Standard Number 3.5.1: The institution identifies college-level competencies within the general education core and provides evidence that graduates have attained those competencies:

(Recommendation 6) The Committee recommends that the University expand its evaluation system to assess all stated general education core competencies in order to provide evidence that graduates have attained those competencies.

The Committee found evidence that Georgia Southern University has conducted a series of reviews and surveys to examine the appropriateness of the general education core curriculum. The University has identified a set of general education outcomes; however, the Committee was able to find only limited evidence of the attainment of general education core competencies by graduates.

An example of this limited evidence was the Regents’ Test, which measures proficiency in reading comprehension and writing and is required by the time a student has earned 45 credit hours. The University has also attempted to use the College Assessment of Academic Proficiency (critical thinking, reading, and mathematics) but with very limited success with respect to the number of students participating in taking the tests. As stated in the Focused Report, the University acknowledges “the need to more extensively assess the stated general education outcomes.” Assessment measures for all of the general education competencies are needed.

Response:

Georgia Southern University's general education outcomes were derived from those outlined by the University System of Georgia during the quarter-to-semester calendar conversion in 1998. Given the University System's current focus on student academic success, there is a strong possibility that the general education outcomes will be reassessed. While several academic units on campus have expressed significant interest in revising the current general education outcomes, the General Education Committee believed that it was more important (and more responsive to the on-site review team's concerns) to establish an effective assessment strategy to assess all of the current general education learning outcomes, yet be flexible enough to accommodate future changes.

In response to Recommendation 6, the Leadership Team considered readministering the College Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAPP) to graduating seniors in May **, but several exploratory efforts showed that this was not feasible given the time available. Moreover, the CAPP ideally should be administered to all students completing 45-60 semester hours, and this plan would not accommodate that group. Instead, the Leadership Team tasked the General Education Committee, consisting of the deans and associate deans of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the College of Science and Technology ***, with reviewing the general education outcomes and drafting a General Education Outcomes Assessment Plan (see attached plan) that would address all general education outcomes. The Committee accomplished this task during several meetings in June-July 2005. In addition, the Chair of the General Education Committee attended two assessment-related training workshops during this period and was able to apply knowledge gained toward the development of the General Education Outcomes Assessment Plan. The workshops the Chair attended are described further in the response to Comprehensive Standard 3.4.1 (p. 3).

The updated General Education Outcomes Assessment Plan provides a direct linkage between planning, assessment and implementation activities. A summary of the assessment actions and analyses will be used to inform decisions related to the periodic review of General Education. The General Education Outcomes Assessment Plan was shared and discussed with the SACS Leadership Team and with the Department Chairs and Directors of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the College of Science and Technology at their respective College Council Retreats in July 2005.

The new General Education Outcomes Assessment Plan establishes the creation of a General Education Assessment Council (GEAC) consisting of the Director of Institutional Effectiveness, the Associate Provost, the associate deans of the academic colleges and the library, select department chairs, and the chairs of the college curriculum committees from the academic units offering core curriculum courses, as well as a representative from the Office of Strategic Research and Analysis. This group will provide strategic leadership and oversight to ensure the implementation of the outcomes assessment plan. Two initial activities for GEAC will be the development of the General Education Achievement and Importance survey that will be administered to faculty teaching core general education courses in Fall 2005. A subsequent similar survey will be administered to students in selected general education courses. The results of these two surveys will be used to refine the core curriculum outcomes assessment matrix reviewed in March 2004. Further refinement and delineation of assessment methods and implementation strategy will be undertaken by GEAC during Fall 2005. The identification and development of outcomes assessment methods and rubrics, to be initiated in October 2005, will be the responsibilities of the departmental curriculum committees of the academic units identified most strongly with the associated learning outcomes. While it is the responsibility of these departmental curriculum committees to promote and ensure the consistency of the classroom assessments, evaluations, and for submitting recommendations for improvement, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness will be responsible for collecting the data and will act as the University repository of the information. The initial pilot tests will occur in Spring 2006. The cycle for subsequent assessments and analyses will occur each semester, every two years for selected general education courses so as to capture a complet

** The General Education Committee membership included Dean Jane Rhoades Hudak, Dean Anny Morrobel-Sosa (Chair), Associate Dean Bret Danilowicz, and Associate Dean Olivia Carr Edenfield.

*** Readministering CAPP was discussed as a possibility to address the highlighted items in the original General Education Assessment timeline.

GENERAL EDUCATION ASSESSMENT
GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
TIMELINE

Timeline Event Outcome Status
1996-98 Review of course curriculum and preparation for semester conversion Revisions to core curriculum Designation of objectives for courses in the core Completed
Fall 1998 Implementation of Core Curriculum Revised requirements required by all students Completed
2001 Special Ad-hoc Committee Report to the Undergraduate Committee of the Faculty Senate on the 2002 Survey of Core Courses in Relation to the University's General Education Outcomes Review of faculty's perspective on meeting the objectives of core courses Completed
2002 Establishment of a Math Placement Test Determine the recommended placement for entering freshmen in Mathematics classes Completed
Fall 2003 Revise the Regents' Reading Test Revise questions and shorten the length of the test based on student feedback Completed
Fall 2003 Regents' Writing Test revised Pilot online writing test and online scoring of test Completed - report forthcoming
Fall 2003 CLASS faculty to reevaluate general education outcomes Make any needed changes in outcomes Completed May 2004
Spring 2004 Department Chairs (CLASS) review all core courses through syllabi review Feedback provided to faculty concerning general education objectives Partially achieved
Spring 2004 COST/COBA/CIT/CHHS faculty to reevaluate general education outcomes Make any needed changes in outcomes Completed May 2004
Spring 2004 Student Assessment Administer student assessment tool to second semester juniors (CAAP) Completed March 2004
Fall 2004 All other Department Chairs review core courses through syllabi review Feedback provided to faculty concerning general education objectives Partially achieved - extended through Fall 2005
Timeline Event Outcome Status
Fall 2004 Student Assessment of CAPP Student Focus groups to assess core curriculum Not achieved - under review.
Spring 2005 Review CAAP Review student assessment tool to second semester juniors (CAAP) Not achieved - under review.
Fall 2005 Review CAAP and Focus Group results Modify Core content if necessary  
Spring 2008, 2011 Repeat CAAP Student Assessment Administer student assessment tool to second semester juniors  
Fall 2008, 2011 Repeat Focus Group Student Assessment Assess Core Curriculum  
Spring 2009 Review CAAP and Focus Group results Modify Core content based on results  

Updated July 2005

Source: Appendix C of the June 8, 2004, memo from Dean Kate Conway-Turner to Provost Vaughn Vandegrift.

Attachments
Gen Ed Outcomes