Liberal Studies Assessment

WCU's Liberal Studies Program engages in an on-going assessment of student learning within its curriculum.  Our Liberal Studies curriculum consists of approximately 250 courses, and its size means that it touches almost every student experience and almost every department at the university.  It is important, then, that the university work to evaluate the extent to which the Program speaks to its intended content and objectives. Additionally, the accreditation process requires program assessment, as SACS-COC comprehensive standard 8.2.b states that for general education competencies, the university must “identify expected outcomes, assess the extent to which it achieves these outcomes, and provide evidence of seeking improvement.” (SACS-COC, Resource Manual for the Principles of Accreditation, 2018, p. 70).

To this end, the Liberal Studies Committee has identified ten student learning objectives and outcomes it expects all WCU students to achieve upon completion of their Liberal Studies courses.

These objectives are outlined below, as are their related outcomes and associated rubrics.

LS Assessment - FAQ and Instructions (Video)

If you are looking for a quick recap of the assessment process and how it applies to you as an LS instructor, please check out this FAQ.

If you are looking for a more detailed explanation of the Liberal Studies assessment process, then the video below is for you! The first 15 minutes of the video offer a summary of WHY and HOW we assess the Liberal Studies program, along with instructions for faculty who are being asked to submit artifacts for assessment.  Then, the last eight minutes of the video offer a more in-depth look at assignment design for the Liberal Studies assessment process.

To access the video's table of contents (so you can focus on the areas of information most relevant to you), click on the caret [or arrow mark] at the bottom of the video screen.

  

Curriculum Map

The Liberal Studies Program has mapped how the courses within its curriculum align with the Program's eight student learning objectives. For more detail, please click on the tabs below.