Outcomes Assessment in General Education

On October 29th, faculty met collectively again to discuss outcomes assessment at Eastern New Mexico University. This semester, the conversation focused on the results for general education and possible changes to that curriculum. In a general meeting, Dr. George Mehaffy, Vice President for Academic Affairs, discussed the importance of outcomes assessment to Eastern, and Dr. Alec Testa, Executive Director, Planning and Analysis, shared the results of the outcomes assessment plan for general education. (Additional copies of this report are available through the Assessment Resource Office.) Dr. Jan Frost briefly then reviewed the work of the General Education Committee and proposed to the faculty the benefits of now reviewing the general education curriculum.

Following this brief discussion, faculty viewed the presentation of a video entitled “The Heart of the Matter” from the Ashville Institute on General Education. Faculty broke into a number of small groups to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations for the general education program. These results were compiled by Dr. Patrice Caldwell, Executive Director of Institutional Renewal, and are presented later in this DATAWave .

It is interesting to note that several of what some faculty listed as strengths, others listed as weaknesses. For example, the observation that Eastern New Mexico University's general education curriculum is traditional and very broad. This feedback from the faculty along with general education results from the Assessment Resource Office will be part of the General Education Curriculum Committee's efforts to investigate and revitalize general education. Look for future announcements in The Monday Memo and the DATAWave for information on this process and the opportunity to provide feedback.

The final page of this edition of  the DATAWave includes results from the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) from fall 1993 through spring of 1997.  The CAAP is the instrument Eastern uses to assess learning of students who reach the “rising junior” status (students with 55 to 65 credit hours inclusive). You will notice, for the most part, that there is a general downtrend in students' scores. In general, Eastern New Mexico University's CAAP scores are slightly below the national average for public comprehensive universities. The definition of the scale scores has been provided in previous DATAWaves and are also available from the Assessment Resource Office.

If you would like more information on the assessment of general education at Eastern New Mexico University, please feel free to call on Dr. Alec Testa, Executive Director, Planning and Analysis.

Strengths of Current General Education Core:

1. Broad, allows choice, even handed
2. State-wide articulation
3. When Ph.D.'s teach, good faculty
4. Options for interest areas outside of major
5. Gives departments SCH production
6. General education categories are important content areas
7. Traditional
8. Students can get a good introduction to a discipline
9. Good recruiting tool for programs
10. It's traditional, recognizable

Weaknesses of Current General Education Core:

1. Traditional and very broad, even within categories
2. No integration within or across general education categories
3. Territorial, lots of competition for SCH production
4. Poor student understanding of the purpose of general education
5. Students resent general education courses as a waste of their time (or pointless)
6. Some courses are out of date
7. Intended outcomes of general education are not reflected in all courses
8. Faculty or staff get “stuck” with general education courses
9. Students not required to think critically in these courses
10. No appreciation for the connections between disciplines and no opportunity for faculty/students to link knowledge
11. Some general education class sizes are too large for good learning
12. Current general education doesn't address diversity meaningfully or visibly
13. General education seems to ignore principles of Collegiate Renewal
14. Students have too much choice; frequently take general education courses as seniors
15. General education needs to stress writing across the curriculum

Changes Needed:

1. Need to integrate the process, philosophy, and content of general education (not a cafeteria)
2. Need to consider some upper division general education courses
3. Faculty meeting together need to design some proposals for integrated or linked courses or an entire general education sequence
4. Need to do this change discussion in a way that protects colleagues and programs (i.e., ascertain consequences of pursuing a core curriculum - FTE? courses dropped? programs changed?)
5. Go slow and pilot changes
6. Determine good assessment strategies as we go
7. Require students to take their general education in the first two years (or as soon as possible)
8. Address problems of under-prepared students in math and English
9. Need small classes and cooperative learning groups
10. Get away from SCH battles
11. Combine courses instead of making drastic changes
12. Require public service component in general education
13. Make it voluntary
14. Find ways to showcase faculty commitment to general education teaching outside ENMU
15. Recognize that not all faculty are not sold on a “new” core and that many faculty are unfamiliar with other disciplined areas
16. Rethink use of GA's in general education
17. If we do team-teaching, we need a mechanism to assess effort to individual faculty in team-teaching courses
18. How would team-teaching be “valued”? How would early adopters be “protected”?

Recommendations:

1. Plan on how to start discussion right away (this month).  Begin discussion in departments – what are the discipline's key themes or principles relevant to general education  OR  Start discussions at the college level  OR  Have the General Education Committee generate list of core areas and then consult with departments, asking them “What do you want your students to know?” and “How do you see your discipline assisting the general education philosophy?”

1. Planning. Stipend faculty for summer meetings (or release time) to design new general education core.
2. Use Pew Leadership money for this project.
3. Recognize we can't “committee” this issue to death; we must do this with both feet.

Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP)
Fall 1993 through spring of 1997compared to national norms