Linda White, Chair (Speech Communication)
Susan Oleson, Vice-Chair (President’s Office)
Geraldine Dillard (Behavioral and Social Sciences)
Frank Granger (Center for Teaching and Learning)
Ellanor Graves (Instruction)
Mitchell Hagler (Instruction)
Patty Hill (Reading)
Wilma Hood (Nursing)
J. D. Hopkins (Public Safety)
Sonja Hutchins (Professional Careers)
Helen Kolman (Mathematics)
Rick Lee (Information Technology)
Susan McDermott (Health Information Technology)
Lynn Moretz (Business)
David Privette (Science)
Sam Robinson (Economics)
Elizabeth Rogers (English)
Cathey Ross (Speech Communication)
Mandy Saunders (Counseling)
Doug Zeller (Music)
Terri Manning (Institutional Research)

General Ed Goal
Reading - Students will demonstrate the ability to obtain meaning from printed, electronic, and graphical resources.
Communication
– Students will effectively communicate both orally and in writing. Students will demonstrate the ability to locate, critically evaluate, and present information.
Mathematics – Students will apply mathematical concepts and skills to analyze, manipulate, and interpret quantitative data.
Computer Skills – Students will demonstrate the basic computer skills necessary to function in a technological world.
Critical Thinking / Problem solving – Students will demonstrate an understanding of solving problems by recognizing the problem; reviewing information about the problem; developing plausible solutions; and evaluating results.
Cultural Awareness – Students will demonstrate knowledge of cultural differences.
Social / Behavioral Sciences – Students will demonstrate an understanding of the influence of the individual on group behavior and conversely, the influence of the group on the individual.
Natural Sciences – Students will demonstrate comprehension of the major steps of the scientific method.
Possible courses for assessment
RED090
COM231
ENG111
MAT115
MAT161
CIS110
CIS111
ECO 251
ENG 112
COM 110
HIS 111
PSY150
HIS111
SOC210
BIO110
Humanities / Fine Arts – Students will demonstrate knowledge of the humanities and critical skills in assessing cultural/artistic merit and significance.
Rotate through all humanities courses

Every Fall, the General Education Committee begins the process of creating a general education portfolio for Central Piedmont Community College. The process is as follows:
1. In early fall, sections of the appropriate courses by goal area are randomly selected by Planning and Research for assessment.
2. The randomly selected sections are distributed to committee members representing academic areas reflected in the general education portfolio and the appropriate division directors and deans.
3. Assessment data are collected by the faculty members assigned to those randomly selected sections during the fall term.
6.
7.
4.
5.
8.
Grading is completed in fall for some courses and in spring for others.
Results are examined by the General Education Committee in the spring.
Faculty review, discuss results and decide what change, if any, they should make
Reports of results are made to the division directors of each unit.
Committee members bring back to the committee the division’s comments, recommendations, and actions items to improve the scores in the next year.
9. A draft of the report is written by Planning and Research (based on feedback from the committee) and copies are sent to the Committee for input and feedback.
10. The portfolio is completed.
11. The committee edits the final report.
12. The report is taken to the Deans’ Council and the Cabinet.
13. A response is received from the deans in regard to action items, recommendations, budget issues, needs, etc. by September 25 th
of the following year.

Goal: Students will demonstrate the ability to obtain meaning from printed, electronic, and graphical resources.
The reading goal was designed to ensure that each student meets a minimal level of competence in reading comprehension skills. For this reason, faculty set the following objective:
Objective: Seventy percent of students will meet minimal objective for competence in reading comprehension skills
Means of assessment: Seventy percent of students will receive at least a score of 80 or better on a cumulative final exam.
A CPT Reading Placement test score of 80 or above is considered competent in reading. However, students who do not complete the reading placement test with a score of 80 or above are required to take one (or a series of) reading course(s) before they are allowed to progress to English 111. Students in this group are referred to developmental courses and will require further testing to determine competency in reading . In the fall 2002 , reading placement tests were completed by 2,632 entering students with the following results and course referrals:
Number
93
365
834
1,340 placement test scores less than 34 between 34 and 56 between 57 and 79
80 or above referral to course enrollment
ABE (adult basic literacy)
RED 080 (developmental)
RED 090 (developmental)
ENG 111 (required college-level)
In order to measure objectives and student outcomes, faculty administered and recorded results for a cumulative final exam during the fall semester of 2002. The exam content consisted of specific reading skills that are taught in the RED 090 course. They are as follows: reading and study strategies, vocabulary skills, inference, annotating, outlining, note taking, mapping, main idea skills and graphic illustrations. The exam consisted of both open-ended and scantron graded items.
Reading 090 is the course selected for testing purposes because it is the last developmental course before students enter college-level coursework. In the f all 2002 , the following numbers of students enrolled in Reading 090:
Number of Sections Number Enrolled Course and Number
Fall 2002 32 680 RED 090

Results: Nine sections were randomly selected for general education testing and
136 exams were collected. All were evaluated and the scores were recorded as a component of each student’s final grade. The average score on the exam was 84.85.
Twenty-three (16.9%) did not pass the exam with exam scores lower than 80. The passing rate was 83.1%. The goal was met.
Reading Final Exams
(2002-2003)
Section
1
Section
2
Section
3
Section
4
Section
5
Section
6
Section
7
Section
8
Section
9
82
88
80
80
86
82
84
80
82
72
81
84
72
1053
Mean
81.00
85
86
92
88
74
83
76
84
78
92
90
80
86
80
88
82
Mean
84.00
82
90
94
94
84
84
84
81
90
88
86
84
90
84
1215
Mean
1344 80.00
78
82
85
84
96
88
92
88
92
90
96
82
92
88
92
87
90
84
96
82
69
84
80
84
77
76
76
98
94
77
74
80
89
74
83
88
97
85
67
84
96
86
92
91
1390
Mean
86.88
89
88
94
78
96
92
86
88
80 711
90 Mean
81 88.88
87
86
97
70
94
97
72
90
64
76
75
85
94
83
90
84
86
86
936
87 Mean
90
90
86
80
84
74
86
90
56 85.09
82
70
90
90
1592
86
90
Mean 1570
88.44 Mean
82.63
86
89
90
88
1728
Mean
82.29

Goal: Students will effectively communicate both orally and in writing. Students will demonstrate the ability to locate, critically evaluate, and present information.
This goal was measured in the Public Speaking course (COM 231):
Fall 2002
Number of Sections Number Enrolled
28 683
Course
COM 231
The requirement that students take a communication course is to assure that each student meets a minimal level of competence in organizing and presenting information for a public speech. For this reason, faculty set the following objective:
Objective: Seventy percent of students will meet the minimal objective for effective oral presentation.
Means of
Assessment: Seventy percent of the student speeches evaluated will receive at least a score of 3 or better on a 5-point evaluation rubric.
Results: Nine sections of Communication 231 were randomly selected as the sample for assessment. In order to measure objectives and student outcomes, faculty recorded final presentations in selected speech courses during the fall semester of 2002. Data were received for eight sections of COM 231.
Coder
1
Coder
2
Coder
3
Coder
4
Coder
5
Coder
6
Coder
7
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3.5
4.5
4.25
3
3.5
4
3
3
4
5
5
4
4.5
4
2
3.5
3
2
1.5
4.5
4
4.5
3.0
3.75
4.5
3.0
3
4.5
4
4
4
4.5
Total speeches assessed: 52
Total speeches receiving a score of 3 or better: 47
Percentage of speeches receiving a score of 3 or better: 90.4
Average speech score: 3.4
2
3
2
3
3
3
4
Coder
8
3
3
3
3
3

Instructors saw a range of strengths and weaknesses such that patterns of either were difficult to pinpoint. However, the following lists include some strengths and weaknesses identified in individual speeches:
Strengths:
Choice of topics
Use of repetition
Extemporaneous speaking
Organization
Use of overheads
Weaknesses:
Vocal variety
Oral footnoting/citing sources
Extraneous movements
Vocalized pauses
Eye contact
Speech instructors generally felt that no strong patterns emerged. Some students did well with delivery, but needed help with organization. Some students organized and planned well, but had problems with delivery. The only major area mentioned by several of the instructors was in oral footnoting or citing sources.
Means of Improvement: Show videos of student speeches with good citations.
Work on an outline or manuscript of a speech with students identifying places where citations are needed.

Goal: Students will effectively communicate both orally and in writing. Students will demonstrate the ability to locate, critically evaluate, and present information.
The requirement of the English 111 course for students is designed to assure that each student meets a minimal level of competence in writing. For this reason, faculty set the following objective:
Objective: Seventy percent of students will be able to communicate effectively in writing.
Means of assessment :
Seventy percent of students will complete the writing exam with a grade of 70 (C) or better.
Definition of Effective Written Communication: In order to measure objectives and student outcomes, students were required to complete an essay exam at the end of the course. Each exam was assessed by at least three graders (other than the student’s original instructor), and a number was assigned to that presentation based on a guiding rubric. If assigned scores were either identical for that essay exam or within one letter grade range, the score itself or an average of the three scores was counted. Any exam that received an extreme score (one that departed from the others, either higher or lower, by more than one letter grade) was graded by a fourth grader, and the extreme score was dropped.
Enrollment for Fall 2002 was as follows:
Fall 2002
Number of Sections Number Enrolled
73 1,720
Course
ENG 111
Eleven sections were selected as a sample which consisted of 186 student exams.
Of the 186 students, 162 students, or 87 percent, had scores of “C” or better; 24 students, or 13 percent, had scores below the “C” level (see Figures 1 & 2). Thus, in fall 2002,
CPCC students exceeded the 70 percent benchmark with 87 percent attaining the level of “C” or higher . Further, the results showed a slight increase in student achievement over the sections sampled in fall 2001 when 85.5 percent of the ENG111 students achieved a “C” or better on the exam.

SECTION 7
As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs:
TOTAL:
Term
# Sections #Students
selected tested
Exam Grades
A - C D – F
________________________________________________________________________
Fall 2002 11 186
Percent who met the benchmark:
162 (87%) 24 (13%)
87%
The division is pleased that our students exceeded the benchmark and that 87% scored above a "C" on the written communication measure.
SECTION 2 Total C or above Total D or F
As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs::
TOTAL:
SECTION 5
As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs:
TOTAL:
0
8
12
1
0
21 20
0
1
12
Total C or above
3
1
17
0
13
Total C or above
3
3
3
1
10 6
1
Total D or F
4
Total D or F
4

As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs:
TOTAL:
SECTION 42
As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs:
TOTAL:
SECTION 51
SECTION 9
As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs:
TOTAL:
SECTION 24
As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs:
TOTAL:
SECTION 39
As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs:
TOTAL:
0
8
11
3
0
22
Total C or above
19
0
5
14
1
0
20
Total C or above
19
0
10
Total C or above
9
0
0
19 19
1
3
12
2
0
18
Total C or above
16
0
12
Total C or above
7
0
0
19 19
Total D or F
2
Total D or F
0
Total D or F
3
Total D or F
1
Total D or F
0

SECTION 53
As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs:
TOTAL :
SECTION 55
As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs:
TOTAL:
SECTION 84
As:
Bs:
Cs:
Ds:
Fs:
TOTAL:
0
4
6
4
0
14
1
6
3
5
0
15
0
5
6
0
0
11
Total C or above
10
Total C or above
10
Total C or above
11
Total D or F
4
Total D or F
5
Total D or F
0
Concern: The English 111 written exam has been abolished. An English 111 committee is working on a replacement assessment for written communication but it must be uniform across selected sections (identical prompts, instructions, and grading criteria).
This new process must be in place for use in the Fall 2003 assessment cycle.

Goal: Students will apply mathematical concepts and skills to analyze, manipulate, and interpret quantitative data.
The majority of students enroll in Math 115 and Math 161. Therefore those courses were determined to be the most effective for assessment of general education goals. In fall 2001, enrollment in those courses was as follows:
Number Enrolled Course and Number
Fall 2002
Fall 2002
194
768
MAT 115
MAT 161
Math faculty determined that the skills necessary to meet the above goal are:
1.
The ability to analyze quantitative data
2.
The ability to manipulate quantitative data
3.
The ability to interpret quantitative data
Therefore, the following objective was set for the purpose of general education assessment:
Objective: Seventy percent of those taking the final exam will show mastery of all three goals.
Means of
Assessment : Seventy percent of those taking the final exam will correctly answer three out of five questions in each of the three goal areas.
Math faculty developed a testing instrument for College Algebra that consisted of
15 multiple choice questions - five for each of the three skill areas adopted by the department. The questions were prepared each semester and included in the final exam.
Students were considered to have "mastered" the skills if three of the five questions were answered correctly on each of the goal areas.
During the 2002-2003 year, the assessment was given to six sections of MAT 161 in fall semester with the following results:
Number of Students Section
01
Tested 17
Section
02
11
Section
12
14
Section
16
15
Section
22
23
Section
23
18
Met Criteria- Goal 1 16
Met Criteria- Goal 2 15
Met Criteria - Goal 3 17
Met Criteria - All 14
Goals
10
9
11
8
12
11
13
8
14
12
14
12
16
16
19
14
17
15
17
14

Summary of Results:
Number taking the exam
Number who met the criteria for goal one
Number who met the criteria for goal two
Number who met the criteria for goal three
98
85 (86.7%)
78 (79.6%)
91 (92.9%)
70 (71.4%) Number who met the criteria in all three goal areas
After reviewing the results of the general education assessment in College
Algebra in the 2001-2002 Academic Year, the mathematics faculty committed to improving student outcomes through utilization of support services to reinforce classroom instruction. One source of support was the tutoring available in the Academic
Learning Center. A pretest was generated to identify at-risk students early in the semester so that those students could be referred to tutoring before the first major assessment. Following each assessment, additional referrals were made as appropriate.
Furthermore, all math faculty members and the division director volunteered as tutors in the Academic Learning Center. Recognizing the importance of this effort, the
Mathematics Division adopted the volunteer effort as a division goal. In the fall semester, math faculty volunteered 175 hours in the Academic Learning Center on
Central Campus and the Levine Campus Tutoring Center.
Another source of student support was the web-based course enhancement available to student through the book publisher. Instructors have provided access guides to the site, which includes video instruction and interactive tutorials.
Assessment results for MAT115 were collected in the spring, 2003. The instrument was used as the final exam. Questions on the test were allotted to each of the goals. Six questions tested mastery of Goal I (4 correct out of six was considered evidence mastery.) Seven questions tested mastery of Goal II (4 correct out of 7 was considered evidence mastery.) Eleven questions tested mastery of Goal III (6 correct out of 11 was considered evidence of mastery.)
During the 2002-2003 year, the assessment was given to seven sections of MAT
115 in the spring semester with the following results.
Number of Students Section
03
Tested 14
Section
04
12
Section
05
12
Section
10
10
Section
12
16
Section
20
9
Met Criteria- Goal 1
Met Criteria- Goal 2
11
9
Met Criteria - Goal 3 14
Met Criteria - All 7
Goals
12
11
12
11
9
7
12
6
9
7
10
7
15
14
16
13
9
8
9
8
Section
62
11
10
10
11
9

Summary of Results:
Number taking the exam
Number who met the criteria for goal one
Number who met the criteria for goal two
Number who met the criteria for goal three
84
75 (89.3%)
66 (78.6%
84 (100%)
64 (76.2%) Number who met the criteria in all three goal areas
The percentage of students demonstrating mastery of all the general education mathematics goals improved from 67.7% to 73.6% in the sampled population. The mathematics faculty will continue its efforts in the area of support to students outside the classroom.

Goal: Students will demonstrate the basic computer skills necessary to function in a technological world.
The CIS faculty determined that basic computer skills involved the following computer operations: start and shut down using Windows OS how to work with desktop
(Windows - sizing/moving, opening/closing icons & menus) disk formatting file copying/deleting/moving creating folders
MS Word (word processing) start/close applications use word processing/spreadsheets terminology (hardware and software) computer components
To measure the goal, the following objective was set:
Objective: Eighty percent of students enrolling in or attempting to test out of CIS 110 or CIS 111 will score a 60% or higher on the combined scores for the first two in-course exams.
All degree-seeking students must take either CIS 110 (college transfer programs) or CIS 111 (applied science programs). Both of these courses require that students pass five exams to pass the course. Each of these exams is 60% written testing and 40% hands-on, skill-based testing. The CIS faculty determined that "demonstrating basic computer skills" would be satisfied by the percentage of students who complete the written and skill-based testing for the first two exams in the course. Students who do not want to take CIS 110 or CIS 111 have the option of taking a placement test through the testing center. Only about 20% of students pass this placement test. The remainder must enroll in CIS 110 or CIS 111. Enrollment in these courses is very heavy. During the Fall
2002 term, the following numbers enrolled in each course.
Term Number of Sections
Fall 2002 54
Number Enrolled
1,418
Course and Number
CIS 110
Fall 2002 33 649 CIS 111
CIS faculty agreed to report the scores from a randomly selected number of courses annually to the General Education Committee.

During the Fall Semester 2002, 10 sections of CIS 110 and CIS 111 were selected and scores on the first two exams were analyzed. A total of 364 students were enrolled in the 10 sections. Assessment results were as follows:
344 Number who took both exams
(20 did not take both exams and could not be compared)
Number/percent who earned an average of 60% on both exams 308 (89.5%)
Grade listings for the 10 sections can be found in the “computer” section of the portfolio.

New Goal: Students will demonstrate an understanding of solving problems by recognizing the problem; reviewing information about the problem; developing plausible solutions; and evaluating results.
Objective: At least 70% of the students will score a 70 or better (7 of 10 correct).
In reviewing pilot results (spring 2001) of critical thinking/problem solving assessment, the General Education Committee identified problems with the assessment itself. As a result of the pilot study done in English classes, the committee began looking to other areas of the general education curriculum to measure critical thinking/problem solving. The committee identified ECO 251 as a course to target for fall 2002 assessment.
During the spring semester of 2003, 149 students enrolled in Microeconomics
(ECO 251) were selected for the purpose of assessing critical thinking and problem solving skills. Each student was given 10 multiple choice questions and given adequate time to complete the questions in their regularly scheduled economics classroom.
Overall, only 42% of the students scored atleast 70 out of 100 on the ten questions.
See results on the following page.
Responses to the Data:
Action Steps:
1. All fulltime and part-time instructors are asked to develop and teach a standard list of objectives that cover the critical areas necessary for advancing economics students.
2. The current list of objectives will be re-evaluated and rewritten to implement more application problems in the classroom.
3. A second pilot test will be administered to assess student learning of the common list of objectives.

Economics 251 – Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
Campus central 8wk
Instructor schmidt
ECO 251 sec. 17
Question responses #correct
#1
#2
18
18
2
14 levine 8 wk robinson
ECO 251
16
16
18
18
18
18
18
18
18
18
Sec. 08
Responses #correct
15
13
6
12
17
14
12
6
10
15 central 16
ECO 251 SEC. 04 responses #correct
60 central 16 wk?
Goode
ECO 251* robinson
22
22
22
22
22
22
22
22
22
22
Responses #correct
39
39
6
21
62.7273
Overall
4
16
19
6
20
19
7
12
18
17
#correct
48
101 central 16 wk
Overall gilliam
ECO 251 sec. 06 responses #correct responses #correct
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
65.6
Percent responses correct
145
145
13
20
8
18
15
15
18
14
20
23 levine 16wk
ECO 251 Sec. 10
33.10
69.66 robinson
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
8
17
59.6
15
9
20
18
11
18
20
13
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
3
13
15
13
10
6
13
12
70.625
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
39
11
25
26
18
20
12
15
19
44.359
46
98
111
90
94
53
98
106
845
145
145
145
145
145
145
145
145
1450
31.72
67.59
76.55
62.07
64.83
36.55
67.59
73.10
58.28
* probably two sections of Eco 251
Concern: This is the 3 rd
year in a row that the College has not met this goal in critical thinking. This was the first time the assessment was done in Economics 251 which may account for some of the problems in the assessment. The committee is becoming concerned that this goal is not being addressed by the College across the curriculum. We will be watching this area closely and adding assessments in other courses.

In the spring 2001 pilot study, the cultural awareness goal using English classes was not met. When analyzing the assessment process, the committee identified concerns with the method used. Faculty who read and assessed the papers pointed out that the prompts tended to lead students to classify, group and categorize while the rubric measured for opposite results. The ENG 111 exam uses many multiple prompts for the written exam so that it would be an overwhelming task for the committee to review each prompt to be used. It was the committee’s conclusion that we should look to other courses for measurement of the Cultural Awareness Goal.
Two courses selected were COM 110 and HIS 111. The speech communication faculty developed multiple choice questions measuring cultural awareness and conducted a pilot study (spring 2002). The assessment tool and the results were reviewed and approved by the committee in the fall 2002. The pilot study was included in the fall 2001 portfolio.
Goal: Students will demonstrate knowledge of cultural similarities and differences.
Because cultural awareness is not the domain of one discipline but is viewed by the College as being incorporated across the curriculum, assessment for cultural awareness is being rotated among the General Education courses. During the fall 2002 nine sections of COM 110 (Introduction to Communication) were randomly selected for the assessment and data were turned in for seven sections. COM 110 is one of two communications courses required for all degree-seeking students.
Fall 2002 34
Number of Sections Number Enrolled Course and Number
837 COM 110
Objective: 70% of students taking the Cultural Awareness test will answer correctly 6 of 9 questions.
In preparation for the fall 2002 assessment, speech communication faculty conducted a pilot test in the spring of 2002. From that pilot study, ten multiple choice questions were selected for the test with one of the ten being removed after the test was administered. Question #9 was removed this year and will be rewritten and included in the fall 2003 assessment.
These were the scores from the sections tested:
Number of Students
COM 110 – 02
COM 110 - 07
COM 110 – 30
COM 110 – 65
17
15
18
18
# 6 or more correct
16
9
17
11

COM 110 – 80
COM 110 – 86
10
16
Total students: 116 students above cutoff: 95
8
16
Percent at or above cutoff - 81.8%
Section #
COM 110-02
COM 110-06
COM 110-07
COM 110-30
COM 110-65
COM 110-80
COM 110-86
All correct Missed 1 Missed 2 Missed 3 Missed 4
+
6
0
5
4
3
3
2
2
1
6
4
4
2
0
7
5
5
6
2
4
5
6
2
4
1
4
2
1
2
4
4
1
7
2
0
Totals 23 31
Overall summaries:
1.
78 students missed 2 or fewer questions (67.2%)
2.
55 students missed 1 or less questions (47.4%)
24
3.
23 answered 9 questions correctly (19.8%)
17
21

Goal: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the influence of the individual on group behavior and, conversely, the influence of the group on the individual.
Objective: Seventy percent of the students will score 3 or above on the assessment
(7 or above in Psychology).
Social and behavioral sciences includes history, political science, sociology psychology, and anthropology. Students are allowed to make multiple selections from an array of courses in each area. Through an analysis of enrollment trends, it was found that the majority of students selected History 111 (World Civilization I), Psychology 150
(General Psychology), and Sociology 210 (Introduction to Sociology) to fulfill their social science course requirements.
Enrollment in those courses is heavy. Enrollment in the fall of 2002 was as follows:
Number of Sections Number Enrolled Course and Number
Fall 2002 25 768 HIS 111
Fall 2002 16 484 HIS 131
Fall 2002 31
Fall 2002 20
1,277
656
PSY 150
SOC 210
The faculty in each of the disciplines created assessment tools and grading criteria to be completed by students in each of the randomly selected courses. The sociology faculty and the history faculty created an essay question to measure the goal. The psychology faculty developed ten multiple choice questions. Sample assessment questions and grading rubrics can be found in the portfolio.
The general education goal for the division of Behavioral and Social sciences is to enable students to understand the influence of the individual on group behavior and conversely, the influence of the group on the individual. In the fall of 2002 eight sections of HIS111(World Civilization), eight sections of HIS 131 (American History I), nine sections of PSY 150 (General Psychology), and nine sections of SOC 210 (Introduction to Sociology) were randomly selected and surveyed.
The History 111 (World Civilization I) assessment was given to sections 03, 05, 07, 09,
13, 21, 22, and 64. A total of 146 students took the assessment.
The results showed that 103 (71%) of the 146 history students scored a
three or above on the question concerning the impact of the Black
Death.

For His 111 the prompt was:
The Black Death had a ripple effect on Europe’s society, economy, and political life. Discuss the impact of the Black Death on Europe, paying particular attention to its effect on population, religious beliefs, economic condition and government.
The History 131 (American History I) assessment was given to sections 03, 06, 07, 08,
09, 10, 11 and 12. A total of 99 students took the assessment.
The results showed that 51 (52%) of the history students scored a three or above on the question concerning the impact of John Brown on the events which led to the Civil War.
For His 131 the prompt was:
John Brown participated in both the Bleeding of Kansas and the raid on Harper’s
Ferry. Discuss how both events increased tensions between pro-slavery and anti-
slavery forces.
Because the pass rate was so low, history instructors are considering several options to increase the number of students who pass the survey. Among them are: revamping the question and placing greater emphasis on the individual behavior of John
Brown.
The Psychology 150 (General Psychology) assessment was given to sections 04, 07, 10,
11, 14, 19, 20, 45 and 60.
Psychology 150 administered 10 multiple choice questions to 251 students.
Seventy-three percent passed. The results showed that 182 (73%) of the psychology students scored a 7 or above on the 10 question multiple choice assessment.
The Sociology 210 (Introduction to Sociology) assessment was given to sections 02, 04,
06, 10, 11, 15, 17, 27 and 28. A total of 195 students took the assessment.
The results showed that 177 (80%) of the sociology students scored a
2 or above on the questions concerning the relationship between the individual and society.
For Sociology 210 the prompt was:
A basic assumption of sociology stresses the relationship between the individual
and society. Describe this relationship and provide an example of this interplay
between self and society.
One hundred-ninety five students were given the survey. Eighty percent passed.

TOTAL SCORES :
Sociology
Number Taking the Exam Number Passing the Exam
195 177
Psychology
History 111
251
146
182
103
History 131
Total
99
691
While the division met its goal, history instructors are working to restructure the prompt for HIS 131 (American History I) to place greater emphasis on the impact of the individual on historic events.
51
513 (74.2%)
Sample assessment tools can be found in the Social Science section of the portfolio.
.

Goal: Students will demonstrate comprehension of the major steps of the scientific method.
Objective: Seventy percent of students will earn a score of 60 percent or above on the assessment.
Criteria: Natural Sciences faculty determined that demonstrating comprehension of the steps of the scientific method involved a student being able to: 1) analyze scientific data; 2) interpret scientific data; 3) draw conclusions based on presented data; 4) demonstrate knowledge of observations, stating hypotheses, performing experiments and drawing conclusions; and
5) demonstrate knowledge of the nature of science.
Assessment Tool : A multiple choice assessment tool was formulated using questions collected from sciences faculty. The assessment test consists of ten multiple choice questions. The assessment will be updated periodically to include more contemporary scientific data and experiments that students will find interesting.
Eight sections of the Biology 110 course were selected for assessment during the fall 2002 term. Fall 2002 enrollment was as follows:
Number of Sections Number Enrolled
Fall 2002 18 453
Course and Number
BIO 110
Fall 2002 Results:
At the end of Fall 2002, eight randomly selected sections of BIO 110 administered the assessment test. Results from 94 tests were returned, and the average score on the test was 70 percent correct. A score of 70 percent correct was also the most commonly logged score (mode), occurring on 28 of 94 tests. On 25 of 94 tests, the score was 80, moreover, on 17 of 94, the score received was 60 percent. The top and bottom scores were balanced: 12 tests scored 90 or above and 12 tests scored 50 or less.
Percent scoring 60 percent correct or higher
Percent scoring 70 or higher
87%
69%
The most missed questions dealt with hypothesis recognition and the nature of scientific inquiry. These most missed questions will be analyzed to determine if refinements are needed. In addition, faculty are discussing ways to improve the teaching of the scientific method unit in order to improve hypothesis recognition and the nature of scientific inquiry.

Goal:
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the humanities and critical skills in assessing cultural/artistic merit and significance.
Objective: At least 60% of students will score a 70% or higher on the humanities and fine arts assessments.
Number of Sections Number Enrolled
Fall 2002 6 167
Fall 2002
Fall 2002
15
11
426
291
Course and Number
HUM 130
MUS 110
ART 111
Four sections of Art Appreciation, five sections of humanities and two sections of
Music Appreciation were selected for the assessment. No assessment was done in
Music Appreciation in the fall of 2002 but the faculty are doing the assessment in spring
2003. Humanities data were reported in an unusable format and retesting is being completed in the spring 2003.
Art Appreciation:
Results: Data were reported for three sections of Art Appreciation . A total of 39 students from those three sections took the assessment and 53.8% received a score of 70% or better.
Art faculty members met to review the assessment measurement. After careful review of the questionnaire as it relates to the humanities goal, it was determined that the assessment is comprehensive. With the exception of a minor change in the wording of one question, it is believed that the assessment should remain as is. Faculty also believe that students should be expected to achieve a score of 7 out of 10 on the assessment.
Faculty have decided to implement the following: a.
Review Art 111 objectives with all instructors before the beginning of next semester. b.
Implement an alternate form of evaluation, such as Scantron, to more effectively determine areas of weakness.
Music Appreciation:
Results:
During the Fall 2002, multiple sections of Music Appreciation (MUS 110) were randomly selected for general education assessment. The results were as follows:

Results:
6 or less
Section correct 7 correct 8 correct 9 correct 10 correct
MUS 110-02 5 5 6 11 8
MUS 110-60 2
MUS 110-61 2
2
2
1
3
Total students tested - 58
Total of students answering 7 or more correct answers – 49
4
2
3
2
Percentages of students answering 7 or more correct answers – 84.4% f the 98 students tested, 61 (62.2%) scored a seven or higher on the music appreciation assessment.
Humanities:
Results:
TOTAL SCORES :
Number Taking the Exam Number Passing the Exam
Art
Music
Total
Humanities
39
58
21 (53.8%)
49 (84.4%)
(%)
Concern: The chairs were given the selected sections for this goal in Fall 2002. The areas either did not do the assessment or they did not pull the material together and present it in a usable format for the general education committee. Therefore, we have very little data for this goal this year. Faculty and administration need to take this assessment seriously in future years. This assessment (Music and Humanities) is being done or redone in the spring and will be added to the report at a later date.