Core Curriculum Assessment
According to the A&S Core Curriculum vision statement, "the Arts & Sciences Core Curriculum, taught within a community of Christian scholars, enables men and women to acquire the knowledge, skills, and virtues needed to uncover and recognize truth, to deepen their faith, to live virtuously, to strengthen their communities, and to affect the world in transformative ways… A mutually-supportive, interdisciplinary harmony among these three tasks of the Arts & Sciences Core Curriculum is necessary for addressing the interconnected experiences, capacities, and responsibilities of living a fulfilled life. Specifically, the Core will address [five] various ways in which we engage the world and experience our humanity:" Scientific Method, Critical Reasoning, Civic Engagement, Creativity, and Christian Tradition. To that end, the Office of the Core will need to assess student learning across each of these five general education outcomes.
Methods of Assessment
To assess the Arts & Sciences Core Curriculum, the Office of the Core employs several assessment measures, including student surveys, the faculty Syllabus Self-Assessment, and the Core Metrics. No measures of assessment are punitive to faculty or students.
Timeline of Assessment
The following is a brief annual timeline of assessment as it interacts with our faculty and departments. For more information on the individual elements, please see the specific pages for that assessment element.
Early Fall: Syllabus Self-Assessment - The Office of the Core will send all teachers of record the Syllabus Self-Assessment Survey for all courses being taught in the Core that term.
Early Spring: Syllabus Self-Assessment - The Office of the Core will send all teachers of record the Syllabus Self-Assessment Survey for all courses being taught in the Core that term.
Late Spring: Student Core Survey - The Office of the Core will send the Core Survey to senior students to gather their perspectives on how the Core Curriculum shaped their educational journey.