General Education at
Indiana University Bloomington
http://gened.iub.edu/
Presentation to the College of Arts & Sciences, Dec 2011
Sonya Stephens
Munirpallam A. Venkataramanan (Venkat)
General Education Committee Co-Chairs, 2010.
HISTORY OF THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON
GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM
846 COURSES APPROVED IN
TOTAL, ROUNDS 1 to 5
2006
Fall 2007
Trustees and
President call for the
faculty to consider a
General Education
program
Spring 2007
Ted Miller presents
paper to BFC
GenEd Committee
constituted in the
spring.
2008-9
77 COURSES APPROVED
IN ROUND 5
2009-10
Herb Terry proposes BFC
Circular B5-2009
BFC approves GenEd
curriculum policy
Policy sets out shape of
the curriculum
Policy includes a
monitoring requirement.
Implementation
Subcommittees formed
White Paper on
Monitoring (April 2009)
2010-11
Policy refinements
Enrolment
forecasting
undertaken
Degree Audit
Coding
completed
GEMS Principles &
Procedures of
Monitoring
approved
2011
Transfer Task
Force
Policy
Refinements
GenEd Bulletin
Implementation
1st Summer
Session 2011
Administrative Organization
FACULTY-DRIVEN PROCESS
Faculty scrutiny of all course proposals
Faculty vote on all policies and
recommendations
Regular Reports to the BFC from the CoChairs
Co-Chairs nominated by BFC and the Provost
VPUE charged with the implementation and
management of the GenEd curriculum
The Shape of the Curriculum
I The Common Ground
I. The Common Ground (Required; up to 31 credits)
a. Foundations
i. Writing: English Composition- 3 credits
ii. Mathematical Modeling – 3-4 credits
b. Breadth of Inquiry
i. Arts and Humanities- 6 credits
ii. Social and Historical studies- 6 credits
iii. Natural and Mathematical Sciences- 5-6 credit hours; two courses
OR a single 5-credit course that includes a substantial lab component
c. World Languages and Cultures
Second-year level of a world language (6 credits)
OR World Culture courses (6 credits)
OR International experience in an approved study abroad (6 credits)
The Shape of the Curriculum
II The Shared Goals
II. Shared Goals (Recommended; to be structured by faculty in each
degree program; may be completed by embedding these goals in
current curricula, through coursework for credit, or non-credit
bearing activities)
a. Intensive Writing
b. Information Fluency
c. Diversity in the United States
d. Enriching Educational Experiences
(service learning, internship, capstone project, student
teaching, independent research/creative activity
program, an approved study abroad experience, honors
thesis, show, recital, performance)
Distribution of Courses in the Common Ground
Comp
MM
A&H
S&H
W Culture
W Langs
N&M
N&M*
GenEd Courses by School
Total Courses
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
College
Music
HPER
INFO
EDUC
SPEA
SWK
MSCI
JOUR
BUS
OPT
Total Courses
GenEd by the numbers
STUDENTS
Total number of beginners in Fall 2011: 7,424 (up 5.8%
from 2010)
Total student enrollments in GenEd classes in Fall 2011:
75,264
Number of beginners in Fall 2011 entering with sophomore
status (26 cr. or more): 348 (up 95% from 2010)
GenEd by the numbers
COURSES
Courses approved for the GenEd Curriculum: 846
Course proposals reviewed for the GenEd Curriculum: 1477
Course proposals not approved for the GenEd Curriculum:
631 (482 of which were 300-400 level courses)
GenEd classes offered in Fall 2011: 2,331
Program Goals
The Common Ground Curriculum of the IUB General Education Program should:
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Enable students to think critically and reason with conceptual
and numerical information and data.
Enable students to express, to understand and to interpret
expressions and artifacts of human experience.
Enable students to explore and understand phenomena by
exposing them to the nature and methods of scientific inquiry.
Enable students to examine individual, collective, and
institutional behavior in social and historical contexts.
Enable students to appreciate and engage in world affairs by
expanding their knowledge of different cultures, societies and
values.
Program Goals
The Shared Goals Curriculum of the IUB General Education Program should:
•
•
•
•
Enable students to engage in discourse specific to their field of study through
composition and critique of written communication (through the Shared
Goals requirement for Intensive Writing);
Enable students to find appropriate information and utilize information
effectively in their specific field of study (through the Shared Goals
requirement for Information Fluency);
Enable students to develop an appreciation and understanding of issues
dealing with the diversity of human sociality in the United States (through
the Shared Goals requirement for Diversity in the United States);
Enable students to engage in enriching educational experiences that provide
opportunities to apply discipline-specific skills and knowledge to community
issues and foster service and social responsibility as related to students’
chosen career fields (through the Shared Goals requirement for Enriching
Educational Experiences).
The Rubrics
English Composition
Students will
1. employ strategies of pre-writing, drafting, and revising, taking into consideration
rhetorical purpose, the knowledge and needs of different audiences, and the feedback
of instructors and peers.
2. engage in substantial revision of drafts, as distinguished from editing and proofreading.
3. read critically, summarize, apply, analyze, and synthesize information and concepts in
written and visual sources as the basis for developing their own ideas and claims.
4. engage in inquiry-driven research, making use of appropriate data repositories and
indexes, and properly attributing and citing the language and ideas of others to avoid
plagiarism.
5. develop a focused thesis and link it to appropriate reasons and adequate evidence.
6. use genre conventions and structure (e.g., introductions, paragraphing, transitions) in
ways that serve the development and communication of information and ideas.
7. edit such that choices in style, grammar, spelling, and punctuation contribute to the
clear communication of information and ideas.
The Rubrics
Mathematical Modeling
Students will
1. create mathematical models of empirical or theoretical phenomena in domains
such as the physical, natural, or social sciences;
2. create variables and other abstractions to solve college-level mathematical
problems in conjunction with previously-learned fundamental mathematical
skills such as algebra;
3. draw inferences from models using college-level mathematical techniques
including problem solving, quantitative reasoning, and exploration using
multiple representations such as equations, tables, and graphs;
4. take an analytical approach to problems in their future endeavors.
The Rubrics
Arts & Humanities
Students will be able to demonstrate any or all of the following:
1. Knowledge of origins, varieties, and meanings of the expressions and artifacts of
human experience, including:
a. Original written texts in various literary forms
b. Works of visual art and design
c. Musical compositions
d. Dramatic performance (live theater, dance, film, video, digital…)
2. Knowledge of the cultural, intellectual, and historical contexts through which
these expressions and artifacts are interpreted.
3. Knowledge of the modes of symbolic expression and aesthetic and/or literary
conventions that are used in these expressions and artifacts.
Arts & Humanities continued
4. Ability to develop arguments, ideas, and opinions about forms of
human expression, grounded in rational analysis and in an
understanding of and respect for the historical context of
expressions and artifacts, and to express these ideas in written
and/or oral form.
5. Ability to create or reinterpret artistic works, as performer or as
critic, through the development of skills of performance or skills
of analysis and criticism.
6. Ability to explain and assess the changing perspectives on the
meanings of arts and humanities traditions, and to explore
The Rubrics
Natural & Mathematical Sciences
Courses in the Natural and Mathematical Sciences will meet at least
some of the objectives.
Students will:
1. Become familiar with scientific inquiry and the bases for
technology;
2. Acquire tools to model and understand the physical and natural
world;
3. Acquire skills in the collection and interpretation of data, critical
thinking, and theoretically based inquiry;
4. Learn to solve problems;
5. Acquire analytical and/or quantitative skills allowing them to
become informed, active participants in society.
The Rubrics
Social & Historical Studies
Students who successfully complete this requirement will improve their
1. Human culture knowledge through understanding of history, social situations,
and social institutions
2. Intellectual and Practical Skills
a. Critical and creative thinking
b. Inquiry and analysis
c. Quantitative and/or qualitative literacy through
theory and methodology
3. Personal and Social Responsibility
a. Intercultural knowledge
b. Civic knowledge
c. Skills for life-long learning
The Rubrics
World Languages & Cultures
WORLD LANGUAGES & CULTURES
Knowledge: The Student
1. Understands culture within a global and comparative context (that
is, the student recognizes that his/her culture is one of many
diverse cultures and that alternate perceptions and behaviors may
be based in cultural differences).
2. Demonstrates knowledge of global issues, processes, trends, and
systems (that is, economic and political interdependency among
nations, environmental-cultural interaction, global governance
bodies, and nongovernmental organizations).
3. Demonstrates knowledge of other cultures (including beliefs,
values, perspectives, practices, and products).
The Rubrics
World Languages & Cultures
WORLD LANGUAGES & CULTURES
Skills: The Student
4. Uses knowledge, diverse cultural frames of reference, and
alternate perspectives to think critically and solve problems.
5. Communicates and connects with people in other language
communities in a range of settings for a variety of purposes,
developing skills in each of the four modalities: speaking
(productive), listening (receptive), reading (receptive), and writing
(productive).
6.Uses foreign language skills and/or knowledge of other cultures to
extend access to information, experiences, and understanding.
The Rubrics
World Languages & Cultures
WORLD LANGUAGES & CULTURES
Attitudes : The Student
7. Appreciates the language, art, religion, philosophy,
and material culture of different cultures.
8. Accepts cultural differences and tolerates cultural
ambiguity.
9. Demonstrates an ongoing willingness to seek out international or
intercultural opportunities.
What will be monitored?
Student learning
The effectiveness of the curriculum in
delivering the student learning
outcomes and program goals
The program as a whole, in relation to
concerns relating to student transfer,
constituent satisfaction, and impact on
academic units and the Bloomington
campus
Assessment of Student Learning
Context
92% of all institutions of higher learning have identified
student learning outcomes and have institution- and
program-level assessment of these.
National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment Press Release (Oct 26, 2009)
Accountability-Improvement Tension
“Accreditation remains the primary vehicle for quality assurance in American
higher education and the major driver of learning outcomes assessment, as it has
for the last quarter century. Postsecondary education and accreditation groups
must devote more attention to strengthening standards for learning outcome
assessment and to judging the quality of these activities. Campuses must be held
accountable for showing evidence of student learning outcomes assessment, for
applying assessment information to changes in teaching and learning
approaches, and for reporting how student learning is affected as a result of
these changes.”
More than you think, less than we need (NILOA Annual Report, October 2009)
Source:
Assessment of Student Learning
Context
The site visit report of February 2008 identifies a range of issues
relating to the assurance of learning, pointing specifically to:
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A lack of central oversight or institutional coordination of student
outcomes assessment
A failure systematically to collect, analyze and share data for the
purposes of monitoring and continuous improvement
Weaknesses in assessment, including in professionally
accredited schools.
Lack of central oversight of well-established departmental/
program review processes and outcomes
An important opportunity for the campus to address
student learning outcomes assessment in the form of the new
comprehensive General Education curriculum.
Assessment of Student Learning
Context
Are we teaching in ways and in settings that are most meaningful for the students of
today?
Can we be using the technologies that were unavailable just a decade ago to educate more
effectively?
Are we teaching intentionally by identifying learning goals and
outcomes and assuring that they are met?
Have we identified the knowledge and skills that students need for a rewarding
intellectual, economic, and community life, and how are we assuring ourselves that such
knowledge and skills have been transmitted?
We cannot wait for others to ask and answer these questions for us; we must accept this
challenge ourselves, and as a matter of urgency.
President Michael McRobbie State of the University Address February 23, 2010
Assessment of Student Learning
The IAC requested that in the upcoming Focused Visit the
institution should also address student outcomes assessment
by producing evidence that the institution meets the issues
raised by the team under Criterion Three Core Component 3a
"Institutional attention needs to be given to student
outcomes assessment at both the campus and unit levels.
There is no campus coordination or oversight of the
assessment of student outcomes nor is there a written record
of unit assessment plans/activities including the identification
of goals for student learning”.
Letter from Sylvia manning to President McRobbie
July 3, 2008
Assessment of Student Learning
Mandated as a part of the GenEd
curriculum by an overwhelming
majority vote of the BFC in 2007
Approval to form a General Education
Monitoring Subcommittee (GEMS)
received from the GenEd Committee
as a result of a recommendation in
the GenEd Monitoring White Paper
(April 2009)
GEMS Principles and Procedures of
GenEd Monitoring approved by the
GenEd Committee in April 2010.
Five-year roll-out plan beginning in
2011.
Follow-Up Report Required by
HLC in September 2013,
documenting TWO YEARS of
GenEd assessment data
collection and use.
Assessment of Student Learning
The Process
Assessment of Student Learning
What this means for you
By an overwhelming majority vote in the April 2010 meeting of the full General Education Committee, the faculty approved the implementation
of the monitoring of the GenEd program (including the Shared Goals).In so doing, the faculty committed to a broad and far-reaching assessment
plan, as a result of which they will:
document, in a standard format, the learning outcomes of each course in the General
Education curriculum;
assure the alignment of their individual course learning outcomes with the learning
outcomes specified for each area of the Common Ground;
share their syllabus for the course, by the third week of its delivery, each time the course is
taught;
identify activities or assignments for which they will devise a rubric map in relation to their
specified outcomes and those of the Common Ground area in which the course is listed;
share data with GEMS so that effectiveness of the curriculum and student performance in
GenEd can be continuously monitored, communicated and reviewed.
Assessment of Student Learning
Collect learning outcomes for every course
approved for inclusion in the Common Ground
(Templates)
Learning outcomes will be required for all new
course proposals
English and Mathematical Modeling now engaged
in 2011-12 assessment cycle
World Languages and World Cultures prepare for
assessment cycle in 2012-13
Timeline for GenEd Monitoring
Years of 1st GenEd
Assessment*
Area to be monitored
1 2011-12
English Composition
Mathematical Modeling
2 2012-13
World Languages & World Cultures
3 2013-14
Natural & Mathematical Sciences
4 2014-15
Arts & Humanities
5 2015-16
Social & Historical Studies
Shared Goals
Ongoing
* Annually thereafter
Curricular & Program Review
Sharing the Data
Faculty are asked to shared data from just one assignment with
GEMS
 Assignment should measure one or more of the learning
outcomes relevant to the course and aligned with the rubric from
the pertinent area of the Common Ground.
 To make this meaningful, there must be a rubric map for the
assignment that is also shared with GEMS.
 Data should be reviewed by the faculty member with a view to
evaluating the effectiveness of the student learning so that, where
necessary or appropriate, changes can be made.
 Data will also be shared with GEMS so that campus-wide
aggregation and analysis can occur.
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How else will we assess the students?
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We may use standardized tests for sampling in some areas
(e.g. information fluency)
We will compare their performance against SAT data in certain
areas
We may use placement test data
We may use GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT and any other such
graduate admission tests as exit data in relevant areas.
We will work with faculty who wish to develop ePortfolios to
help with qualitative analysis of student artifacts, e.g.
capstone projects
We will use indirect assessment (e.g. NSSE survey) to monitor
student engagement and reported learning.
How else will we monitor GenEd?
We will look at:
 the aggregated course assessment data to evaluate the effectiveness of the
curriculum.
 changes in quality of undergraduates’ learning experiences;
 changes in enrollment patterns in undergraduate courses;
 changes in undergraduate curriculum plans;
 relationship between general education and degree programs;
 budgetary impact of implementation of General Education Program in
academic units
 success/failure rates of students in courses to meet new requirements;
 rates and patterns of student completion of General Education
requirements;
 changes in four-year graduation rates;
variations among academic units in implementation of Shared
Goals
 impact on quality of advising in University Division and
academic units;
 student perceptions of the quality of General Education
courses and impact
on undergraduate experience;
 faculty perceptions of student competence with General
Education
requirements;
 impact of General Education requirements on admissions rates;
ease of transfer.
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Source:
Questions for you
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Who will define the learning outcomes for the courses in
your department?
Who will be responsible for ensuring that all syllabi are sent
to GEMS by week 3 of the course?
Who will ensure that ONE assignment in each section of a
GenEd course is mapped to defined rubrics and that this
information, along with the student data collected in
relation to it, is available?
How can we help and support your department in this
effort?
Questions for us?