Assessment of students’ learning in General Education programs presents special challenges. In contrast to assessment of majors, the outcomes of General Education are diffuse, pervasive, and expressed in every course a student takes across the entire institution. The General Education curriculum is the responsibility of faculty across the institution but often administered by a special office not directly tied to any academic department. Thus, assessment of General Education requires a certain institutional level of “systems thinking”. AGLS has used this concept to prepare a Guide to Assessment and Program Review that many institutions have found to be helpful in planning and preparing for assessment of General Education.
AGLS presents its new publication, “Improving Learning in General Education: An AGLS Guide to Assessment and Program Review.”
The new Guide is grounded in the most current thinking regarding quality general education and student learning. General Education luminaries such as John Nichols, NEH Distinguished Teaching Professor at St. Joseph’s College; Rob Mauldin, AGLS President from 2002-2004; and Jerry Gaff, Senior Scholar at AAC&U, have led the writing and editing of the booklet. A host of experienced program administrators and faculty from two and four-year, private and public institutions have contributed to the writing, reviewing, and editing.
“Improving Learning in General Education” invites an institution to review its commitment to the principles of a student-centered, outcomes-and-assessment approach to general and liberal education. The Guide’s comprehensive set of continuous-quality-improvement questions and its supporting materials are intended to promote program coherence. The questions center on fundamental issues such as the connection between mission and general and liberal learning, and then ask users to consider how they actualize, judge, and improve their programs. These questions are sure to enable campus leaders to focus discussion on the essential principles and practices of quality programs.
During its 2007 Conference in Portland, ME (October 18-20), AGLS will recognize the first recipients of the AGLS Award for Quality General Education Programs. Award consideration will be based on a program’s use of the principles and practices described in “The Guide.” Institutions will receive their awards during a special ceremony, and they will be invited to present aspects of their program during the conference sessions. Award application forms will be available on the AGLS website in early Spring 2007.
The 2007 conference will also feature a workshop on using the guide, as well as panel sessions on various theoretical and practical issues faced by those who do use it.
To order your copies of “The Guide”:
Phone, email, or fax your order to:
Rebecca Amato
Association for General and Liberal Studies
Ball State University
NQ 323
Muncie, IN 47306
Phone: (765) 285-2385
FAX: (765) 285-2384
E-mail: bamato@bsu.edu
Prices for copies of “The Guide” are as follows:
1-4 copies @ $7.50/each
5-25 copies @ $6.50/each
25+ copies @ $5.00/each
(All prices include postage and handling.)
Make checks payable to “AGLS.”
“Improving Learning in General Education” is the first of a planned series of AGLS publications addressing current general and liberal education issues; it is a product of the recent AGLS strategic planning session at the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College.