College Requesting Assessment Information

First Memorandum

Memorandum

24 January 2002 

To:  Drs. Crawford, Duff, Glassman, Hays, Irvin, Nielsen, Rose, Sodders and Wayment 

Cc:  Deans Cheatham and Israel 

From:  Ron Brown, Dean, University College 

Subject: Review of Fine Arts, Mathematics and Natural Science Components of the General Education Core Curriculum 

In spring 2002 the General Education Council will review and assess the Fine Arts, Mathematics and Natural Science components of the General Education Core Curriculum (GECC).  Please collect copies of all syllabi for GEEC courses in your department.  If your department offers multiple sections of the course, please include one copy of all syllabi taught in fall 2001 and spring 2002.  When a faculty member teaches multiple sections or used the same syllabus in fall 2001 as in spring 2002, we ask for only one copy of her or his course syllabus.  If your department uses a standard laboratory syllabus for all sections of a particular course, please send only 1 lab syllabus for that class.  If individual instructors develop their own lab syllabus, then we ask for one lab syllabus for each instructor. 

Assessment has become an increasingly important concern for accreditation bodies such as SACS.   In preparation for these accreditation visits, the Council is collecting information about assessment procedures in general education courses.  Please identify any department-wide: 1) pre- and post-tests, 2) student course evaluations, 3) course syllabus reviews, or 4) standardized national examinations that your department uses in assessing student, teacher or course outcomes.  Please include a copy of a blank departmental student evaluation form, which we can attach to our review of your courses in 2002.   

If your department or college has a coordinator or committee chair for the GEEC courses, please include the name of that faculty member, who may be contacted by members of the General Education Council if there are questions about your department’s courses or sections. 

I have attached a checklist for your use in collecting this material.  Although I will continue to request course syllabi each fall, your department next will be asked to provide this more comprehensive documentation in spring 2005. 

So that we may complete our review as quickly as possible, please contact my administrative assistant Ms Sarah Pivonka (sp15 or 5-2218), who will send an undergraduate student to collect your syllabi and supporting information as soon as it is ready.  I would appreciate having all of the information by Monday, February 4, and hope that the council can complete its review before spring break. 

Thanks.

Review of General Education Core Curriculum Checklist Department of __________________________

____ Course syllabi for all GECC classes (one per instructor if identical) 

____ Lab syllabi for each course or instructor 

____ Copy of a blank student evaluation used for GECC courses 

Additional Assessment Strategies (√ if applicable) 

____ Our department uses a departmental pre-test/post-test assessment 

____ Our department uses a common final examination in all sections 

____ Our department has a committee that reviews syllabi and establishes guidelines for GECC classes  

____ Our department uses a standardized national exam to assess student learning in our GECC classes 

____ Our department has a chair or coordinator of the GECC courses and that person is _________________________.

Second Memorandum

Memorandum

September 7, 2000 
 

To:  Department Chairs with courses in the General Education Core Curriculum 

Cc:  Departmental Administrative Assistants 

From:  Ron Brown, Dean 

Subject: Representative Syllabi and Course Skills Grid for Each Course in the General Education Core Curriculum 

As part of our ongoing assessment of the General Education core curriculum, I ask that you send a syllabus for each course in the current General Education core curriculum.  In courses with multiple sections (i.e., ENG 1310, HIST 1320, POSI 2310, etc.), please send two representative course syllabi.  We now maintain notebooks that contain these representative syllabi, and will routinely ask for them in each fall semester.  The syllabi will become part of the ongoing assessment of the General Education curriculum, and will be made available to General Education Council subcommittees, which will review each of the components on alternating four-year cycles.  Approximately half of the General Education curriculum will be reexamined in academic year 2000-01, the other half in academic year 2002-03.  This regular reexamination of the general education core curriculum will fulfill our obligations for both short-term and long-term review of our courses. 

I am also enclosing a copy of the competency grid, which you completed in 1999, and a blank one for this year.  We have typed your department name at the top and the course number(s) on the grid, and ask that you add the appropriate check marks (√) for competencies covered in your core curriculum courses.  Please note that we have added a new field—information technology—to accommodate information requested in SWT’s SACS recommendation on this topic. 

Thanks for sending:

• Copy or copies of course syllabi
• Amended competency grid to reflect changes and new field:  information technology