College of Arts & Sciences: Assessing the Core Curriculum

The College of Arts and Sciences engages in systematic assessment of all of its programs. Each program of the College has Student-Learning Outcomes, that is, things that all students in the program should expect to get out of it. These Learning Outcomes are our promises to students. Assessment of each program consists in finding out whether students are in fact achieving these Learning Outcomes, whether we are doing what we say we will do. If, for example, a program promises that its graduates will be able to recognize and follow logical arguments and presentations, then at least every five years we do a study to see if in fact graduates from that program are able to recognize and follow logical arguments and presentations. If we find that students are not meeting the standard we have said that they should meet, then we change our programs to improve Student-Learning Outcomes.

In addition to assessing Student-Learning Outcomes, the College of Arts and Sciences reviews its programs every five years. A program review involves the faculty members in the program writing an extensive self-study report, identifying areas of concern or weakness and responding to questions posed by the dean, the provost, and various constituencies served by the program. The completed self-study is sent to an external reviewer, that is, a respected professional in the field from another university. After reading the self-study, the external reviewer visits campus and interviews each member of the department, meets with the dean and the provost, and then writes a report of his or her findings. Programs must then respond to this report, in particular to the recommendations made by the external reviewer and submit this response to the dean. In this way all of our programs are subject to external peer review and, if necessary, revision based on that review, every five years.

Assessment allows us to see whether what we are doing is working rather than relying on our own subjective sense of how well they are working.  It challenges us with epistemological questions: I believe students are getting X out of my class (or program), but how do I know that my belief is true? We believe our program is up-to-date, rigorous, and appropriately organized to achieve the goals of the curriculum, but how do we know this? It also challenges us with ethical questions: Students are putting themselves into a lot of debt for their educations. Are they getting what we promise they will get? Are we delivering what we promised?

On this website you will find links to our most recent assessment reports, resources for faculty engaged in assessment projects, and information about program reviews.