Skip to main content

FAQ About the New Assessment Cycle

REVISED ULO ASSESSMENT CYCLE: FOUNDATIONS OF THE DISCIPLINE

FAQ

What motivated this proposal for revisions to the FD assessment process?

  • The original plan called for process review after the first four-year cycle to consider needed improvements.
  • The current General Education Committee (GEC) was not in existence when the previous assessment plan was developed.
  • The GEC expressed a desire to integrate University Learning Outcomes (ULO) assessment into existing department processes by aligning it with Program Assessment Reporting (PAR).

What is different for FACULTY who teach the FD courses?

  • The assessment survey will be completed by faculty during the department’s PAR submission year.
  • FD faculty are currently were previously asked to submit an assessment survey to University Foundations. Faculty will continue completing a similar survey, adding only the submission of an example assignment along with the survey.
  • See the answers to questions 5 and 6 below for more information about the sample assignment.

What is different for DEPARTMENTS offering FD courses?

Departments are currently asked to ensure completion of assessment surveys, make plans for change, and submit course review materials on request. The revised plan will:

  1. Establish a standard PAR-aligned reporting format and PAR-synced deadline.
  2. Provide the departments with additional feedback from the GEC.
  3. Establish a regular schedule for course review.

Why are sample assignments being requested along with the assessment surveys?

  • Having example assignments will help GEC members and departments better understand the courses and faculty survey results.
  • The assignments will be useful to the GEC subcommittees seeking to understand and provide feedback to departments after they submit reports about their assessment plans.
  • Assignments are a rich site for faculty conversations about learning goals and course design. They may provide exemplary models for the faculty toolkit site and help us plan more relevant workshops and UF summit sessions.

What kind of sample assignment should faculty submit with their assessment survey?

  • The sample assignment should be one of the assignments that the faculty member used in order to assess student ULO achievement that they reported on their survey.
  • The submitted assignment may reflect a signature assignment shared across sections of a course OR it may reflect an assignment developed by an individual faculty member for their course.
  • The sample assignment submitted does not need to assess every subcriteria on the ULO rubric.

What would be different for GEC AND SUBCOMMITTEE members?

  • GEC members and subcommittees will be asked to provide feedback to departments about the assessment plans and course review materials they submit.GEC members and subcommittees will be asked to provide feedback to departments about the assessment plans and course review materials they submit.
  • The PAR-synced schedule will require GEC members and subcommittees to review assessment materials and course review materials from a portion of the departments in their area every year.
  • GEC members and subcommittees will be asked to attend May Day planning sessions to complete feedback work and plans for UF summit breakouts (some portion of which should communicate about or provide models of assessment).
  • Subcommittee members will be compensated for assessment review and feedback work.