Effective Fall 2021, the College launched revised and streamlined general education requirements. The revision created a general education framework based on six essential skills. Assessment of these essential skills occurs every fall and spring semester. The General Education Essential Skills Core Committee works with designated department faculty to analyze assessment results, make recommendations for areas of improvement, support departmental efforts to implement targeted improvements, and document the results of those efforts.

General education assessment is the result of collaboration between the OAE, the DCAF, the Deans, and the academic departments and faculty teaching general education courses. The assessment of the six essential skills of general education occurs in a continuous cycle of development and design, training, implementation, data collection, analysis and reporting, targeted improvement planning, and improvement implementation. The general education assessment cycle features built-in structures for faculty feedback on the assessment tools and process and allows for collaborative creation of rubrics and other assessment tools, training, calibration, and AEFIS implementation planning. Direct assessment of student work involves the use of Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) rubrics, developed by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and adapted for use at the College.

Prior to the 2021 revision, from 2009 through 2020, the College’s general education requirements were organized around seven core competencies. The 2009-2020 core competencies were further split into credit hour requirements in five major areas of learning (college writing, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences) overlain with three major academic approaches (American diversity/global diversity, interpretive studies, writing intensive), as well as an information literacy requirement and a technological competency requirement.

General Education Essential Skills (Effective Fall 2021)

• Report Writing, Research, and Information Literacy (WRI) 2021-2022
• WRI Rubric

General Education Core Competencies (2009-2021)

• Critical Thinking Report (Fall 2019)
• Critical Thinking Rubric
• Information Literacy Report (Spring 2019)
• Information Literacy Rubric
• Technological Competency Report (Fall 2018)
• Technological Competency Rubric
• Scientific Reasoning Report (2017)
• Scientific Reasoning Rubric
• Effective Communication Report (2017)
• Effective Communication Rubric
• Quantitative Reasoning Report (2014)
• Quantitative Reasoning Rubric
• Responsible Citizenship Report (2011)
• Responsible Citizenship Rubric