STUDENT LEARNING ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

Please complete a separate worksheet for each academic program (major, minor) at each level (undergraduate, graduate) in your department.  Worksheets are due to CASA this year by June 15, 2018.  Worksheets should be sent electronically to kjsanders@eiu.edu and should also be submitted to your college dean.  For information about assessment or help with your assessment plans, visit the Assessment webpage at http://www.eiu.edu/~assess/ or contact Karla Sanders in CASA at 581-6056.	

SUMMARY FORM AY 2017-2018

B.A. in General Studies

Degree and
Program Name:

Carrie Johnson

Submitted By:	

Please use size 10 font or larger.

PART ONE
Because the B.A. in General Studies is a flexible degree completion program, allowing adult learners the opportunity to develop their own major, the learning outcomes of each student will differ. This assessment report is based on learning goals that were developed by BGS staff and instructors who identified what our students’ should know when they graduate from college. The 3 required BGS courses focus on skills that employers frequently state they are looking for in their employees. These include communication, critical thinking, problem solving and leadership. These are included in the report. Many coincide with the learning goals identified by the University. 

What are the learning objectives?	How, where, and when are they assessed? 	What are the expectations?	What are the results?	Committee/ person responsible?  How are results shared?	
1. BGS graduates will be able to think critically and be aware of their decision-making process. 
	Students are assessed on critical thinking in BGS 3002, Critical Thinking and the Adult Learner through two assignments. For the first assessment, students are required to examine a value they developed in childhood and how that value has informed their decision-making process. A portion of the rubric for this assignment identifies this directly and students are assessed on their ability to reflect on a personal experience and examine it critically. 

The second assessment in BGS 3002 requires students to evaluate and write a critique of 3 websites.
	It is expected that 80 % of all students will meet or exceed expectations. 

It is expected that 80% of the students will meet or exceed expectations. 
	A random sample of 25 % of the students enrolled in all sections of BGS 3002 showed that 74 % of the students met or exceeded expectations. This is a decrease from previous years. 

A random sample of 25 % of the students enrolled in all sections of BGS 3002 showed 88% of the students met or exceeded expectations. 	Each instructor is responsible for assessing learning of his/her students. The same scoring rubric is used by all instructors. 

This year’s data shows that students are not meeting the expectations. A conversation was held among the two instructors who teach this course and the program director. While learners are able to articulate their value, they find it challenging to identify its impact on their lives. 

Beginning Fall 2018, the instructions in the syllabus will be modified and we will be adding an in-class activity using the SEE-I method* of critical thinking. This will provide students with the opportunity to experiment with this concept prior to submitting their written assignment. 
* SEE-I is an acronym: State it, Elaborate, Example, Illustrate. It is our hope that by practicing this method, and being given directions to demonstrate these 4 steps in the assignment, scores in this area will improve. 

_________________
Each instructor is responsible for assessing his/her student learning on this assignment using a checklist. Only two instructors teach this course. 

It appears that students are more successful at critical thinking when they are not personally involved.

	
2. BGS graduates will be able to read and write critically.	Assignments in BGS 2985 and  4001 are used to measure learning in this area.

During BGS 2985, Adults in Transition, students have an assignment designed to assess their writing and critical reading. Students are given a prompt and are required to develop a paper throughout the course, using at least 4 peer reviewed sources. They begin with an outline, followed by a rough draft and finally the final submission. 

	It is expected that 80% of the students completing BGS 2985 will meet or exceed expectations. 

	 A random sample of 25% of the students enrolled in all sections of BGS 2985 showed 82% all students met or exceeded expectations.

	Each instructor is responsible for assessing learning of his/her students. The same scoring rubric is used by all BGS 2985 instructors. 

This is a writing intensive course, and students are provided feedback throughout the course on this assignment. Instructors require all students to submit their outline and rough draft in order to have the final paper graded. This is designed to set the students up for success as many of our students have not attended college for many years and need feedback throughout the process. This feedback process has proven beneficial to most students. Unfortunately, there are always some students who do not incorporate the instructor’s feedback as they develop this paper. These students often do not meet the expectations. 
 
Instructors offer feedback on the course each semester and add content to enhance student learning. This past year content was added on selecting sources from the library. 

	
	In BGS 4001 students read an article on leadership. They write a critique of the article. 	It is expected that 80% of the students will meet or exceed the expectations.	A random sample of 25 % of the students enrolled in all sections of BGS 4001 showed 81% of the students met or exceeded expectations. 	Instructors assess their own students using the same rubric.

In previous years we have added discussion questions and modeled this activity for the students. Most of them do extremely well on this assignment as they have practiced this skill in other courses. Unfortunately, this remains a challenge for approximately 1 in 5 of the learners. 

The instructors will meet this summer to discuss changes to the curriculum that might support the learners that are not achieving this goal. 

	
3. BGS graduates will be able to express themselves orally, articulating their learning from their degree and the skills they bring to the workforce. 	In BGS 4001, the capstone course in the program, students are required to complete a final project and present this orally.

Students must select the audience they wish to address (i.e.: prospective employer, friend, family) and prepare a 
YouTube presentation.

Indirect Assessment:
In a survey of graduates over the past year 94 % reported that their B.A. in General Studies helped them meet their goals of a better job or being admitted to graduate school. 
100% reported that they would recommend this program. 

	It is expected that 80% of the students will meet or exceed expectations. 

	A random sample of 25 % of the students enrolled in all sections of BGS 4001 showed 89% of the students met or exceeded expectations.  	Instructors assess their own students using the same rubric. This information was shared with the two instructors of this course when it was gathered for this report. 

Last year, when students did not meet the goals for this assessment, it was decided that the instructors would provide additional instruction on preparing a professional presentation and place it at the beginning of the course. Based on this assessment, student learning was enhanced this year in this area. 

4. BGS graduates will be self-directed leaders. 
	Students are assessed on this goal in BGS 3002 and 4001. In BGS 3002 students identify four (4) qualities that employers are seeking. After reflecting on their strengths and weaknesses as learners, along with the skills employers are seeking, students develop a set of learning goals to guide them through their degree.  Students put together a 4-5 minute multimedia presentation illustrating the 4 qualities and a set of learning goals that will help them through their degree

In BGS 4001 students are required to analyze themselves as leaders. At the beginning of the course they identify one leadership quality they would like to strengthen throughout the course. They practice this skill and journal about their findings during the course.

 	It is expected that 80% of the students will meet or exceed expectations. 

It is expected that 80% of the students will meet or exceed expectations.

	A random sample of 25 % of the students enrolled in all sections of BGS 3002 showed 82% of the students completing the course met or exceeded expectations.

___________________ 

A random sample of 25 % of the students enrolled in all sections of BGS 4001 showed 87% of students met or exceeded expectations. 	Individual instructors are responsible for assessing this using a standardized scoring rubric. 

Individual instructors are responsible for assessment. There are only two instructors who teach this course. They developed a clear set of expectations, along with a checklist to assess the learning.

The instructors tweaked this assignment last summer to the learners with clearer goals and expectations. We are pleased with the results.	
5. BGS graduates will be able to analyze at set of data.	In BGS 4001 students are required to collect data from their classmates. After collecting this data set, they summarize their findings in writing and develop a graph to visually report the data. 	It is expected that 80% of the students will meet or exceed expectations. 	A random sample of 25 % of the students enrolled in all sections of BGS 4001 showed 96 % of students met or exceeded expectations.	We are pleased with our students learning in this area. This assignment requires them to understand and present data. This is a practical life skill.	

PART TWO
Describe your program’s assessment accomplishments since your last report was submitted.  Discuss ways in which you have responded to the CASA Director’s comments on last year’s report or simply describe what assessment work was initiated, continued, or completed.

Each of these assignments has a scoring rubric or checklist that is used by all instructors for that course. The instructors for each course have each other’s emails. We do not wait until the end of the year to review the learning in these courses. We attempt to identify and correct problems as they come up.

We are very pleased with the result of Goal #3. The early instruction added to this course has increased the % of students meeting or exceeding this goal. In addition, the indirect assessment of a graduate survey illustrates that students are meeting their goals of advancing their career or entering graduate school when earning their B.A. in General Studies. 

Based on the feedback from last year’s report, we implemented a graduate survey. This was sent to each graduate shortly after they had completed their degree to provide an indirect assessment of learning based on our graduates’ perceptions. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the survey. We asked students to report if they had improved their skills in the following areas: critical thinking, writing, quantitative skills, public speaking and accepting diverse ideas. The survey asked them to click all that apply, but they were not allowed to do this. We thought this was corrected after it happened the first semester, but it continues to be a problem. We are working with IT to correct this. Consequently, we only have the graduates top skill identified. These are:
•	Critical thinking (34%)
•	Writing (40%)
•	Quantitative skills (13%)
•	Public speaking (6.5%)
•	Accepting diverse ideas (6.5%)
Other data from this survey is listed under #3 as Indirect Assessment

PART THREE

Summarize changes and improvements in curriculum, instruction, and learning that have resulted from the implementation of your assessment program.  How have you used the data?  What have you learned?  In light of what you have learned through your assessment efforts this year and in past years, what are your plans for the future?  

We continue to review and update our courses based on student and instructor feedback. For example, last year, after discovering that we were not meeting our goals for effective speaking, as assessed in BGS 4001, we added instruction on this skills. Student learning was enhanced and our students are meeting the goals we set. 

Since our faculty are mainly adjunct instructors, and only teach one of the three courses, it is essential for them to know the content and expectations of all three courses. This provides them with information on the learning outcomes for our program and how their course fits into these goals. 

Assessment and program improvement are ongoing for us. The director is in contact with the faculty on a regular basis. We have the content developed in a master course in D2L for the three required BGS courses and update these as needed. 

We have learned that we must continue to work with our students who do not meet the goals. When you have 80+% who “get it,” that does not mean you ignore the others. While some students do not meet the objectives due to lack of their own effort, when this is not the case, and students are truly struggling, we must support them in the course and provide instruction that will enhance their learning. We not only do this within the course, by also through referrals to EIU services such as the Writing Center.