The Value of General Education:
UAA and the National Discussion
Presentation by the UAA General Education Assessment
Task Force for the Faculty Senate Open Forum, January
24, 2014

The General Education Assessment
Task Force (GERA) Charge
Faculty Senate Motion of Sept. 2012 created the Task
Force called for a two year project including:
•
Researching national best practices in assessment of
GER outcomes
•
Fostering a campus wide dialogue on GER outcomes
•
Recommendations for action on GER student learning outcomes assessment at UAA.

The General Education “Vortex”:
Nationally, Statewide, and UAA
The Confusion of Acronyms and Trends:
 Bologna Process (Europe)
 AAC&U LEAP initiative (National)
 GELO (Statewide)
 PASSPORT (WICHE)
 The GER “9” (UAA GER Student Learning Outcomes)
 PSLOs (UAA, Program level SLOs)

The Key Question in General
Education: What do We Value?

Nationally, and locally, almost all General Education approaches are animated by the “liberal education” approach:
 Breadth and Depth—multi-disciplinary exposure and in-depth study of particular area/major
 Conceptual learning as much as or more so than content based knowledge
 Transferable skills and intellectual perspectives as important as specific knowledge
 The “well-rounded” student as the goal: thoughtful, engaged, capable, aware and concerned

National Examples on the Value of
General Education

AAC&U LEAP Outcomes

Professor William Cronon’s 10 qualities of Liberally educated people

Employers Survey—2013, AAC&U and
Hart Research

AAC&U LEAP Outcomes

William Cronon’s 10 qualities of a liberally educated person (U. Wisc.)

1. They listen and they hear.

2. They read and they understand.

3. They can talk with anyone.

4. They can write clearly and persuasively and movingly.

5. They can solve a wide variety of puzzles and problems.

William Cronon’s 10 qualities of a liberally educated person (U. Wisc.)—cont’d

6. They respect rigor, not so much for its own sake but as a way of seeking truth.

7. They practice respect and humility, tolerance and selfcriticism.

8. They understand how to get things done in the world.

9. They nurture and empower the people around them.

10. They follow E. M. Forster's injunction in the novel
Howard's End: "ONLY CONNECT."

Employers Survey—What Employers
Value in Graduates
(AAC&U and Hart Research, 2013)

Nearly all those surveyed (93%) agree, “a candidate’s demonstrated capacity to think critically,
communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than their undergraduate major.”

More than nine in ten of those surveyed say it is important that those they hire demonstrate ethical judgment and integrity; intercultural skills; and the capacity for continued new learning.

Employers Survey—What Employers
Value in Graduates
(AAC&U and Hart Research, 2013)

More than three in four employers say they want colleges to place more emphasis on helping students develop five key learning outcomes, including: critical thinking,
complex problem-solving, written and oral
communication, and applied knowledge in real-world
settings.

Employers endorse several educational practices that require students to a) conduct research and use evidence- based analysis; b) gain in-depth knowledge in the major and analytic, problem solving, and communication skills; and c) apply their learning in real-world settings.

Employers Survey—What Employers
Value in Graduates
(AAC&U and Hart Research, 2013)

The GERs At UAA:
What we Have Now

Purpose and 3-Tier Structure of the GERs

The GER “9”—the GER Student Learning Outcomes

Course Based Fulfillment.—37 total credits required

The GERs At UAA:
What we Have Now—Purpose and Tiers

“General Education Requirements (GERs) provide students with a common educational experience in order to provide a foundation for further study and broaden the educational
experience of every degree-seeking student.

They are designed to promote an elevation of the student’s level in basic college-level skills (Tier 1), a breadth of
exposure to traditional academic disciplines (Tier 2), and experience in applying his/her education in understanding and responding to the evolving state of knowledge and the
world in the 21st century (Tier 3).”*
*UAA Academic Catalog, 2013-14, p. 85

The GERs At UAA:
What we Have Now—The GER 9
 After completing the General Education Requirements,
UAA students shall be able to:
 1.
Communicate effectively in a variety of contexts and formats;
 2.
Reason mathematically and analyze quantitative and qualitative data competently to reach sound conclusions;
 3.
Relate knowledge to the historical context in which it developed and the human problems it addresses;
 4.
Interpret different systems of aesthetic representation and understand their historical and cultural contexts;

The GERs At UAA:
What we Have Now—The GER 9

5.
Investigate the complexity of human institutions and behavior to better understand interpersonal, group and cultural dynamics;
 6.
Identify ways in which science has advanced the understanding of important natural processes;
 7.
Locate and use relevant information to make appropriate personal and professional decisions;

8.
Adopt critical perspectives for understanding the forces of globalization and diversity; and

9.
Integrate knowledge and employ skills gained to synthesize creative thinking, critical judgment and personal experience in a meaningful and coherent manner.

The GERs At UAA:
What we Have Now—Course Based
 GERs at UAA fulfilled by select, approved lists of courses for each of the Tiers and disciplinary areas:
 Oral Communication—3cr.
 Quantitative Skills—3cr.
TIER I
 Written Communication—6cr.

Fine Arts—3cr.

Humanities—6cr.

Natural Sciences—7cr.
 Social Sciences—6cr.
TIER II
 Integrative Capstone—3cr.
TIER III

Possibilities and Challenges: Where we might go with General Education at UAA

GELO: General Education Learning Outcomes coordinated for the 3 MAUs of UA system?

Passport—WICHE
(Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education): competency based transfer credit?

University College: within UAA, a common core set of experiences and courses for all incoming freshman?

“Tuning” what we have: review outcomes language,
GER course selection, transfer issues, etc.—review and revise, rather than complete restructure?

Assessment of GER Student Learning
Outcomes—the big picture

The “Simple” but vital part of General Education

Assessment as the scholarship of teaching and learning

Must be “organic”: faculty-driven, growing from the bottom up—from course and program level to institutional level

Goal is to foster dialogue, analysis, reflection and
engagement towards student learning and achievement

General Education SLOs actually happen at multiple levels, from introductory to upper-division courses—when isn’t critical thinking or effective communication an outcome?

Assessment of GER Student Learning
Outcomes—possible approaches

Program Level Assessment of GERs: mapping of PSLOs that correspond to GER SLOs—through survey

Faculty generated reporting: from sampled and staggered GER outcomes/courses

Faculty Inquiry Groups: (Summer?) Faculty teaching towards selected outcomes invited to participate in working groups to investigate and discuss student learning on these outcomes—should include term and adjuncts.

Seminars and Open Forums: continue building on what AAC and GERA have started with assessment seminars and forums.


The Take-Away on General Education and Assessment at UAA

We VALUE General Education: the goals of a broadly trained individual who can think, communicate, imagine, analyze and engage is valued by society, employers and UAA

Breadth and Depth: National efforts at restructuring still come back to a series of requirements across disciplines, as well as a focused area of specialty

Flexibility in transfer and real-life experience can and should be explored, but . . .

Time-in, class-based educational experience remains the cornerstone of university education

Communication: Need to constantly reinforce the value and purpose of general education and its learning outcomes at every level: class, program, college, university—to student, faculty, administrators and community.

A College Education Pays Long-term benefits