Assessment
Introduction
The faculty members of the Department of Philosophy and Liberal Studies are committed to the ongoing process of becoming better educators. The current emphasis on assessment is geared to reaching a new level of awareness about what we wish students to accomplish during the time they spend studying with us and a better understanding of how far along our students are in meeting those expectations. With the latter in hand, we are in a better position to adjust our curriculum, pedagogy, and resources in those ways that will be most beneficial to our students.
The first step, then, in the process of assessment is to get clear on our goals and learning objectives. By “goals” we mean to refer to a set of broad aims we hope to accomplish in a class or program. Objectives, in contrast, are designed to spell out in a more detailed way our expectations of what students should be able to do if, in fact, they have reached the desired goal. Below, you will find the current goals for each of our core curriculum classes and each of our degree programs.
How is Student Progress Measured?
The department uses various instruments to gauge student progress towards its assessment goals and objectives (e.g., multiple choice in lower-level courses with multiple sections vs. essays/papers/portfolios in upper-level/graduate courses). These instruments are typically embedded within a course’s already existing requirements, with the exception of an assessment survey, which is administered to recent graduates and other alumni.
Putting Assessment Data to Use
Data gained from assessment over the last few years has resulted in major curriculum changes in the Liberal Arts (B.A.) and Liberal Studies (M.A.) degree programs. Data has also driven changes in both the content and pedagogy of our two core curriculum courses.
General Education Core Classes
Phil2320: Ethics and Society
Rels2305: Religious Worldviews
Undergraduate Programs
B.A., Philosophy
B.A., Liberal Arts
Graduate Program
Comments
If you have comments, suggestions, or questions about our department’s assessment activities, please let us know.