UHD Core Curriculum Assessment
UHD Core Curriculum assessment occurs on a regular schedule similar to assessment of other academic programs. Please see the Core Assessment Plan for more details.
Assessment of the core is based on collection from all core courses of student artifacts known as Signature Assignments. We also collect student feedback via a variety of surveys to use as indirect measures. Please see this Core Assessment Fact Sheet for more details.
As per state requirements, the core curriculum has 9 foundational component areas of study (FCAs) and 6 core objective areas. For a list of current courses in each FCA please visit the UHD Common Core website.
Foundational Component Areas
- Written Communication (2 courses)
- Oral Communication (1 course)
- Mathematics (1 course)
- Life and Physical Sciences (2 courses)
- Language, Philosophy and Culture (1 course)
- Creative Arts (1 course)
- American History (2 courses)
- Government/Political Science (2 courses)
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (1 course)
- Freshman Seminar (1 course)
Core Objectives
- Critical Thinking Skills – Think creatively and innovate. Conduct inquiry and analyze, evaluate, and synthesize
information. Draw logical conclusions from assumptions.
- Communication Skills – Effectively develop, express and interpret ideas through written, oral, and visual
communication.
- Empirical and Quantitative Skills – Manipulate and analyze data or observable facts, resulting in an informed and rational
conclusion.
- Teamwork – Consider different points of view and work effectively with others toward a shared
purpose or goal.
- Social Responsibility –Articulate knowledge of civic responsibility. Engage effectively in regional, national,
and global communities. Demonstrate intercultural competence.
- Personal Responsibility – Connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making.
Each of the FCAs has responsibility for addressing 3 or 4 of the core objective areas.
To operationalize those core objective areas, UHD faculty have identified 12 core
objectives listed below. The assessment of those objectives have been assigned to
the various FCAs as indicated in the Core Curriculum Map.
- Think creatively and to innovate
- Conduct inquiry and analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information
- Effectively develop, express and interpret ideas through written communication
- Effectively develop, express and interpret ideas through oral communication
- Effectively develop, express and interpret ideas through visual communication
- Manipulate and analyze data or observable facts, resulting in an informed conclusion
- Consider different points of view
- Work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal
- Demonstrate intercultural competence
- Articulate knowledge of civic responsibility
- Engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities
- Connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making
Our direct assessment measures for all core objectives are based on sample student
work submitted by faculty each semester. The semesterly submission is to ensure sufficient
sample sizes of students from the relevant demographic groups.
The sample student work is done in the form of “signature assignments.” All signature
assignments must be designed to address rubrics for each of the objective areas. (See
rubrics below.) To ensure consistency for assessment, signature assignments must
be proposed by faculty for review and approval by the General Education Committee.
If you are new to teaching in the core curriculum, please consult with your program
coordinator and/or department chair to find out whether your courses have program-level
approved signature assignments or whether you should design your own. If you need
to develop your own or would like to revise a current one, please see the section
below on “design and approval of signature assignments”.
Design and Approval of Signature Assignments
Procedures and sample assignments are coming soon. In the meantime, please contact the chair of the General Education Committee to submit or discuss signature assignments.
Core Assessment Rubrics
The core assessment rubrics were developed by faculty groups based on AAC&U samples
to promote opportunities for external norming opportunities. All signature assignments
should be designed to address the relevant rubric elements (aiming for attainment
of level 2 or 3).
Faculty volunteers will apply these rubrics to sets of student artifacts as part of
GEC program assessment twice a year. However, faculty are not required to use these
rubrics in their own courses—they may grade signature assignments based on their own
course-specific goals.
- Critical Thinking Rubrics
-
Analysis & Inquiry/Creativity
- Communication Rubric
- Written
- Oral
- Visual
- Quantitative & Empirical Reasoning Rubric
- Teamwork Rubrics
- Teamwork & Multiple Perspectives
- Personal Responsibility Rubric
- Social Responsibility Rubrics
- Intellectual Competence, Civic Responsibility, & Regional, National, & Global Communities
The GEC will contact faculty each semester with instructions for when to submit signature
assignments—which usually occurs at the end of the semester and the submissions are
uploaded to a Sharepoint folder created in Teams. Links to these folders will be shared
via email.
Instructions for submitting student artifacts to the Core Assessment Archives are
below. They will be updated if needed each semester:
The GEC oversees the assessment process, including drafting of the annual assessment report. Those reports and associated action items are shared with the faculty and the University Curriculum Committee formally approves them, as per PS 03.A.41. Note: Reports coming soon.