General Education Assessment Strategy

Initiative

When the Idaho State Board of Education (SBOE) policy III.N. was established in 2016, the University of Idaho moved away from utilizing its own derived evaluative rubrics based on AAC&U Values, called Learning Matters, to the rubrics derived as the General Education Mapping (GEM) of statewide General Education Learning Outcomes (GELO’s). Coincidently, these were also AAC&U Values derived and can be found here.

The overarching University Learning Outcomes (ULO’s – Learning Matters) were replaced by the SBOE competencies (GELO’s). The SBOE competencies codified the expectations for the six general areas of statewide general education which includes written communication, oral communication, mathematical ways of knowing, scientific ways of knowing, social and behavioral ways of knowing, and humanistic and artistic ways of knowing.

In conjunction with these statewide competencies general education assessment was aligned to Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accreditation standards and led to the overall General Education Assessment Strategy. This includes:

Learning Outcomes

State Competencies, SBOE Policy III.N. Statewide General Education.

General Education assessment will focus on assessing these General Education Learning Outcomes. It entails evaluating specific course learning outcomes linked to signature assignments, specific to General Education curricular components or content.

Student Populations

All students engaged in General Education will be assessed. Both First-year University of Idaho students in the general education curriculum and those enrolled or completing their general education under the State Board of Education (SBOE) transfer student general education curriculum referred to as “State Board Core”. Currently, approximately half of our baccalaureate graduating class are composed of U of I general education students, while the other half are composed of transfer student general education students.

Types of Measures

1. Assessment Artifacts, instructor selected (direct)
2. Syllabi Review (indirect)
3. Graduating Senior Survey (indirect)
4. Graduating Seniors Focus Groups (indirect)
5. Faculty Focus Groups (indirect)
6. Alumni Survey (indirect)
7. NSSE Data (indirect)

Measurement Rubrics

Statewide General Education courses and courses that fall within the state mandated GEM areas (Ways of Knowing) are evaluated using the Idaho State Board of Education Rubrics. Institutionally designated General Education course are evaluated using the Institutional Learning Outcomes (Learning Matters).

Evaluation Planning

1. Senior Experience evaluation is ongoing through the Course Learning Outcomes portion of the Annual Program Review process APR in Anthology.
2. Assessment of all general education courses is ongoing through the Course Learning Outcomes portion of the Annual Program Review process APR in Anthology.
3. Expanding assessment to other general education components, such as American Diversity and International courses is ongoing through the Course Learning Outcomes portion of the Annual Program Review process APR in Anthology.
4. Sampling of all syllabi from specific general education categories on an annual rotating basis by the University Committee on General Education and as is outlined in the Assessment Plan 2020-2025. (e.g., American and International courses were reviewed during 2020-2021).

University Committee for General Education

1. FUNCTION
   The University Committee for General Education serves as the curriculum body for general education by soliciting and approving proposals and courses to be included in the University’s general education and general education courses eligible for transfer to other state institutions (SBOE general education matriculation “GEM” courses). The UCGE committee also engages in program review and assessment and makes recommendations for the continuous refinement of general education in conjunction with the Director of General Education and the Assistant Director of Institutional Research and Assessment. Recommendations for change will be forwarded to UCC, Faculty Senate, and the university faculty.
2. STRUCTURE AND MEMBERSHIP
   The committee is composed of 21 members as follows: 13 faculty who are also U of I representatives to statewide general education in their GEM areas, a member of the library faculty, The dean or designee from the College of Science and the College of Letters, Arts & Social Science, a representative from the Registrar, Student Advising, Associated Students, and the International Programs Office, and the Director of General Education and Director of Institutional Research and Assessment as ex-officio members  All members, except students, serve on three year staggered terms.

Assessment Results

Are available through the office of the Director of General Education. We value and encourage your thoughts and comments. Please contact Dean Panttaja, Director of General Education & Assessment, 208-885-9025 or panttaja@uidaho.edu.