How are Courses Selected for General Education Assessment? 

General Education Student Learning Outcomes are assessed each semester on a prescribed schedule. Approved General Education courses are mapped to the General Education Student Learning Outcomes and tagged in the Student Information System (SIS). Each semester, courses are selected for inclusion:

  1. A sampling procedure is used to select courses (approximately 10-20% of courses mapped to the outcome)
  2. Department Chairs and Directors review selected courses
  3. Faculty teaching selected courses receive assessment instructions, rubric(s),  and resources at the start of the semester

 

What is the Faculty Role in General Education Assessment? 

Faculty teaching General Education courses are asked to conduct course level assessment of student learning outcomes by following this simple process:

  1. Review the student learning outcome and select an assignment which provides the best opportunity for students to demonstrate the outcome
  2. Apply the rubric to the selected assignment and assess student achievement
  3. Submit findings to the Office of Educational Effectiveness Assessment

To learn more about RIT’s course-level assessment process click here.

What is the Focus of the General Education Assessment Process? 

RIT’s assessment process is focused on using the results to improve curriculum, instruction, and student learning. Thus, participating faculty are asked to provide responses for the following questions:  

What is the impact on future course or program refinements to curriculum, instruction or assessment?

What are the recommended next steps (at the university, program, or course level) to improve student learning?

Faculty use assessment results to make changes to curriculum and instruction at the course level. Additionally, results and faculty feedback are aggregated and shared with the campus community.  

For questions about general education assessment at RIT, contact

Leah Bradley
Leah Bradley, Ed.D., Director
585.475.4138

General Education Assessment FAQs for Faculty

What kind of time commitment should participating faculty expect?

RIT’s general education process is course embedded and designed to align with the existing curriculum. Participation should not require a significant amount of time. Faculty are often invited to attend follow up retreats or workshops, however, participation is voluntary.  

Are faculty required to submit student work (e.g., papers, exams, assignments) as a part of the assessment process?

No. Only assessment results at the course level and a copy of the assignment(s) used for the assessment are collected. 

I am teaching multiple courses which fulfill this perspective. Should I submit data for each course separately?

Yes. We ask for one data submission per course, however, course sections can be combined. 

I ask my students to complete group work. Can I use group work to complete the assessment?

Group work should only be used for general education assessment purposes if student work can be scored individually using the rubric.

Should I use multiple assignments/exams to assess an outcome or focus on just one?

The decision about how many assignments/exams to use is entirely up to you. This decision depends on the course structure and content, faculty preference and the student learning outcome.