. The review teams will be comprised of 2-3 persons who will review each artifact based upon the rubric for the Shared Learning Outcome. The team must reach a consensus; as an “average” score is not possible based upon the rubric’s design.
The data derived from the review teams will be compiled in conjunction with institutional background data to provide the most accurate results regarding student performance among the Shared Learning Outcomes.
Results of the annual Institutional Artifact Portfolio assessment will be reported by the University Assessment Office directly to the Council for General Education (CGE). The results will be reported by academic year and provided to the CGE on or before September 30th. The CGE will then evaluate the assessment results to make informed decisions about the General Education Program. A summary of CGE’s response to the annual results will be published in Spring issue of the University Assessment Offices’ newsletter Progressive Measures.
