“The Aims of General Education: One System’s Efforts to Facilitate Student

Learning Throughout the System” OR

“How the USG has Managed to Implement Some of the Principles of

Greater Expectations”

AAC&UFebruary 19, 2005

Session FacilitatorsUniversity System of Georgia

• Dorothy Zinsmeister, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

• Robert Haney, Chair, Regents’ Administrative Committee on Institutional Effectiveness (RACIE)

• Cathie Mayes Hudson, Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategic Research and Analysis

• James Burran, President, Dalton State College & Chair, Council on General Education

University System of Georgia (USG)

34 public institutions• 4 Research Universities• 2 Regional Universities• 13 State Universities• 2 State Colleges• 13 Two-Year Colleges

Board of Regents of the USG

• Governing body for all 34 institutions

• Policies apply to all 34 institutions

• Identify some advantages to being a part of such a System

• Identify some disadvantages

AdvantagesBOR approves the University System of Georgia Core

Curriculum Principles, Framework and Guidelines in 1996. Coincides with semester conversion.

Core curriculum• Learning outcomes the driver for course development• Transferability across the System• Communication across the SystemResultCommon core curriculum (almost) with:• common course numbers (mostly)• common course titles (mostly)• common course descriptions (mostly• common course outcomes—continues to be work in progress

*http://www.usg.edu/admin/accaff/newcore/

Critical Factors for Success

• Opportunity for change• System-wide Council on Undergraduate

Education-recommended principles, guidelines and framework for the core

• RACIE• Institutional options• Discipline-Based Committees• Council on General Education• Transfer Ombudsmen

Intentions of General Education

The Role of RACIE

RACIE’s Role

• Born in response to SACS’ Criteria in early 1980s

• Initiated discussion on learning outcomes & effectiveness efforts

• Planning and assessment policy statement• Task forces for rapid progress• Distinction between Core Curriculum and

general education• New outcomes-based Core Curriculum

Board of Regents Policy Statement

[. . .] each institution shall have a formal process by which systematic assessment of institutional effectiveness is conducted and the results of assessments are used to achieve institutional improvement. Assessment processes may differ from institution to institution, but each institution shall assess basic academic skills at entry, general education, degree programs, and academic and administrative support programs and/or functions. The faculty and staff of each institution shall be involved in developing assessment processes and included in the structure by which those processes are implemented and used for improvement.

--Board of Regents Policy Manual, Section 205 “Planning and Assessment”

General Education in the USGFrom the origins of intellectual study to the present, general education has

been a key to a fulfilling life of self-knowledge, self-reflection, critical awareness, and lifelong learning. General education has traditionally focused on oral and written communication, quantitative reasoning and mathematics, studies in culture and society, scientific reasoning, and aesthetic appreciation. Today, general education also assists students in their understanding of technology, information literacy, diversity, and global awareness. In meeting all of these needs, general education provides college students with their best opportunity to experience the breadth of human knowledge and the ways that knowledge in various disciplines is interrelated.

In the University System of Georgia, general education programs consist of a group of courses known as the Core Curriculum as well as other courses and co-curricular experiences specific to each institution. The attainment of general education learning outcomes prepares responsible, reflective citizens who adapt constructively to change. General education programs impart knowledge, values, skills, and behaviors related to critical thinking and logical problem-solving. General education includes opportunities for interdisciplinary learning and experiences that increase intellectual curiosity, providing the basis for advanced study in the variety of fields offered by today’s colleges and universities. October 26, 2004

RACIE’s Continuing Role

• Training and manuals on assessment principles and techniques

• Workshops to help institutions prepare for SACS reaffirmation under the old Criteria for Accreditation

• Peer review of first learning outcomes and assessment plans from USG institutions

• Request for list of common general education learning outcomes

• Policy and procedures for comprehensive program review

The New Core Curriculum

• Lower-division courses offered in all sectors

• Limit of 60 semester hours

• Common template, but with greater institutional choice than under the quarter system

• Core categories described in terms of learning outcomes for the first time

Assessment of General Education Outcomes in the

University System of Georgia

USG’s Ideal Model for Institutional Assessment

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Link results toStrategic Plan

Link to budget

Assessment Model

Strategic Planning Model

Ideal Model for System Assessment

• Consistently defined student learning outcomes

• Control statistically for student academic characteristics and other inputs

• Similar assessments• Similar analysis of results• Results of sufficient quality to show change

over time• Link to budget and planning?

– How important is general education?

Characteristics of Assessment Model

• General education student learning outcomes defined at institution level– Not common across System, but many shared in

common• Assessment at institution level

– Assessments not common across the System or within institutions

– No additional resources for assessment• Models at institutions vary

– Assessment of general education owned by departments

– Outcomes owned across departments

Practical Model for Assessment

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Link results toStrategic Plan

Link to budget

Assessment Models Strategic Planning Model

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

Assess

Definemeasurable

results

Use resultsto improve

Definestudent learning

outcomes

?

?

Challenges at Institution Level

• Hard to “add up” assessments into a meaningful whole

• Difficult to pinpoint areas of concern and link actions needed to departments or people– Difficult to link results to decision-making,

planning, and budgeting

• Difficult to determine overall progress of an institution over time

• How can institutional policies enrich general education?

Challenges at System Level

• Hard to ensure fairness– Compare institutions?

• Difficult to differentiate between general education assessments that work well and those that do not– Dangers of micromanagement

• Extremely difficult to “add up” institutional assessments into a meaningful System whole

• Almost impossible to determine if the System has made progress over time

How can public policies at the System level enrich general education?

• Focus on creating a “culture of evidence” and sustain a culture of inquiry

• Evaluate general indicators of success– If students graduate, is general education

working?

• Accountability vs. assessment– Measurements designed for a particular

outcome– Ewell’s approach—Use available data

Using Existing Data for Assessment

• Regents’ Test– Initiated in 1972

• Minimal skills required for all graduates

– Essay test—scored pass/fail– Reading Tests assess vocabulary, literal

comprehension, inferential comprehension, and analysis.

• Can be linked to general education

Using Existing Data for Assessment

• NSSE and CCSSE– First System-wide administration in

Spring 2005 – Two replications of ACT’s SOS

• Accountability indicators– Retention and graduation rates

• Learning support (remediation) feedback

• Transfer feedback

Assessments of the Future

• Assessments that are valid, reliable, and pinpoint areas for improvement– Assessments work well

at institution level– Assessments add up to

meaningful whole

• Based on assessments, resources are used to improve instruction

Role of the Council on General Education

When the University System’s semester conversion process began in 1997, several issues dominated:– Ensure the quality and integrity of the general ed

core curriculum– Guarantee transferability among institutions– Balance institutional autonomy against System-

wide requirements

Council on General EducationThe mechanism that evolved to address these

issues and facilitate the creation of a new general education core included:– Institutional semester conversion task forces– Discipline-Based Committees

• (Pre-existing) comprised of System-wide faculty representation

– Math– English– Etc.

– System Council on Undergraduate Education• Council on Majors• Council on General Education

Council on General Education

• The Council on General Education protects the integrity of the core and facilitates transferability among institutions.

• Its litmus test apparatus: Core Curriculum Principles and Framework*– Provides broad parameters– Focuses on collegiate-level outcomes– Incorporates institutional flexibility– Requires intentional, cohesive approach

*http://www.usg.edu/admin/accaff/newcore/

Council on General Education

Council members are appointed by the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academics and Fiscal Affairs– Eleven members represent

• Two-Year Colleges• State Colleges• State Universities• Regional Universities• Research Universities

Council on General Education

They also represent• Presidents• Chief Academic Officers• Math• English• Fine Arts• Natural Sciences• Social Sciences• Learning Support• Academic Assessment

Council on General Education

In addition, the Council on General Education assures transferability through– Transfer of Core Curriculum Guidelines– Transfer Ombudspersons (Facilitators) on every

campus

Council on General Education

2 recent examples of how the mechanism works:

– MATH 1001: Quantitative Skills and Reasoning

– ISCI 1121K: Integrated Science

Successes and Challenges

Next Steps andHopes for the Future

University System of Georgia

Hopes for the Future

• Alignment

• Intentional Learning

• Our Students’ Best Works

Alignment within the USG

• Alignment with pre-college curricula• Alignment across sectors• Dialogue about the Core and general

education• Discipline-based committees• Council on General Education• Ease of transfer• “Full faith and credit”

Intentional Learning

• Living-learning communities

• Freshman reading programs

• First-year seminars

• Learning goals

Our Students’ Best Work

Public’s need for information– Value-added of college education– Why “return on investment” is so low– Why graduation rates are lowest in certain

populations

Articulating What We Do

• Taking our case to the public

• Informing legislators

• Others

Specific Goals

• Better orientation about expectations for learning outcomes

• Plan of study

• Milestone assessments

• Culminating experiences to demonstrate mastery