Overview of Assessment of General Education
At URI, the general education curriculum represents the institutional learning outcomes, a 40-credit learning experience all students must take. Since 2021, institution wide assessment of general education follows a proposed four-year cycle for completing assessment of the General Education program with two learning outcomes examined each round. All faculty teaching general education courses are expected to participate by submitting student work that is aligned with the rubric that defines learning expectations associated with each outcome. A sample of student work is scored by faculty peer reviewers, and results tabulated by the Office of Innovation in General Education, with initial data runs provided to the Faculty Senate General Education Committee for interpretation, recommendations and action steps for improvement as needed.
Assessment Update
The General Education Program follows a 4-year plan for reporting on 8 of the 12 learning outcomes within the Competencies (B) and Responsibilities (C) outcomes areas. The Knowledge (A) learning outcomes are not included in the outcomes assessment cycle as they are designed to support student exposure to topics across disciplines versus mastery of content which is expected within the major.
As of 2023, assessment reports for the spring semesters (May) 2021, 2022, 2023 examined student learning performance for six of eight general education learning outcomes*. Assessment documentation is available to faculty through a shared Google Drive. Use the buttons below to access the reports.
general education program assessment spring 2021- Communicate Effectively (B2)
- Information Literacy (B4)
- Write Effectively (B1)
- Civic Knowledge and Responsibility (C1)
- Mathematical, Statistical and Computational Literacy (B3)
- Diversity and Inclusion (C3)
A data summary protocol was developed by the Office of Innovation in General Education (OIGE) and the Office of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment & Accreditation to summarize initial findings and facilitate the Faculty Senate subcommittee effort to analyze and make meaning of results for institution-wide improvement.
*Program-level evaluation efforts and changes within the Faculty Senate subcommittee structure paused learning outcomes assessment efforts in 2024.