General Education assessment

General Education Assessment Overview 

General Education (GE) program assessment helps us understand student learning so that we can showcase program effectiveness, identify areas for improvement, and reflect on and implement action steps. Instructors teaching courses in the GE program play the critical role in delivering curriculum and by reviewing evidence of student learning related to GE program learning outcomes. This work is vital for ensuring program effectiveness and supporting university accreditation efforts.  

Per Faculty Senate Bylaws, the General Education Assessment Committee (GEAC) coordinates and monitors the assessment of GE courses. On a revolving basis, the GEAC facilitates and supports the assessment of GE program learning outcomes within specific GE categories. Each academic year, the GEAC reports results of GE assessment to the General Education Committee (GEC), which then uses these results to guide programmatic improvement efforts.   

Assessment Timeline 

The timeline for the assessment process for each GE category will follow this schedule.

2024-2025

• Social & Behavioral Science - Social Foundations for Success (SBS-FS) 

2025-2026

• Communications & Literacy - Written Literacy (CL-WL) 
  
• Communications & Literacy - Spoken Literacy (CL-SL) 
  
• Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning - Quantitative Reasoning (MQR-QR)

2026-2027

• Humanities & Arts - Arts & Aesthetics (HA-AA) 
  
• Natural Science & Wellness - Experiential Science (NSWL-ES) 
  
• Social & Behavioral Science - Social & Behavioral Studies (SBS-BS) 

2027-2028

• Communications & Literacy - The Stories We Tell (CL-SWT) 
• Humanities & Arts - The Pasts That Define Us (HA-PDU) 
• Natural Science & Wellness - Mind, Body & Planet (NSW-MBP) 
• Civics & Perspectives - Cultures of Our World (CP-CW) 
• Civics & Perspectives - Communities of the United States (CP-US) 

Assessment Process

The GEAC supports the assessment of GE program learning outcomes within specific GE categories on rotating basis. Following strong recommendations from UWL faculty participating in pilot assessments, GEAC has selected one row from each VALUE rubric to target per assessment cycle. Future assessment cycles may target different rows. 

A Five-Step Process  

Instructors who teach a course in a GE category that is being assessed during a given academic year will need to complete an assessment survey no later than December 15. Note: Courses offered only in the spring semester will be exempt from this requirement. Chairs and program directors will be notified prior to the assessment and sent reminders to distribute to their faculty. The overall process includes these steps: 

1. INSTRUCTOR PREPARATION: Instructors who teach courses in a given GE category will download a scoring guide (see links below) and read the embedded instructions.  
2. INSTRUCTOR REVIEW: Instructors will review student work using the appropriate scoring guide and compile their results. 
3. INSTRUCTOR REPORTING: Instructors will submit their assessment results using the appropriate assessment survey (survey questions are included in the scoring guide) no later than December 15.   
4. GEAC ANALYSIS & REPORTING: The GEAC will aggregate and analyze results and report them to the GEC no later than March 15.  
5. GEC REVIEW & RECOMMENDATIONS: The GEC will review aggregated results and make recommendations for action steps to improve the GE Program in its year-end report to Faculty Senate. 

Scoring Guides & Assessment Surveys

Next steps 

The GEAC will aggregate and analyze results and report them to the GEC no later than March 15.   The GEC will review the results and look for patterns across a given GE category and determine appropriate programmatic actions based on the results. These may include but are not limited to the following:  

• Determining or modifying targets/benchmarks for future assessments of the GE program;  
• Modifying programmatic assessment procedures or rubrics in consultation with the GEAC (e.g., deciding whether to move to a different VALUE rubric row);  
• Recommending to Faculty Senate updates to GE category descriptions or program learning outcomes;  
• Recommending professional development or learning communities related to GE categories and program learning outcomes;   
• Considering removal of courses that were offered during an assessment period but for which no results were submitted by stated deadlines as stipulated by GEAC guidelines. *  

* According to Faculty Senate Articles and Bylaws, section I.J.2, departments/programs must follow GEAC guidelines for assessing GE courses on a cycle determined by the GEC. Failure to submit assessment reports in a timely manner may result in courses being removed from the GE Program.